SteemSports Presenter:@mateonav53
SteemSports Editor:@scottybuckets
On Monday night, the Golden State Warriors came back in the second half to defeat the Houston Rockets and advance to the NBA Finals in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. Their stars Steph Curry (27 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals, 10/22), Kevin Durant (34 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 11/21), and Klay Thompson (19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 8/13) all came up huge in the second half to steal Game 7 on the road vs. the #1 seed Houston Rockets. A ton of speculation occurred in the leadup of this game about whether Chris Paul and Iguodala would take the court for their teams tonight, but they were never cleared to play.
At the start of the first quarter, both teams were insistent on getting buckets close to the rim and/or drawing fouls. A strategy that the Rockets would later abandon. Klay Thompson picked up two fouls after only one minute of game time then he picked up a third in only the first quarter. Kerr had to pull him. Houston capitalized on the absence of Klay's perimeter defense by hitting some three's to jump out to a 15-9 lead. Golden State was COLD from beyond the arc but we all knew that couldn't last for long. The Warriors turned the ball over a bit more than usual which was partly due to Houston's locked in defense focused on hunting for steals. Golden State managed to stay in it by making smart plays off of back cuts, but Houston led by 5 after the first quarter of Game 7, 24-19.
Klay Thompson came back in to begin the second quarter, but the Houston Rockets brought the energy and surged to a nine-point lead. Mike D'Antoni actually decided to dust off Joe Johnson and Ryan Anderson and give them some game time in the first two quarters, which was surprising as hell based on his previous rotations in this series. A Clint Capela alley-oop slam set the Toyota Center on fire to give the Rockets an 11 point lead, 34-23. The Warriors had to call a timeout to regroup.
The Rockets were finding ways to free up Clint Capela (by switching Draymond onto other players to defend) which opened up tons of near-basket options that often weren't utilized in this series. The Rockets were winning the rebound battle convincingly with four minutes to go in the second quarter (24-15 in rebounds) and that gave them a ton of second-chance opportunities on the way to a fifteen point lead, 48-33. Steph, Klay, and Durant all started finding their shot which narrowed the lead to 9, but Houston's Eric Gordon zoomed down the full length of the floor for a last-second basket that pushed it back to 11 heading into the half, 54-43. Klay Thompson (12 points) and Kevin Durant (13 points) led the Warriors in scoring while the Rockets were led by James Harden (16 points), Eric Gordon (14 points), and Clint Capela (14 points).
The third quarter of this Game 7 was underway, and the Rockets came out laying bricks. They were insistent on jacking up three's even though no one was hitting any. Golden State came in and narrowed the lead to five, 53-58 off some improved shooting and a great defensive effort that forced turnovers. A Kevin Durant three tied the ballgame at 61-all with four minutes to go in the third. Moments later Steph drained a three in transition to give the Warriors the lead, 64-61. The Rockets couldn't hit a thing! And Curry couldn't miss! When all was said and done the Warriors were up by 7, 76-69 heading into the final quarter. Golden State scored 33 in the third while the Rockets only got 15.
The story was the same for the start of the fourth. The Warriors were feeling it from deep and the Rockets just couldn't buy a bucket. But the Rockets were insistent on throwing it up from three even though they clearly weren't falling. They started the game hitting 6/14 from three but then missed their next 27 in a row! It was the most consecutive missed three's in playoff history.
The halfway mark of the fourth quarter passed and the Warriors just looked like they couldn't be beat. Klay, Steph, and Durant were all fully in their grooves and Houston was out there chucking three's when they should've been attacking the basket. Eric Gordon was smart and made an effort to hunt for layups, but no one else on the team was attacking. The Warriors had a twelve point lead with three and a half minutes remaining in Game 7, 97-85. It was a slow, drawn-out death for the Rockets. Audible groans from the crowd could be heard during each Houston miss and Golden State make. When the final buzzer sounded, the Golden State Warriors were crowned victors of the Western Conference in a 101-92 win thanks to an excellent second half.
The Warriors stars really did all the heavy lifting tonight. When their shots started falling in the third you knew Houston was in some trouble. I don't know what it is but throughout this series always seems that Houston would immediately begin to chuck up horrible bricks once Golden State found their third quarter mojo and they wouldn't know when to stop. If you're the Rockets, you got to have the awareness to switch up your entire game plan if you miss a playoff record 27 three-pointers in a row. They were actually beating them early on when they were feeding Capela inside and pounding the glass. Why they didn't try that again is beyond me.
Now the Warriors are going to their fourth straight NBA Finals after defeating the team we all thought was their one true competitor. As an NBA fan who enjoys suspense, I couldn't be any less excited for a fourth straight Warriors / Cavs NBA Finals that pits the Warriors against one of the most inconsistent teams that Lebron has ever played with. But as an NBA Fan who enjoys suspense, I was pleasantly surprised at how well Houston battled in Games 4 and 5. They had chances to win with sizable leads in Games 6 & 7 but blew them. If Chris Paul didn't get hurt I honestly think the Rockets would've won. Golden State caught another break.
Still, Houston's bad offensive strategy and poor performances from people like Trevor Ariza (0 points, 0/12 from the field) and Gerald Green (3 points, 1/7 from field) were too much on a night where they led by twelve but needed everyone to play well throughout. Clint Capea (20 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals), P.J. Tucker (14 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals), and Eric Gordon (23 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists) came to play but the Warriors were too much. Game 1 of the NBA Finals will take place on Thursday evening in Oakland.
Thank you for following @steemsports and you can find me @mateonav53
I am really sad watching how Houston has been defeated by GS. In particular after a great first half.
Now we have to be focus on the Finals!
Sad about Houston too man. They looked like they could've won so many times
Now that the series is over the Rockets have a few questions to ponder.
Do they run it back with the same roster and hope they can get to the Finals with a healthy Chris Paul?
OR
Do they go out and pursue Lebron James with reckless abandon while sacrificing some of their bench depth that helped them to 65 wins in the regular season?
I'm sure they'll swing for the fences. Haven't checked the numbers but I think they'd probably have to let Capela walk if they get Lebron. Not sure though. And Chris Paul is going to be a free agent. He'll probably look for a five year max contract but he's going to be fuckin old by the end of it. Can you convince him to take a 2 or 3 year and maybe sacrifice a little money? Who knows. Maybe free agency won't break their way and they'll be a lot worse next year. Interested to see how this turns out
If they were to make the run for Lebron it would present a few difficult decisions for the franchise to make. To their benefit they should know ahead of time if there is any interest from Lebron's camp since he and Chris Paul are close. Here are some of the issues they would run into:
Ryan Anderson has a terrible contract ($20 & $21 million next two years) that they have not been successful at offloading even when offering two 1st round picks in the past for the team who takes him. This move alone may ruin any opportunity alone to go after Lebron and keep a competitive roster around him outside of Paul and Harden.
Will they match whatever offer is made for Clint Capella? Many executives believe he will get a max contract offer from some needy team like the Phoenix Suns.
Eric Gordon will have to be traded removing some valuable depth from their rotation.
Do they resign an injury prone Chris Paul who is only getting older to a max deal.
So what is the right path? Go after the best player in the world regardless of what impact it will have to your current depth and roster OR run it back with the same team that will now have deep playoff experience and hope they can remain healthy.
Yea the Anderson contract is a bitch. They'll need some GM wizardy to do anything with that! I don't think they'll offer Capela enough money he'll end up floundering on a lottery team like Phoenix. I always favor the patience strategy. I think they should try and keep the band together and run it back. Interested to see how Morey approaches it
It's petty Chris Paul could not play this game.
Really wish he could've played. He was getting pissed on the sidelines
It must have been very hard for him looking how Rockets struggled with their shooting in 3rd and 4th quarter.
Not surprising. Rockets had a great year tho!
Not surprising at all. Was hoping for a surprise but it was in vain
Now we have to watch Golden State possibly sweep the Cavaliers
yup....trying really hard to think of ways this series can be entertaining. Only if Golden State gets injured or they get complacent and the Cavs all go Super-Saiyan
We aren't watching the Finals after watching ball all season long upto this point, here's why...
https://steemit.com/sports/@tenhanger/fans-decide-kevin-durant-s-legacy