Houston Rockets: 5 keys to conference finals vs. Warriors

The Houston Rockets will face the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. Here are five keys to success for this 2018 Western Conference Finals matchup.

The Houston Rockets finished the 2017-18 campaign with the league’s best record and have all but steamrolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs.

In the first round, they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games. After temporarily giving up home-court advantage in the conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz, order was restored as the Rockets concluded that series in five games as well.

Now, we have the matchup that everyone has been waiting for as the Rockets will square off against the defending champion Golden State Warriors for the right to represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.

The backdrop to this series is the Warriors ended the Rockets’ postseason runs in 2015 and 2016. In light of that fact, earlier this season, general manager Daryl Morey went on record saying that beating the Warriors in the playoffs is his team’s ultimate goal.

"“It’s the only thing we think about,” Morey said on ESPN Radio’s The Ryen Russillo Show. “I think I’m not supposed to say that, but we’re basically obsessed with ‘How do we beat the Warriors?'”"

Rockets big man Clint Capela took it a step further, stating that the Rockets were better than the Warriors following their win over Golden State back in late January. With the Rockets facing the Warriors in the playoffs for the third time in four seasons, the time for talking is over.

With that being said, here are five keys to success for the Rockets if they hope to finally break through against the team that has dominated the West over the past three seasons en route to winning a pair of titles.