NBA Playoffs: 5 reasons Rockets can upset Warriors
By John Buhler
5. Top 10 offense
Houston is arguably the weakest of the 16 NBA teams to qualify for the NBA Playoffs in 2016, but if the Rockets do one thing well it is put the ball through the hoop playing Morey-ball. Houston finished 2015-16 with the seventh-best offensive rating in the NBA at 108.3 points per 100 possessions, while averaging 106.5 points per game, fourth-best in the Association.
The Rockets are mediocre at best defensively, but Houston does boast a top-10 offense that could, in theory, keep pace with the juggernaut Warriors. Golden State loves to decimate teams with the three-point ball, but few teams in the NBA love to jack up threes more than the 2015-16 Rockets. Houston finished third in the NBA in three-pointers made (878) and second-most in the Association attempted (2,533).
Even if the Rockets were 19th in the NBA in three-point percentage (.347), Houston is a strong team on the offensive glass, as the Rockets finished seventh in the league in offensive rebounding in 2015-16 (930).
Given that Houston prefers most of its shots to come from either beyond the arc or at the free throw line, the Rockets do possess many of the offensive qualities that would be needed to knock off a team as dominant as the 2015-16 Warriors.
Yes, Houston will need players like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green to go cold with their jump shooting to have a legitimate shot at pulling off this supposedly impossible upset, but at least the Rockets have what it takes to hang with Golden State offensively to make things moderately interesting.
Next: 4. 2015 Western Conference Finals rematch