Rockets vs. Warriors 2016 live stream: Start time, TV schedule and how to watch Game 1 online
Fresh off a historic regular season, the Warriors will face the Rockets at home in their first game of the playoffs.
The 73 wins Golden State got are impressive, but without a second ring it could turn into a hollow accomplishment. The Warriors are surely aware of it, so they will head into the playoffs looking to show the same dominance with which they advanced to the finals last season, when they dropped only three games in the first three series. One of their victims then was this same Rockets squad, which could only beat them once in the conference finals.
Things are expected to go similarly this time around. Houston barely made the postseason after a tumultuous year in which they fired their coach Kevin McHale and rumors surfaced about a rift between Dwight Howard and James Harden. The defense -- the backbone of the team that reached the West finals last season -- regressed significantly, largely due to a lack of effort. It's very hard to see Houston flip the switch in the playoffs after 82 games of developing bad habits.
Golden State makes even the most attentive defenses pay. If the Rockets continue to be lazy on that end, they will find themselves on the wrong side of a blowout en route to a sweep. Granted, that's probably how things will turn out no matter what Houston does, provided Stephen Curry plays at his normal level. The reigning MVP has put together one of the most impressive seasons in recent history and will be free to rest on defense, as the Rockets lack a point guard who can make him work on that end.
Houston’s chances of making the series competitive come down to which versions of Harden and Howard they get. When he’s fully focused, Harden doesn’t hurt the defense and is one of the most devastating offensive forces in the league. Howard is not a two-way force anymore but he still has the athleticism and mobility to anchor a defense and make a smaller team pay on the offensive glass. If those two are at their best, the Rockets could force the Warriors to play at their peak level to win.
An upset is almost impossible to conceive. Golden State is just too good. Hopefully Houston does just enough to avoid embarrassment and gives the fans a fun few games.
How to watch Rockets at Warriors
Place: Oracle Arena
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Streaming: Watch ABC
