5 reasons why the Houston Rockets will beat the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs

#2 Ability to blow teams out in one quarter

There's no stopping James Harden on his day

James Harden has proved over and over again in his career, even in playoffs, that he can take over the game at any given point of time. Unless the Warriors are firing on all cylinders from the get-go, the Rockets have demonstrable ability to create separation from the Dubs.

The Rockets lead the league in first-quarter scoring. While they run a really predictable offense, when Paul and Harden are at full throttle, they can get open looks galore for their teammates to knock down. Time and again this season, the Rockets have made a mockery of a number of good teams in the league with 20-point leads taken in a handful of minutes.

On their day, they are demonstrably better on offense than any other team in the NBA, and can blow out even the likes of the Warriors with scoring bursts powered by their 3-point shooting, paint play, and isolations run by Harden and Paul, who are by far the best in the league this season in points per possession on isolation plays.