3. Nov. 15, 2018 — Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors (TNT)
LeBron, Celtics, Sixers, Raptors, Thunder…those matchups are all well and good, but it seems like a lot of people have forgotten who the top-two teams in the NBA were last year.
Despite the Rockets losing Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute and watching the gap between them and the Golden State Warriors grow over the summer, there’s a good chance the Houston Rockets are still a top-two team in the entire NBA, not just the West.
As such, the first Western Conference Finals rematch will be a terrific test for where James Harden, Chris Paul, Clint Capela and a weaker supporting cast are at. It’ll be at home, where the shorthanded Rockets lost Game 7 and just narrowly missed out on their first NBA Finals appearance since 1995.
The Celtics and Raptors may have something to say about this, but there’s a good chance this game will feature the first matchup between the NBA’s two best teams in 2018-19. With Houston dead-set on revenge and the Dubs accustomed to getting up for big games like this, you won’t want to miss it.