Golden State Warriors managed to overcome Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals’ Game 7 and secured their fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals. But, that shouldn’t have been the case according to Rockets’ Eric Gordon who thinks his team would win the series if they had Chris Paul in Game 7. Paul missed last two games of the series due to a strained right hamstring.

“It sucks because you know you could win this series if we just had one more playmaker,” – said Gordon on Monday night after Rockets’ 101-92 loss to Warriors. “If we had Chris, if he was out there, we’d have been playing on Thursday. It’s just tough.“

It isn’t like Houston Rockets didn’t have a chance to win the game without Paul. They entered the second half of the Game 7 being 11 points ahead but had to watch their lead melting in the third quarter when they managed to score only 15 points compared to Warriors’ 33. It is also worth noting that the Rockets went ice cold from three-point range, hitting 7 out of their 44 attempts, which included missing 27 straight three-pointers in one period.

“That’s what C.P. was so good at in two [of the] games we won,” – said Rockets’ coach Mike D’Antoni about the Warriors’ dominance in the third quarter. “They’d make a little run, he’d hit a 3. They make another run, and he makes another play. And you have to have those momentum changers and stoppers, and the last two games, we didn’t have them.“

In the series against the Warriors, Chris Paul averaged 19.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

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On Thursday night Houston Rockets managed to get a 98-94 win against the Golden State Warriors in front of their home crowd and take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference Finals. Still, that win didn’t come without a price. Rockets announced on Friday morning that their point guard Chris Paul will miss the Game 6 of the series, after suffering a right hamstring strain in the final minutes of Game 5. According to the announcement, Paul will be re-evaluated after the team returns to Houston from their trip to Oakland.

“It’s obviously not something we wanted,” – said Rockets’ coach Mike D’Antoni on Friday morning. “I hate it for him above all. He’s practically won us the past two games. But it’s a great opportunity for other guys, and we have plenty to choose from. We’ll be ready.“

Asked by reporters whether Chris Paul might be ready for Game 7 in case Rockets don’t close out the series in Game 6, D’Antoni responded: “I don’t know.“

.@CP3 will miss Saturday’s game at Golden State with a right hamstring strain.

He will be re-evaluated after the team returns to Houston. pic.twitter.com/5gAdYas3Vo

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) May 25, 2018

Chris Paul was a key player for the Houston Rockets in the series against the Warriors and has led them to wins in last two games. In Game 5, Paul managed to hit some tough shots when Rockets needed points the most and overall helped the team with his leadership. During the Western Conference Finals Paul has been averaging almost 20.0 points, 6.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.

“Obviously Chris has been playing extremely well,” – said his teammate James Harden. “Hopefully [he will have] a speedy recovery, which I know will happen. There’s an opportunity, like all year long, for guys to step up and take advantage of an unbelievable opportunity.“

In the Golden State Warriors corner, Andre Iguodala has been struggling with a knee injury and was forced to sit out Game 4 and 5. He is listed as questionable for the upcoming game.

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After playing poorly in the Game 1 of Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets found their footing in Game 2 beating the Warriors 127-106 to tie the series 1-1.

One of the reasons why Houston Rockets managed to win so convincingly was the fact that James Harden didn’t have to carry the offensive load by himself. Rockets had five of their players scored 16 or more points including Harden and Eric Gordon who had 27 points, while PJ Tucker and Trevor Ariza added 22 and 19 respectively. Chris Paul ended the night with 16 points but dished out 6 assists and had a great performance on the defense.

Rockets collectively played an impressive game and proved that they can give Warriors run for their money but according to Harden, we are yet to see them on their best.

“If the first game we were at a 70, tonight we were at a 95,” – said Harden after the game. “We were pretty aggressive defensively, and that allowed us to get out in transition. If we be comfortable, sit back and just allow them to get to their spots and run around freely, then they’re going to pick us apart. But if we get into them and try to make it tougher on them, good things will happen for us.“

“We can beat anybody, anywhere at any time playing the way we play,” – added Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni.

Golden State Warriors, on the other side, struggled early on with the turnovers and couldn’t find the answer for the Rockets defense. Kevin Durant had another great game scoring 38 points, but he couldn’t do it all by himself especially since Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson failed to leave their mark on the game. Curry was the only Warriors player except Duran to score in double digits with 16, while Thompson had 8.

“They were desperate tonight and played like it, and we weren’t and it showed,” – said Warriors coach Steve Kerr after the game.

The series will now move to Oakland, with the Game 3 of Western Conference Finals scheduled to take place on Sunday night at Oracle Arena.

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Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets are about to enter the most anticipated series of this year’s playoffs and clash in the NBA Western Conference Finals. Although there is no love lost between these two teams, with each one looking to take the other one down, Warriors’ Stephen Curry decided to skip the trash talk during the Friday’s practice. Instead, the two times NBA MVP reflected on his relationship with Rockets’ Chris Paul.

The two point guards worked out together in 2009, shortly after Curry was drafted into the league. It turns out the workout with Paul had a big influence on Curry.

“He was a great mentor when it came to understanding how a guy on his level prepared over the summer for an NBA season,” – said Curry about Paul per ESPN’s Chris Haynes. “How disciplined he was, his work ethic, and I got to see that firsthand after summer league through the beginning of the season. And obviously, we got a Carolina connection.“

Curry and Paul are not as close as they once were, but they still respect each other.

“He demonstrated firsthand what it takes to be great in this league, and it was a nice little eye-opener for me that summer,” – Curry added. “Work out with him, compete against him and take that confidence I had into my rookie year [to] get off on a good foot.“

Stephen Curry averaged 26.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game in the regular season while Chris Paul had 18.6, 5.4 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.7 steals. Kevin Durant and James Harden matchup in the Warriors vs Rockets series will definitely be the most intriguing from an offensive standpoint, but the clash between Curry and Paul as second best players on their respective teams might determine the outcome of the series.

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NBA Western Conference Finals will offer us the spectacle we have been all waiting for. Reigning NBA champions Golden State Warriors will go head to head with the best team in the regular season, Houston Rockets. While the Rockets have said multiple times that they are obsessed with beating the Warriors, it doesn’t seem like it’s the other way around. At least according to Warriors’ forward Draymond Green.

Speaking to the reporters after the 113-104 win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, Green said that the Warriors team just “want to win another championship and that they “don’t matter who’s in the way of that.”

“Man, we won two championships in three years. We’re not about to run off talking about how bad we want to play somebody,” – said Green. “We want to win another championship, and it don’t matter who’s in the way of that. If you’re in the way of that, then you happen to be in the way.“

“We’ve got a goal. Whoever is in the way of that goal, then we got to see you. You got to see us. All right now, they’re in the way. Perfect. But we’re not running around talking about, ‘Man, we want them bad.’ Nah, we want a championship bad. Another one.” – he added.

In the series against the New Orleans Pelicans, Draymond Green proved to be a crucial player for the Warriors once again, becoming the first player in the franchise’s history to average a triple-double in the playoffs. In five games, Green averaged 14.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 10 assists per game. He will have to step once again in the Western Conference Finals since the Houston Rockets will not go down without a big fight.

The first game of the series between the Warriors and the Rockets is scheduled for tip off on Monday, May 14, at 9 p.m. in Houston.

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We got accustomed to Houston Rockets‘ guard James Harden pouring 30-40 points a game. That wasn’t the case in the Game 2 of the first round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves when Harden scored only 12 points and had an awful shooting night with 2-18 from the field. Still, it didn’t matter, since the Rockets managed to beat the Timberwolves 102-82 and get a 2-0 lead in the series.

Despite becoming only the 16th player in the NBA history to have two or fewer makes in at least 15 attempts, James Harden isn’t too worried about his shot.

“I’m more happy than anybody right now, believe it or not, just because I’m not really worried about my shot,” – said Harden after the game. “I had those same shots in Game 1, and they went in. In Game 3, I’ll shoot those same shots.“

“But I’m fortunate to have guys like Gerald [Green] and just the entire team to have my back on both ends of the floor. I just tried to make an impact on the game in other ways, not just offensively. Happy we got the win.” – he added.

Harden’s teammates also don’t see his poor shooting night as a problem. Chris Paul, who stepped in and delivered 27 points, something like this will “probably never” happen again.

“I don’t know how many times that’s going to happen. Probably never again,” – said Paul. “For us, he’s going to keep going, he’s going to keep going. You give him 18 shots next game and see what happens.“

Surprisingly, Harden managed to make up for his poor offensive night on the defensive end. He finished the game with three steals and three blocks for the first time in his career.

“To me, it’s what he did on the defensive end that was amazing,” – commented his teammate Trevor Ariza. “He really stepped up and sat down on defense. That’s something he’s been working on all year. He’s improved unbelievably.“

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Golden State Warriors managed to overcome Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals’ Game 7 and secured their fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals. But, that shouldn’t have been the case according to Rockets’ Eric Gordon who thinks his team would win the series if they had Chris Paul in Game 7. Paul missed last two games of the series due to a strained right hamstring.

“It sucks because you know you could win this series if we just had one more playmaker,” – said Gordon on Monday night after Rockets’ 101-92 loss to Warriors. “If we had Chris, if he was out there, we’d have been playing on Thursday. It’s just tough.“

It isn’t like Houston Rockets didn’t have a chance to win the game without Paul. They entered the second half of the Game 7 being 11 points ahead but had to watch their lead melting in the third quarter when they managed to score only 15 points compared to Warriors’ 33. It is also worth noting that the Rockets went ice cold from three-point range, hitting 7 out of their 44 attempts, which included missing 27 straight three-pointers in one period.

“That’s what C.P. was so good at in two [of the] games we won,” – said Rockets’ coach Mike D’Antoni about the Warriors’ dominance in the third quarter. “They’d make a little run, he’d hit a 3. They make another run, and he makes another play. And you have to have those momentum changers and stoppers, and the last two games, we didn’t have them.“

In the series against the Warriors, Chris Paul averaged 19.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

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On Thursday night Houston Rockets managed to get a 98-94 win against the Golden State Warriors in front of their home crowd and take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference Finals. Still, that win didn’t come without a price. Rockets announced on Friday morning that their point guard Chris Paul will miss the Game 6 of the series, after suffering a right hamstring strain in the final minutes of Game 5. According to the announcement, Paul will be re-evaluated after the team returns to Houston from their trip to Oakland.

“It’s obviously not something we wanted,” – said Rockets’ coach Mike D’Antoni on Friday morning. “I hate it for him above all. He’s practically won us the past two games. But it’s a great opportunity for other guys, and we have plenty to choose from. We’ll be ready.“

Asked by reporters whether Chris Paul might be ready for Game 7 in case Rockets don’t close out the series in Game 6, D’Antoni responded: “I don’t know.“

.@CP3 will miss Saturday’s game at Golden State with a right hamstring strain.

He will be re-evaluated after the team returns to Houston. pic.twitter.com/5gAdYas3Vo

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) May 25, 2018

Chris Paul was a key player for the Houston Rockets in the series against the Warriors and has led them to wins in last two games. In Game 5, Paul managed to hit some tough shots when Rockets needed points the most and overall helped the team with his leadership. During the Western Conference Finals Paul has been averaging almost 20.0 points, 6.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game.

“Obviously Chris has been playing extremely well,” – said his teammate James Harden. “Hopefully [he will have] a speedy recovery, which I know will happen. There’s an opportunity, like all year long, for guys to step up and take advantage of an unbelievable opportunity.“

In the Golden State Warriors corner, Andre Iguodala has been struggling with a knee injury and was forced to sit out Game 4 and 5. He is listed as questionable for the upcoming game.

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After playing poorly in the Game 1 of Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets found their footing in Game 2 beating the Warriors 127-106 to tie the series 1-1.

One of the reasons why Houston Rockets managed to win so convincingly was the fact that James Harden didn’t have to carry the offensive load by himself. Rockets had five of their players scored 16 or more points including Harden and Eric Gordon who had 27 points, while PJ Tucker and Trevor Ariza added 22 and 19 respectively. Chris Paul ended the night with 16 points but dished out 6 assists and had a great performance on the defense.

Rockets collectively played an impressive game and proved that they can give Warriors run for their money but according to Harden, we are yet to see them on their best.

“If the first game we were at a 70, tonight we were at a 95,” – said Harden after the game. “We were pretty aggressive defensively, and that allowed us to get out in transition. If we be comfortable, sit back and just allow them to get to their spots and run around freely, then they’re going to pick us apart. But if we get into them and try to make it tougher on them, good things will happen for us.“

“We can beat anybody, anywhere at any time playing the way we play,” – added Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni.

Golden State Warriors, on the other side, struggled early on with the turnovers and couldn’t find the answer for the Rockets defense. Kevin Durant had another great game scoring 38 points, but he couldn’t do it all by himself especially since Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson failed to leave their mark on the game. Curry was the only Warriors player except Duran to score in double digits with 16, while Thompson had 8.

“They were desperate tonight and played like it, and we weren’t and it showed,” – said Warriors coach Steve Kerr after the game.

The series will now move to Oakland, with the Game 3 of Western Conference Finals scheduled to take place on Sunday night at Oracle Arena.

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Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets are about to enter the most anticipated series of this year’s playoffs and clash in the NBA Western Conference Finals. Although there is no love lost between these two teams, with each one looking to take the other one down, Warriors’ Stephen Curry decided to skip the trash talk during the Friday’s practice. Instead, the two times NBA MVP reflected on his relationship with Rockets’ Chris Paul.

The two point guards worked out together in 2009, shortly after Curry was drafted into the league. It turns out the workout with Paul had a big influence on Curry.

“He was a great mentor when it came to understanding how a guy on his level prepared over the summer for an NBA season,” – said Curry about Paul per ESPN’s Chris Haynes. “How disciplined he was, his work ethic, and I got to see that firsthand after summer league through the beginning of the season. And obviously, we got a Carolina connection.“

Curry and Paul are not as close as they once were, but they still respect each other.

“He demonstrated firsthand what it takes to be great in this league, and it was a nice little eye-opener for me that summer,” – Curry added. “Work out with him, compete against him and take that confidence I had into my rookie year [to] get off on a good foot.“

Stephen Curry averaged 26.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game in the regular season while Chris Paul had 18.6, 5.4 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.7 steals. Kevin Durant and James Harden matchup in the Warriors vs Rockets series will definitely be the most intriguing from an offensive standpoint, but the clash between Curry and Paul as second best players on their respective teams might determine the outcome of the series.

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NBA Western Conference Finals will offer us the spectacle we have been all waiting for. Reigning NBA champions Golden State Warriors will go head to head with the best team in the regular season, Houston Rockets. While the Rockets have said multiple times that they are obsessed with beating the Warriors, it doesn’t seem like it’s the other way around. At least according to Warriors’ forward Draymond Green.

Speaking to the reporters after the 113-104 win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, Green said that the Warriors team just “want to win another championship and that they “don’t matter who’s in the way of that.”

“Man, we won two championships in three years. We’re not about to run off talking about how bad we want to play somebody,” – said Green. “We want to win another championship, and it don’t matter who’s in the way of that. If you’re in the way of that, then you happen to be in the way.“

“We’ve got a goal. Whoever is in the way of that goal, then we got to see you. You got to see us. All right now, they’re in the way. Perfect. But we’re not running around talking about, ‘Man, we want them bad.’ Nah, we want a championship bad. Another one.” – he added.

In the series against the New Orleans Pelicans, Draymond Green proved to be a crucial player for the Warriors once again, becoming the first player in the franchise’s history to average a triple-double in the playoffs. In five games, Green averaged 14.8 points, 11.8 rebounds and 10 assists per game. He will have to step once again in the Western Conference Finals since the Houston Rockets will not go down without a big fight.

The first game of the series between the Warriors and the Rockets is scheduled for tip off on Monday, May 14, at 9 p.m. in Houston.

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We got accustomed to Houston Rockets‘ guard James Harden pouring 30-40 points a game. That wasn’t the case in the Game 2 of the first round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves when Harden scored only 12 points and had an awful shooting night with 2-18 from the field. Still, it didn’t matter, since the Rockets managed to beat the Timberwolves 102-82 and get a 2-0 lead in the series.

Despite becoming only the 16th player in the NBA history to have two or fewer makes in at least 15 attempts, James Harden isn’t too worried about his shot.

“I’m more happy than anybody right now, believe it or not, just because I’m not really worried about my shot,” – said Harden after the game. “I had those same shots in Game 1, and they went in. In Game 3, I’ll shoot those same shots.“

“But I’m fortunate to have guys like Gerald [Green] and just the entire team to have my back on both ends of the floor. I just tried to make an impact on the game in other ways, not just offensively. Happy we got the win.” – he added.

Harden’s teammates also don’t see his poor shooting night as a problem. Chris Paul, who stepped in and delivered 27 points, something like this will “probably never” happen again.

“I don’t know how many times that’s going to happen. Probably never again,” – said Paul. “For us, he’s going to keep going, he’s going to keep going. You give him 18 shots next game and see what happens.“

Surprisingly, Harden managed to make up for his poor offensive night on the defensive end. He finished the game with three steals and three blocks for the first time in his career.

“To me, it’s what he did on the defensive end that was amazing,” – commented his teammate Trevor Ariza. “He really stepped up and sat down on defense. That’s something he’s been working on all year. He’s improved unbelievably.“

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