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The Golden State Warriors took down the Houston Rockets 119-106 in the first game of the Western Conference Finals, as the highly anticipated series did not disappoint in its opener.
Here are my three takeaways from Monday night’s game Game 1.
Buckle Up
As promised, Game 1 was fast-paced. If you blinked you probably missed a shot attempt, and if you walked away from the screen for any real length of time you missed much more.
With the talent all over the floor on both sides, scoring will be plentiful in this series and the pace will be frantic, yet somehow controlled. Game 1 simply set that stage.
James Harden Needs To Facilitate Help
The favorite for league MVP is the driving force for the Rockets’ offense. But his energy expenditure on that of the floor in Game 1 feels unsustainable, and outside of his 41 only Chris Paul had more than 15 points in the game for Houston.
Harden will be the most important player for Houston in this series. But he has to bring effort on the defensive end, and draining the shot clock in hero-ball mode on the offensive end will only prevent consistent contributions from others as they struggle to find rhythm.
Winning On The Margins
Golden State committed fewer turnovers than Houston on Monday night, while committing fewer fouls and shooting better from the floor as well as from the line. In a mostly closely contested game, and in what promises to be a closely contested series, winning on those margins will matter. In Game 1 the defending champions did most of the little things better and imagine that, they won.
HIGHLIGHTS - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbBPgXWUOIw