The Rockets fell short, but proved they were far from pretenders
This Western Conference Finals series between Houston and Golden State was the matchup we had anticipated all year. Now that it’s over with, I think we can say that it delivered in an emphatic way. These teams gave us a seven-game total war. We witnessed incredible defense, unbelievable shot-making and troll shimmies that we’ll remember for years to come.
Perhaps the two most obvious insights we can glean from this titanic clash are that Golden State Warriors were not unbeatable and that the Houston Rockets were good enough to beat them. Neither of those thoughts will be especially comforting to the Rockets, who suffered a gutting Game 7 loss after leading by 15 points in the first half. Most of us never thought the Rockets could even get to that point though, especially with Chris Paul watching from the bench.
Even before the Paul injury however, the collective sports universe proclaimed the Rockets dead. After a 41-point Warriors victory in Game 3 the feeling of inevitability set in; Golden State would win in five uneventful games, rendering the notion that this Houston team was assembled to beat the Warriors utterly laughable. But that’s not what happened. In Games 4-7, Houston demonstrated that its season-long obsession with defeating Golden State was not some unrealistic pipe dream.
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The Rockets were prepared for essentially everything the Warriors threw at them. Although Golden State prevailed in the end, and with a substantial point differential, you can’t help but feel that the Rockets had the better gameplan in this matchup. With the exception of that Game 3 blowout, most of this series played out on Houston’s terms. The games were slow grinds with lots of isolation and mismatch ball, which is obviously not Golden State’s preferred style of play.
The switching defense of the Rockets, which gave the Warriors major problems, was perhaps the primary reason that these games favored the pace of Houston. Their defenders executed the scheme seamlessly for so much of the series and worked so damn hard. Since the Warriors signed Kevin Durant in 2016, we’ve never seen a team defend them so successfully in a playoff series. They snuffed out Golden State’s tricky off ball actions, vaporizing the easy looks that the Warriors so often create. Houston played fantastic help defense, sagging off of non-shooters and blitzing Golden State’s most dangerous players at the proper moments. With the patented cutting and screening actions of the Warriors not working as effectively as usual, they were forced into tougher looks.
The Rockets scrapped and clawed on every possession, proving their toughness and mettle. They never capitulated, coming back for more game after game and playing with the ferocity of a champion. Houston pushed Golden State to the brink after an epic Game 5 performance from Chris Paul. Then the Rockets had the juggernaut champs wobbling in so many instances during Games 6 and 7. But they just couldn’t deliver the knockout blow.
And in both of the final two games of the series the Warriors did what the Warriors do best. They piled on an avalanche of points instantaneously and utterly demoralized their opponent. With the Warriors catching fire in Game 7, Houston went on an all-time cold streak, missing an unconscionable 27 straight 3-pointers. So many of those shots were wide open looks from the corner that this team had buried all year. But they didn’t drop. This is life in the NBA. And so often, it’s a harsh and unforgiving existence.
Of course, the specter of the Chris Paul injury will always hang over this series when we think back on it. Maybe a healthy Paul would have made the difference in one of these last two games. We’ll never know. And as heart wrenching as his injury was, it’s the kind of thing that’s part of the playoff process. Every year injuries swing the championship. Unfortunately for CP3, he’s been on the wrong end of those twists and turns of fate all too often.
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Losing this series is going to haunt Houston Rockets for some time. There’s no way around that reality. This might have been the best shot they ever have at taking down Golden State. Moral victories don’t exist for teams at this level of sport. The stakes are too high and the competition is too fierce.
As the bitter taste of defeat lingers over the Rockets, they are entering a massively important offseason. Will they re-sign Paul, who just turned 33, to a max deal? How much will management be willing to pay in luxury tax bills, especially if they bring back Clint Capela on a max offer sheet? Can they lure any top level free agents like LeBron or Paul George? We know that Daryl Morey and the front office are already plotting their next coup. But before we get ahead of ourselves, we should appreciate this 2018 Rockets team. They proved that they were not pretenders and that matters. They simply ran into one of the best teams we’ve ever seen.