NBA Playoffs 2015: Western Conference Finals Preview
Things seem to have hit an all time low for the Los Angeles Clippers as they were a quarter or two away from playing in their first conference finals as a franchise. The feeling of losing a game six to the Rockets after being up by so much late in the game was bad. But then to go into Houston for the game seven and not even have a lead throughout the whole game makes it feel so much worse. They only managed to tie it on their first shot and then it was all downhill from there. They controlled their own fate and could not take get to that elusive conference final. So with that loss the Western Conference final match up is set. The Golden State Warriors take on the newly rejuvenated Houston Rockets.
The Rockets, after becoming only the ninth team in the history of the NBA to come back from a series deficit being down, will look to move past the Golden State Warriors potent three point attack lead by Stephen Curry. The Rockets could be the best team to match up with them because they have their own array of three point shooters. No doubt the games will have a lot of threes being launched. Trevor Ariza will have to keep up his good play if they are going to win. The playoff tested veteran won a ring with the Lakers and brings a good amount of experience to the team. He put up a huge twenty-two points and made six threes in their game seven win. The Rockets just may bring the same intensity the Clippers brought to them after winning their own game seven against the Spurs in the first round. If they are to win they have to focus on some key things that make the Golden State Warriors so good.
What makes the Warriors look so good is the fact that they do the other basketball things so great. I say these are the “other” basketball things but in reality if any team is to be good they really should start with these things because they are fundamental to the game. The Warriors rebound intensely, whenever a shot goes up the players have their bodies on someone and do not usually give up big offensive rebounds. They also play stellar defense, it’s the combination of their intense defense coupled with their fast paced offense that led them to their NBA leading sixty-seven wins. The defense forces turnovers and they can run off them to create better looks for their offense. But if they are going to win they must keep James Harden off the free throw line. Almost half of his points in game seven came from the free throw line. The Clippers had been able to keep him from getting somewhat in the games they won but failed to do so to the end.
The series should provide an interesting match up to watch. If someone had told me these would be the last two teams standing in the West then I probably would have believed it. You have the current most valuable player going up against the guy who arguable should have won it. The two of them have provided so much entertainment throughout the year. Steph Curry has been a human highlight reel and James Harden’s emergence as one of the best players in the game is really fun to watch. It should be fun to see who leads their team into the finals.
