2025 NBA PLAYOFFS West First Round: #2 Houston Rockets vs #7 Golden State Warriors (Series tied 1-1)

[Gregoire]

GSW in 6

[SA37]

Tough call here. I'll say GS in 7 because, if Jimmy Buckets shows up, they have the 2 best players in the series.

[The-Power]

I expect a very rough and close series. It can go either way, really. I voted Warriors in 7 because in the end, I think the Curry-Butler duo is more capable of carrying a playoff team in close games. That being said, Houston is younger and better rested, so there's a risk the Warriors get jumped early and/or run out of steam and thus lose the series. Either way, it should be fun – albeit not always pretty – watching two defense-first teams with exploitable offenses grind it out.

[Mavrelous]

Warriors in 6.

[Zespetjest]

Rockets in 7

[Frankie]

It will come down how well Udoka and Kerr adjust to each other's plans I think. Udoka will throw the double big line up against them in game 1 plus Amen man marking Curry and it will probably work and then he'll do it again in game 2 and then we'll see if Kerr has the personnel to neutralize it.

If he can, then I would actually favor the Warriors the rest of the way, but the ball would then be in Udoka's court to adjust his strategy to counter what Kerr is doing.

Heart says Rockets in 6. I will go with my heart.

[xfactor99]

I feel pretty good about limiting the Rockets' halfcourt offense but they can easily make it back with offensive rebounds + points in transition. I expect them to guard the Warriors very well, as they have a lot of personnel to cause Steph and Butler problems. Feedback loops might be a big part of this series - both teams are very good at forcing turnovers, so a team that can get stops (or gets lucky as the other team clanks a bunch of 3s) and get run outs in transition can do really well.

I'm not sure if the double big lineup can work when Curry is in. Adams' offensive rebounding and screening can be quite devastating, but getting matched up on an island against Curry seems like trouble.

I expect a very gritty, low scoring series - I could easily see Game 4 being a brutal 97-92 or something like that, where one team either goes up 3-1 or it's 2-2.

[JujitsuFlip]

Is this the 2023 Kings all over again? Warriors is a tough draw for finishing #2 in the West.

[Frankie]

Worth noting 4 of the 5 matchups between us this season have been single digit wins for either side, and the one double digit win was 10 points in the most recent game where Curry was held to 3.

So all the games have been extremely close. Warriors took the regular season series 3-2.

[dWadeOwnzYou]

I cant name a single super star or even all-star on the Rockets. If you're smart with money, you pick Golden State everytime.

[benson13]

Are Rockets fans experiencing PTSD having to play Curry’s Warriors again?

Houston was sent home 4 times in 5 years by this team.

[Tim Lehrbach]

Didn't Amen shut down Curry last time they played? Held him to like 3 points I want to say.

Wrestled, grabbed, and hugged him. So I guess that means he shut him down. I don't blame him. I'd do that too if I was allowed to.

[Froob]

Dubs in six

[Harry Palmer]

GS in 6. HOU doesn't have the offense to keep up with Curry and/or Butler.

Before they rested essentially their rotation for 3 games the Rockets were top 10 in both offence and defence, and even including those their offence finished 12th. Warriors finished 16th.

[WestbrookGOATed]

Definitely taking the Warriors. Houston isn't there yet experience wise. But they'll get a taste this year.

[SpreeS]

GS in 6. HOU doesn't have the offense to keep up with Curry and/or Butler.

Before they rested essentially their rotation for 3 games the Rockets were top 10 in both offence and defence, and even including those their offence finished 12th. Warriors finished 16th.

GSW with and w/o Butler are two different teams.

[Jadoogar]

If Jalen Green was even Donovan Mitchell level I think this is the Rockets series for sure. But Jalen Green is pretty mid.

Donovon mitchell is going to be all-nba player. What do you mean "even"?

[EmpireFalls]

This won’t even be competitive.

[cupcakesnake]

Maybe a hot take, but I think Houston is going to destroy Golden State. This is an awful matchup for the Warriors.

They have a long list of defensive options to throw at Curry and Butler. Amen will hound Curry while Dillon Brooks bangs with Butler. FVV is not a fun target for either. Eason can come in and play big minutes whenever. They'll attack Jalen Green as much as possible but that's really it for options. There's going to be stretches of games where Houston really shut down Golden State's stars, and they're very reliant on their stars in tough games. Curry and Butler are extremely good, and will find ways to shake loose and score, but that won't be good enough. The offense needs Curry and Butler to do a LOT of scoring playmaking, so matching up with a team that can make that tough is going to be a nightmare.

Many of us watched last night what a problem Zach Edey gave them on the offensive boards... well... Houston recently loves to trot out Steven Adams for the pure purpose of bludgeoning weak rebounding teams to death. This isn't like... Adams generating a few offensive possessions. THis is a guy averaging 10 o-boards per 100 possessions (7.5 per 36). They'll put him and Sengun out there and it's practically an advantage when Houston misses a shot. That's too much pressure to put on Kevon Looney.

My instinct is Rockets in 5.

[FlatearthZorro]

The Rockets play great defense, if they perform average on offense and are able to score in the low 100's, I got them in 6. If not, GSW will be able to get enough on offense to win.