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Warriors Playoff Scouting Report: Houston Rockets Guards

By Andrew Ites

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MAY 6: Chris Paul #3 and James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets look on during the national anthem before the game against the Utah Jazz during Game Four of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 6, 2018 at the Vivint Smart Home Arena Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MAY 6: Chris Paul #3 and James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets look on during the national anthem before the game against the Utah Jazz during Game Four of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on May 6, 2018 at the Vivint Smart Home Arena Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The biggest matchup in the Warriors’ Conference Finals series with the Rockets will be at the two guard positions.

There will be a ton of Hall of Fame talent on the floor when the Warriors and Rockets face off to determine which team will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.

Houston’s Hall of Fame talent is represented by their superstar guards James Harden and Chris Paul.

Harden is the favorite to win the MVP award as he averaged 30.4 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per game with a true shooting percentage of 61.9% during the regular season.

Harden earned a regular season player efficiency rating of 29.8, and he is currently second in the league in ESPN’s real plus-minus metric behind his teammate Chris Paul.

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CP3 averaged 18.6 points, 7.9 assists, and 1.7 steals per game during the regular season with a PER of 24.4 as he provided the reliable second option that the Rockets desperately needed.

Paul is coming off of possibly the best game of his career as he dropped 41 points and 10 assists on the Jazz with 7 rebounds and 0 turnovers as the Rockets clinched a berth in the Conference Finals.

Paul has taken a larger scoring role in the playoffs as he’s averaged 3.2 more points a game through 10 postseason games than he did during the regular season.

Harden has been extremely hot and cold in the playoffs thus far.

He’s scored more than 40 points in two of their 10 games, but he has an unspectacular true shooting percentage of 55.5% in the postseason and he’s been held under 20 points twice in this year’s playoff run.

With Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala in the starting lineup, the Warriors have two players who can match up pretty well with the Rockets’ pair of guards.

Draymond Green’s incredible help defense will also contribute to Golden State’s effort to contain Harden and Paul, and Kevin Durant can add some extra length around the rim.

While the Warriors matchup better with Houston than pretty much any other team, Paul and Harden are so talented that they will probably put up a couple of incredible individual performances in this series.

Next: Who will guard Clint Capela?

In order to slow down the Rockets’ high-powered offense, Golden State will need to prevent their guards from getting penetration and making plays.

That will require the Warriors to give their best defensive effort of the season in this series.

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