Round 1: Warriors vs. Rockets Predictions

[DB23]

Athletic Alchemy is on target here:

Watch on YouTube

Except for the part about Kerr not calling a timeout; that part is wrong. Kerr did call a timeout. Steph just called it a split second earlier and the refs saw Steph first.

Yeah pretty much nails it. We just need moody and podz to shoot their average and I think we are ok. But if one of them is cold we need to change.

I would give more rope to moody because his poa defense has been pretty spectacular for a while now.

[Onus]

Athletic Alchemy is on target here:

Watch on YouTube

Except for the part about Kerr not calling a timeout; that part is wrong. Kerr did call a timeout. Steph just called it a split second earlier and the refs saw Steph first.

Yeah pretty much nails it. We just need moody and podz to shoot their average and I think we are ok. But if one of them is cold we need to change.

I would give more rope to moody because his poa defense has been pretty spectacular for a while now.

Moody has worked so hard at being a good poa defender. He used to be terrible at it.

[ILOVEIT]

Oddly, I'm most excited/interested in how Podz, Kuminga and Post play. If one of these three go off here and there throughout the series, Warriors are in good shape.

PS How good is it to be STILL talking Curry and playoffs!?

[whatisacenter]

LOL, the Warriors and Rockets matching up in the postseason again with a few of the same old Dubs on the roster and a whole new Houston roster.

It's crazy to think about that!

[TrueFan420]

I have the Warriors in 6 but if we’re going to do anything we need to find our 3rd option behind Steph and Jimmy. Podz isn’t that guy. Moody and him can get hot but they’re not truly scoring threats. JK isn’t fitting in and is likely out of real minutes. Concerned we won’t know who can fill in when needed.

[vvoland]

LOL, the Warriors and Rockets matching up in the postseason again with a few of the same old Dubs on the roster and a whole new Houston roster.

It's crazy to think about that!

This is actually the 3rd iteration of the rockets we're facing:

1. Harden + dwight - got bounced
2. Harden + cp3, et al - got bounced
3. Current crop - not looking great through 1 game

All that with essentially the same core (Steph/Dray/Kerr) with Jimmy in for Klay for this season. I love rooting for a team that has kept the core intact.

[Jester_]

LOL, the Warriors and Rockets matching up in the postseason again with a few of the same old Dubs on the roster and a whole new Houston roster.

It's crazy to think about that!

This is actually the 3rd iteration of the rockets we're facing:

1. Harden + dwight - got bounced
2. Harden + cp3, et al - got bounced
3. Current crop - not looking great through 1 game

All that with essentially the same core (Steph/Dray/Kerr) with Jimmy in for Klay for this season. I love rooting for a team that has kept the core intact.

imagine being a Rockets fan.... you field a Harden team and keep getting beat by the Chef in heartbreaking ways, blow it up, go through a painful rebuild, finally field a strong team, go into an exciting new playoff era and run right back into this same lightskin mf making mincemeat outta your all-time great defensive prospect

[vvoland]

LOL, the Warriors and Rockets matching up in the postseason again with a few of the same old Dubs on the roster and a whole new Houston roster.

It's crazy to think about that!

This is actually the 3rd iteration of the rockets we're facing:

1. Harden + dwight - got bounced
2. Harden + cp3, et al - got bounced
3. Current crop - not looking great through 1 game

All that with essentially the same core (Steph/Dray/Kerr) with Jimmy in for Klay for this season. I love rooting for a team that has kept the core intact.

imagine being a Rockets fan.... you field a Harden team and keep getting beat by the Chef in heartbreaking ways, blow it up, go through a painful rebuild, finally field a strong team, go into an exciting new playoff era and run right back into this same lightskin mf making mincemeat outta your all-time great defensive prospect

Imagine being a rockets fan and rooting for james harden. that would be enough for me to boycott basketball or find a new team to root for.

[michaelm]

LOL, the Warriors and Rockets matching up in the postseason again with a few of the same old Dubs on the roster and a whole new Houston roster.

It's crazy to think about that!

This is actually the 3rd iteration of the rockets we're facing:

1. Harden + dwight - got bounced
2. Harden + cp3, et al - got bounced
3. Current crop - not looking great through 1 game

All that with essentially the same core (Steph/Dray/Kerr) with Jimmy in for Klay for this season. I love rooting for a team that has kept the core intact.

Me too. This gives Steph an advantage over LeBron I am told on the General Board though.

[vvoland]

LOL, the Warriors and Rockets matching up in the postseason again with a few of the same old Dubs on the roster and a whole new Houston roster.

It's crazy to think about that!

This is actually the 3rd iteration of the rockets we're facing:

1. Harden + dwight - got bounced
2. Harden + cp3, et al - got bounced
3. Current crop - not looking great through 1 game

All that with essentially the same core (Steph/Dray/Kerr) with Jimmy in for Klay for this season. I love rooting for a team that has kept the core intact.

Me too. This gives Steph an advantage over LeBron I am told on the General Board though.

Not the time to have that conversation but I'll say two things:

1. Curry is probably the greatest offensive player in the history of basketball and the only reason I say "probably" is because I never saw Kareem or Wilt. I saw prime Jordan and think he's the greatest player ever but, offensively, Curry may be untouchable. Not only did he score more efficiently than any non-center, but he created a lot of his own points, and changed the way the game was played in ways even the Kareems did not.

2. Very few people, including his own coach and teammates, realize this and the league is still blind to it. If he was treated like a true superstar (whistle, scheduling, etc), people would realize we're talking about a top 5 player of all time. As it is, it'll take a few extra years to it to sink in.

[michaelm]

This is actually the 3rd iteration of the rockets we're facing:

1. Harden + dwight - got bounced
2. Harden + cp3, et al - got bounced
3. Current crop - not looking great through 1 game

All that with essentially the same core (Steph/Dray/Kerr) with Jimmy in for Klay for this season. I love rooting for a team that has kept the core intact.

Me too. This gives Steph an advantage over LeBron I am told on the General Board though.

Not the time to have that conversation but I'll say two things:

1. Curry is probably the greatest offensive player in the history of basketball and the only reason I say "probably" is because I never saw Kareem or Wilt. I saw prime Jordan and think he's the greatest player ever but, offensively, Curry may be untouchable. Not only did he score more efficiently than any non-center, but he created a lot of his own points, and changed the way the game was played in ways even the Kareems did not.

2. Very few people, including his own coach and teammates, realize this and the league is still blind to it. If he was treated like a true superstar (whistle, scheduling, etc), people would realize we're talking about a top 5 player of all time. As it is, it'll take a few extra years to it to sink in.

You don’t have to convince me and I don’t actually know why I bother arguing hypotheticals on the General Board, but apparently numerous players playing the best they ever have next to Curry were all random occurrences.

[vvoland]

Me too. This gives Steph an advantage over LeBron I am told on the General Board though.

Not the time to have that conversation but I'll say two things:

1. Curry is probably the greatest offensive player in the history of basketball and the only reason I say "probably" is because I never saw Kareem or Wilt. I saw prime Jordan and think he's the greatest player ever but, offensively, Curry may be untouchable. Not only did he score more efficiently than any non-center, but he created a lot of his own points, and changed the way the game was played in ways even the Kareems did not.

2. Very few people, including his own coach and teammates, realize this and the league is still blind to it. If he was treated like a true superstar (whistle, scheduling, etc), people would realize we're talking about a top 5 player of all time. As it is, it'll take a few extra years to it to sink in.

You don’t have to convince me and I don’t actually know why I bother arguing hypotheticals on the General Board, but apparently numerous players playing the best they ever have next to Curry were all random occurrences.

I mean, all the rings win by this franchise before Steph got here + all the rings won by players before/after they played with Steph is .... *checks notes... nevermind

[michaelm]

Not the time to have that conversation but I'll say two things:

1. Curry is probably the greatest offensive player in the history of basketball and the only reason I say "probably" is because I never saw Kareem or Wilt. I saw prime Jordan and think he's the greatest player ever but, offensively, Curry may be untouchable. Not only did he score more efficiently than any non-center, but he created a lot of his own points, and changed the way the game was played in ways even the Kareems did not.

2. Very few people, including his own coach and teammates, realize this and the league is still blind to it. If he was treated like a true superstar (whistle, scheduling, etc), people would realize we're talking about a top 5 player of all time. As it is, it'll take a few extra years to it to sink in.

You don’t have to convince me and I don’t actually know why I bother arguing hypotheticals on the General Board, but apparently numerous players playing the best they ever have next to Curry were all random occurrences.

I mean, all the rings win by this franchise before Steph got here + all the rings won by players before/after they played with Steph is .... *checks notes... nevermind

Exactly.

[Impuniti]

Oddly, I'm most excited/interested in how Podz, Kuminga and Post play. If one of these three go off here and there throughout the series, Warriors are in good shape.

PS How good is it to be STILL talking Curry and playoffs!?

This is the key. Podz played well but again the shooting/scoring is lacking from everyone but the main two guys there. Moody should be part of that list, but he also is very timid. They put Sengun to rest on Mood, and he should have taken advantage of it.

[vvoland]

Oddly, I'm most excited/interested in how Podz, Kuminga and Post play. If one of these three go off here and there throughout the series, Warriors are in good shape.

PS How good is it to be STILL talking Curry and playoffs!?

This is the key. Podz played well but again the shooting/scoring is lacking from everyone but the main two guys there. Moody should be part of that list, but he also is very timid. They put Sengun to rest on Mood, and he should have taken advantage of it.

I think Jimmy needs to hunt Sengun early in the game. Not even so much to score as much to get him in foul trouble. The rockets are going to be amped up and Sengun isn't the most disciplined defender at the best of times. He can reach and lunge forward; if we go into the game trying to get him in foul trouble, we can execute that plan. With no Sengun, the already putrid half-court offense the rockets have becomes non-existent.