The teams in the Western Conference can be divided into two groups. Those who are in a rebuilding process and those who want to beat the Golden State Warriors. The Houston Rockets are definitely in the second group and team that might have the best chance of them all to succeed. The Rockets are currently sitting at the top of the Western Conference with 25-5 record, and lead the league in offensive efficiency, but their general manager Daryl Morey says that this isn’t their primary concern. His main goal is to defeat the Warriors.
“It’s the only thing we think about,” – said Morey while speaking to ESPN Radio’s The Ryen Russillo Show. “I think I’m not supposed to say that, but we’re basically obsessed with ‘How do we beat the Warriors?‘”
A better part of the league obviously feels the same way, but the Rockets are straightforward. They were beaten twice in the playoffs by the Warriors in the past three years (2015 and 2016), so they know which team is the most difficult obstacle to overcome on their road to NBA title.
“We calculated it — it’s like 90 percent if we’re gonna win a title, we’ve gotta obviously beat the Warriors at some point.” – continued Morey. “So we’re extremely focused on that. A lot of our signings and what we do during the year is based on that.“
According to the many basketball analysts, the Rockets are the second team to Cleveland Cavaliers which could upset the Warriors. With James Harden in his prime, the addition of Chris Paul in the offseason and complimentary pieces in Eric Gordon, Clint Capela and Trevor Ariza among others, and led by Mike D’Antoni, the Rockets really do have a “puncher’s chance” to dethrone the Warriors. It only remains to be seen whether their punches are strong enough.
