Hoops Habit
Fansided

The 30 greatest NBA team rivalries in league history

By Daniel Lubofsky

Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)
Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics, Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS (Photo credit should read GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
10 of 31
Next
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors, James Harden, Houston Rockets
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors, James Harden, Houston Rockets. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

22. Best NBA rivalries of all-time: Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets

Upon reaching the 2015 Western Conference Finals, both the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets looked to be headed down the same path towards title contention. Soon after the Warriors won in five games, it was made clear that each team was heading in opposite directions.

A fractured locker room had Houston underachieve in finishing with just the No. 8 seed the following season. Their opponent was once again Golden State, this time looking to defend their 2015 NBA Championship having just finished off a 73-win regular season. Even in Stephen Curry’s absence, Golden State routed Houston in five games.

The Rockets let Dwight Howard walk in free agency, while the Dubs would welcome in none other than Kevin Durant. The Warriors wound up going 16-1 on their way to the 2017 title with the wholehearted expectation of more to come in a similar dominating fashion. Daryl Morey wasn’t content to wait out the dynasty, instead, actively opting to challenge head-first with moves made that summer.

Morey’s never been a guy with a particular interest in the fit of his roster. It’s why when Chris Paul became an option, the general manager leaped at the opportunity to bring him in. His fit next to James Harden — along with the efforts of the newly signed P.J. Tucker — worked better than most had expected with a league-best 65 wins.

Fate would bring these two together, only now it was the Rockets with home-court advantage with a spot in the NBA Finals on the line. If there were a team to dethrone the Dubs, it was this team carefully constructed with the champs in mind.

Through five games, everything seemed to be according to plan with a 3-2 lead until Paul strained his hamstring in the closing minute of that Game 5 win.

Houston would not win again, losing a Game 7 on its home court without Paul. His injury is as big a what-if as we’ve seen this decade, one that may have very realistically cost the Rockets an NBA title.

After that gut-wrenching loss, the magic was no longer there. Some thought they maybe had a chance against Golden State in the 2019 Western Conference Semifinals, but even after Durant went down, it wasn’t enough to stop Houston from being eliminated at the Toyota Center once again.

Morey was driven to near insanity to beat a team that many viewed as unbeatable. The Warriors may have had Houston’s number, but if not for an unfortunate late-game injury that cost the Rockets a shot at vindication, who knows how we’d view the dynamic between these two?