West Conf. Finals - Game 1: Golden State Warriors 119 - 106 Houston Rockets - Rockets' Player Ratings

James Harden - 9/10

Stat line: 41 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 14-of-24 from the field, 5-of-9 on threes

The MVP-elect for most NBA fans and followers continued his impressive trend in game 1s of the 2018 playoffs, as he's scored 40+ in each of them this year. Although the end result is something he won't be happy with, The Beard had a fascinating cook-off with Kevin Durant that he ultimately shaded narrowly. His offensive game was, for the most part, on point on the night.

He averaged 1.69 points per isolation play (there were 14 of them on the night), and it didn't matter who the Warriors put on him as he scored in a variety of ways. The one knock on Harden on the night was the fact that he over-dribbled on a number of possessions as the Warriors forced some ugly possessions by the Rockets.

On defense, he was adequate, although Durant did score on him on a number of occasions. He mostly retreated to the post region as a weakside defender and caused significant trouble to the likes of Kevon Looney and Draymond Green. There wasn't much more one could expect out of Harden on the night.