2025 NBA PLAYOFFS West First Round: #2 Houston Rockets vs #7 Golden State Warriors (Series tied 3-3, Game 7 Sunday!)

[davidv2001]

feels like betting the house on Warriors is the move. Game 7 in Houston Steph Curry….feels like this is destined to end poorly for the Rockets

The Rockets have elite perimeter defenders, and Ime Udoka’s game plan is to make the Warriors’ role players beat them. Steph Curry will not find more air space on Sunday in Houston. This isn’t like game 7 against Sacramento a few years ago.

[Potential]

Will Houston make 27 straight 3s without a miss?

[PaulKellerman]

Will Houston make 27 straight 3s without a miss?

Tune in to find out! *Ghost of Harden and CP3 sweat profusely*

[Mamba Mentality]

Will people **** on Curry after he blows a 3-1 lead like they did LeBron after losing to the T-Wolves or nah?

Lakers were the 3-Seed. They were supposed to win. Warriors are the 7-seed, they're supposed to lose. Only reason Warriors were up 3-1 is because Jalen Green sh** the bed 3 out of the first 4 games and Udoka wasn't playing his jumbo lineups the first 3 games. Houston very likely sweeps this series if he had. Warriors are just way too small.

Using seeding to justify outcomes is a pointless mental excercise when almost all of the West was separated by 2 games. There’s almost nothing worse than blowing a 3-1 lead and this will be Curry’s second time doing it, he will justifiably catch a lot of heat for it.

[Froob]

feels like betting the house on Warriors is the move. Game 7 in Houston Steph Curry….feels like this is destined to end poorly for the Rockets

The Rockets have elite perimeter defenders, and Ime Udoka’s game plan is to make the Warriors’ role players beat them. Steph Curry will not find more air space on Sunday in Houston. This isn’t like game 7 against Sacramento a few years ago.

I understand the reasoning is bad, but the Warriors the Rockets Steph Curry. I just cannot imagine the Warriors losing to the Rockets in a game 7, especially in Houston. this has heart break written all over it

[littlerock2277]

FVV, Powell, siakiam and OG either advanced or are looking to eliminate all time greats.
All these guys use to come off our bench at one point

[bisme37]

Rockets 4th quarter defense last night (from the email NBA.com sent me this morning):


As Jimmy Butler drives the lane and kicks out to the corner, watch the closeouts by Sengun and the rotations from Adams and Jalen Green to shut off Golden State’s shot opportunities until Butler III takes a contested corner 3


Green sticks with Steph Curry along the baseline to slow down the play before Curry runs off a staggered screen looking for a wing 3. Sengun switches on the play perfectly to grab the steal



A signature Warriors play when Curry is doubled off pick-and-roll. He finds a rolling Draymond Green heading down the lane for a 4-on-3 advantage below the 3-point line. As Draymond tries to dish to the cutting Gary Payton II, Adams plays goalie and comes up with the steal


Curry screens for Butler III, then pops to the 3-point line. Once Butler III’s drive is stopped, Smith Jr. recovers to Curry, forcing him off the 3 and into a drive. Green and Adams clog the lane, forcing a kick out to Butler III in the corner, which Smith Jr. rotates over to contest

[Himothy Duncan]

Will people **** on Curry after he blows a 3-1 lead like they did LeBron after losing to the T-Wolves or nah?

I mean, an L is an L but is 3 wins more than 1 or nah?

…and Steph’s team is a 7th seed going up against a 2 with Jimmy Butler as his best running mate.

Bron’s team was a 3 going against a lower 6th seed with his best running mate one of the best players and playoff performers in the game. Nice try Bron stans.

They were one of the hottest teams after getting Butler, their seed doesn’t tell the whole story. Plus Minnesota is better than the Rockets and will beat them if they meet. Blowing a 3-1 lead is worse than anything else.

[Tim_Hardawayy]

Will people **** on Curry after he blows a 3-1 lead like they did LeBron after losing to the T-Wolves or nah?

Lakers were the 3-Seed. They were supposed to win. Warriors are the 7-seed, they're supposed to lose. Only reason Warriors were up 3-1 is because Jalen Green sh** the bed 3 out of the first 4 games and Udoka wasn't playing his jumbo lineups the first 3 games. Houston very likely sweeps this series if he had. Warriors are just way too small.

Using seeding to justify outcomes is a pointless mental excercise when almost all of the West was separated by 2 games. There’s almost nothing worse than blowing a 3-1 lead and this will be Curry’s second time doing it, he will justifiably catch a lot of heat for it.

Not hating on Steph but I think this is one of the negatives that come from his style of superstardom, that being blistering 3-point shooting. When it is your defining trait, you will, as they say, live and die by it, its high variance by nature. So you might win a ring nobody saw coming (2022), but you might also blow a series you had in the bag.

[bisme37]

I only watched the 2nd half last night but was struck by the very poor body language and "spirit" (for lack of a better word) of the Warriors. The announcers pointed it out too so I know this wasn't an original observation.

Were they like that the whole game or just got demoralized by the end? I almost wondered if some GSW locker room drama happened before the game or at halftime or something. No one looked happy at all.

[MoreyWins]

I only watched the 2nd half last night but was struck by the very poor body language and "spirit" (for lack of a better word) of the Warriors. The announcers pointed it out too so I know this wasn't an original observation.

Were they like that the whole game or just got demoralized by the end? I almost wondered if some GSW locker room drama happened before the game or at halftime or something. No one looked happy at all.

Offensive rebounds, unforced turnovers, and getting multiple shots up at the end of the shot clock can be demoralizing. The Rockets defense and rebounding are both exploiting personnel flaws with the Warriors and taxing the Warriors mentally and physically.

[Exp0sed]

FVV, Powell, siakiam and OG either advanced or are looking to eliminate all time greats.
All these guys use to come off our bench at one point

They were also a part of the Raps sole title..not like they were unknown or unproductive in Raps uniform and later blossomed so...

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[davidv2001]

feels like betting the house on Warriors is the move. Game 7 in Houston Steph Curry….feels like this is destined to end poorly for the Rockets

The Rockets have elite perimeter defenders, and Ime Udoka’s game plan is to make the Warriors’ role players beat them. Steph Curry will not find more air space on Sunday in Houston. This isn’t like game 7 against Sacramento a few years ago.

I understand the reasoning is bad, but the Warriors the Rockets Steph Curry. I just cannot imagine the Warriors losing to the Rockets in a game 7, especially in Houston. this has heart break written all over it

I easily can imagine these Warriors losing to these Rockets in game 7 on Sunday in Houston. The Rockets are a bad matchup for the Warriors, and their young players aren’t playing shell shocked in the playoffs. Golden State’s best shot to end this series was last night at home. Instead, the Rockets were the more poised team and dominated the fourth quarter when the game was in the balance.

Golden State’s issues with getting Curry easy looks and rebounding against Houston’s double and triple big lineups aren’t going away on Sunday. They still won’t have a good answer for Alperen Sengun in the paint, neither. It will not shock me if the Warriors win, but I think the Rockets stand a really good chance of completing the comeback.

The bottom line is Golden State’s dynasty teams aren’t walking through that door. Nor is the team that beat the Celtics in the finals a couple seasons ago.

[Exp0sed]

I mean, an L is an L but is 3 wins more than 1 or nah?

…and Steph’s team is a 7th seed going up against a 2 with Jimmy Butler as his best running mate.

Bron’s team was a 3 going against a lower 6th seed with his best running mate one of the best players and playoff performers in the game. Nice try Bron stans.

They were one of the hottest teams after getting Butler, their seed doesn’t tell the whole story. Plus Minnesota is better than the Rockets and will beat them if they meet. Blowing a 3-1 lead is worse than anything else.

And the Rockets were on their way to 60 wins when they were hit by the injury bug



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[HardenGoat]

Will people **** on Curry after he blows a 3-1 lead like they did LeBron after losing to the T-Wolves or nah?

Lakers were the 3-Seed. They were supposed to win. Warriors are the 7-seed, they're supposed to lose. Only reason Warriors were up 3-1 is because Jalen Green sh** the bed 3 out of the first 4 games and Udoka wasn't playing his jumbo lineups the first 3 games. Houston very likely sweeps this series if he had. Warriors are just way too small.

.

Using seeding to justify outcomes is a pointless mental excercise when almost all of the West was separated by 2 games. There’s almost nothing worse than blowing a 3-1 lead and this will be Curry’s second time doing it, he will justifiably catch a lot of heat for it.

Curry’s game requires someone else on the team to create gravity especially on the perimeter. Prime Klay and Durant were examples. Divencenzo and Buddy have not been great at creating this and seem hesitant. Butler is an iso guy but not a great perimeter threat. He is a high IQ facilitator and finisher though that glues the pieces. Great whistle to boot.

[HardenGoat]

I only watched the 2nd half last night but was struck by the very poor body language and "spirit" (for lack of a better word) of the Warriors. The announcers pointed it out too so I know this wasn't an original observation.

Were they like that the whole game or just got demoralized by the end? I almost wondered if some GSW locker room drama happened before the game or at halftime or something. No one looked happy at all.

Seemed like an exasperation response when nothing was going in. I think this happens to any team when the legs get tired and the first sign of it is missed shots. Rockets are just wearing them out on both ends. They have a deep young team with gobs of athleticism. On a side note Draymonds antics have historically worked but he looks old now trying to pick fights with youngsters trained in a Udoka system. That seems to be backfiring on this team.

[TimberKat]

…and Steph’s team is a 7th seed going up against a 2 with Jimmy Butler as his best running mate.

Bron’s team was a 3 going against a lower 6th seed with his best running mate one of the best players and playoff performers in the game. Nice try Bron stans.

They were one of the hottest teams after getting Butler, their seed doesn’t tell the whole story. Plus Minnesota is better than the Rockets and will beat them if they meet. Blowing a 3-1 lead is worse than anything else.

And the Rockets were on their way to 60 wins when they were hit by the injury bug



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I still don't believe in the Rockets. They had a bunch of lucky wins such as against Cavs, a perfect FT miss tip in, OT vs Wolves, etc. Given that fortune favors the brave and they do create a lot of those ops, I think their luck is going to run out soon.

[Castle Black]

Will people **** on Curry after he blows a 3-1 lead like they did LeBron after losing to the T-Wolves or nah?

Lakers were the 3-Seed. They were supposed to win. Warriors are the 7-seed, they're supposed to lose. Only reason Warriors were up 3-1 is because Jalen Green sh** the bed 3 out of the first 4 games and Udoka wasn't playing his jumbo lineups the first 3 games. Houston very likely sweeps this series if he had. Warriors are just way too small.

Using seeding to justify outcomes is a pointless mental excercise when almost all of the West was separated by 2 games. There’s almost nothing worse than blowing a 3-1 lead and this will be Curry’s second time doing it, he will justifiably catch a lot of heat for it.

Completely disagree. You're acting like the Warriors were the favorites coming into the series. They are the 7th Seed underdogs. Curry is 37 years old. The fact they went up 3-1 is more of an indictment on the Rockets considering they're clearly the better team. Warriors are so undersized in this series that it's almost unimaginable that this series is even going 7 games. This should've been a sweep, and likely would've been had Udoka made adjustments earlier in the series and gone to his Jumbo Package in Game 1 instead of waiting til Game 5. Or Had Jalen Green just not completely sh** the bed by scoring single-digits in 3 out of the first 4 games.

By your own logic, Lebron's legacy should take a huge hit since he's lost in the 1st Round of the Playoffs 3 out of the last 4 years, despite being the underdog 2 of those years (and favored this year).

[MoreyWins]

Lakers were the 3-Seed. They were supposed to win. Warriors are the 7-seed, they're supposed to lose. Only reason Warriors were up 3-1 is because Jalen Green sh** the bed 3 out of the first 4 games and Udoka wasn't playing his jumbo lineups the first 3 games. Houston very likely sweeps this series if he had. Warriors are just way too small.

Using seeding to justify outcomes is a pointless mental excercise when almost all of the West was separated by 2 games. There’s almost nothing worse than blowing a 3-1 lead and this will be Curry’s second time doing it, he will justifiably catch a lot of heat for it.

Completely disagree. You're acting like the Warriors were the favorites coming into the series. They were literally the underdogs. Curry is 37 years old. The fact they went up 3-1 is more of an indictment on the Rockets considering they're clearly the better team. Warriors are so undersized in this series that it's almost unimaginable that this series is even going 7 games. This should've been a sweep, and likely would've been had Udoka made adjustments earlier in the series and gone to his Jumbo Package in Game 1 instead of waiting til Game 5. Or Had Jalen Green just not completely sh** the bed by scoring single-digits in 3 out of the first 4 games.

By your own logic, Lebron's legacy should take a huge hit since he's lost in the 1st Round of the Playoffs 3 out of the last 4 years.

They were favored... You're lying for no reason.

[Castle Black]

Using seeding to justify outcomes is a pointless mental excercise when almost all of the West was separated by 2 games. There’s almost nothing worse than blowing a 3-1 lead and this will be Curry’s second time doing it, he will justifiably catch a lot of heat for it.

Completely disagree. You're acting like the Warriors were the favorites coming into the series. They were literally the underdogs. Curry is 37 years old. The fact they went up 3-1 is more of an indictment on the Rockets considering they're clearly the better team. Warriors are so undersized in this series that it's almost unimaginable that this series is even going 7 games. This should've been a sweep, and likely would've been had Udoka made adjustments earlier in the series and gone to his Jumbo Package in Game 1 instead of waiting til Game 5. Or Had Jalen Green just not completely sh** the bed by scoring single-digits in 3 out of the first 4 games.

By your own logic, Lebron's legacy should take a huge hit since he's lost in the 1st Round of the Playoffs 3 out of the last 4 years.

They were favored... You're lying for no reason.

Miss me with the arbitrary Vegas betting odds. The 7th-Seed is never favored over the 2nd-Seed when both teams are healthy. Get real. The Warriors are so massively undersized that this series should've been a sweep. The only reason is wasn't is because it took Ime Udoka 5 games to realize that the Warriors literally don't have a Center and that his team is much bigger than theirs. Jalen Green being a total scrub outside of Game 2 certainly didn't help either.