West Conf. Finals - Game 1: Golden State Warriors 119-106 Houston Rockets - 5 Talking Points
The Houston Rockets went all in this regular season to get home court. The Golden State Warriors wrestled it back in Game 1 itself. Kevin Durant had 37 points and Klay Thompson added 28 as the defending champs rolled to victory in Game 1. James Harden had 41 points and Chris Paul scored 23 in a losing effort.
The Game started off as we'd have hoped, an epic back and forth encounter in the 1st half, but then the Warriors went up a notch. They went ahead for good in the 3rd quarter and pulled away in the 4th for a surprisingly comfortable win.
Here are the talking points:
#5 The Rockets supporting cast struggle
If the Rockets are to have a chance at upsetting the Warriors, the role players have to play much better. Harden balled out and CP3 had his moments but that evidently isn't going to be enough. Capela only had 12 Points and 6 Rebounds, PJ Tucker scored 1 point, while Ryan Anderson, Mbah A Moute and Nene went scoreless. Capela has garnered a lot of praise this season, which has led to talk of it being a Big 3 in Houston, not just Harden, and Paul, so he needs to step up. 12 Points and 6 Rebounds just won't cut it.
Eric Gordon finally seemed to get out of his shooting slump in the 2nd half, which would please Mike D'Antoni. Gordon finished with 15 points off the bench in what was the only noteworthy performance by any of the complementary pieces. It's a pity that they wasted that incredible performance from Harden.