While it may have been a grind, the Golden State Warriors finally punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night.
Even though the final few games of the season were a bit rocky, the slate is now clean and the Warriors have a solid opportunity to make a deep playoff run, with the Houston Rockets the first team standing in their way.
The Rockets are a very familiar playoff foe for the Warriors, but this isn’t the James Harden-led team from the late 2010s. The new Rockets are young, hungry and are looking to cement themselves as a factor in the Western Conference for years to come.
A pair of individual matchups could define outcome of Warriors-Rockets
The biggest defining matchup for the Warriors-Rockets series is Amen Thompson vs. Stephen Curry. The last time the two teams met, Houston tried putting their young defensive ace on Curry, and it was wildly successful.
A win in that game was key for the Warriors’ attempt at avoiding the Play-In Tournament, but Thompson’s defense on Curry shut the Warriors down as the 2x MVP went just 1-of-10 in the game and only scored three points.
Obviously, the whole series isn’t going to look like that. No defender has ever truly figured out how to shut down Curry (besides a game here and there). Over a full playoff series, we can expect the Warriors’ coaching staff and Curry to figure out how to overcome Thompson’s defense. Still, if Houston's defensive ace can limit the 37-year-old for multiple games in the series, Golden State are going to have some trouble.
The next most crucial matchup figures in the front court where the Rockets are bigger and more athletic. Alperun Sengun and Steven Adams are big bodies down low, and Jabari Smith Jr. and Thompson have the length and athleticism that can trouble the Warriors on both ends of the floor.
A huge factor in this series is whether Draymond Green can contain Sengun, and if the rest of the Warriors can help keep players like Adams off the glass. Sengun is an All-Star offensive talent and when he's feeling it, the 22-year-old can be the folcrum of the Houston offense with his scoring and playmaking out of the post.
However, Green and Golden State have held Sengun in check pretty well this season. Sengun finished the regular season averaging 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists, shooting nearly 50% from the field. Yet against Green and the Warriors, he averaged only 17 points while shooting 47%. Although not a huge difference, keeping Sengun in check could be a defining factor in the the series.
Not only are the Curry-Thompson and Green-Sengun matchups set to be pivotal to the final series result, but they also typify the overall battle between an experienced, playoff proven squad and one that's young, energetic and ready to make their mark.