West Conf. Finals - Game 1: Golden State Warriors 119-106 Houston Rockets - 5 Talking Points

#4 Rockets defense gets picked apart

Kevin Durant and Draymond Green

Oh yeah!

We need to have a conversation about that improved Houston defense supposedly giving them a good chance at beating the Warriors. The Golden State offense basically had their way against the Rockets, shooting 54.8% at the half. They slowed down in the 2nd, but still ended up shooting 52.5% for the game.

They also managed to shoot almost 40% from beyond the arc. If the Rockets defense doesn't get better, this series might be over in a hurry. Sure, the point can be made that KD just went bonkers and that won't happen again, but Curry had a relatively quiet game and that probably isn't happening again either.

The Warriors, on the other hand, were their usual solid self on defense, led by Draymond Green who had another excellent game on defense. Their only concern from a defensive standpoint would be Curry getting torched by pretty much everyone on the Rockets, especially Harden. Curry often found himself switched on Harden and the Beard had his way with him. They'll have to do a better job of hiding him on defense.