Rockets and Warriors face off in Western Conference Finals

The NBA Finals are right around the corner, and the teams that are competing for a finals appearance from the Western Conference are the Houston Rockets, and the Golden State Warriors. These teams have been the best in the West all year and no other teams were even close to them by the time the regular season wrapped up. The two seeded Warriors were nine games ahead of the third seeded Trail Blazers when the regular season ended.

The dominance of the Warriors and Rockets continued into the playoffs. Coming into the Conference Finals, the Warrior’s playoff record was 8-2, and the Rockets were sitting at 8-2 in the playoffs as well.

So far in the Conference Finals, the series has been neck and neck. The Warriors won game one 119-106, then the Rockets took game two 127-105. The Warriors would gain the series lead again in game three winning in blowout fashion 126-85, and the Rockets last night tied the series up again winning 95-92, the closest game of the series.

Some GHS students have been very entertained by the series so far.

“It’s been very back and forth and very exciting,” sophomore Thomas Hess said. “Last night was the only game that has been close, so it’s hard to tell who’s going to win the series.”

Besides game four, it’s no question that all other games were one sided. The Warriors 92 point scoring outing was their lowest of the whole playoffs so far. The Rockets 85 point performance in game three was also their lowest scoring game of the playoffs.

Freshman Maxwell Steele thinks that the Warriors will beat the Rockets because of defense.

“Both teams have great offenses,” Steele said. “But the Warriors have a much better defense. That’s why they have the edge this series and why they will win the Finals.”

The Warrior’s defense has been without a doubt the best in the NBA the past few years. Guard Klay Thompson and Forward Draymond Green are some of the best defenders in the league. The Rockets don’t have defenders such as Green and Thompson on their roster which does give the Warriors a slight edge in the defensive category.

Sophomore Samuel Muth thinks the Rockets will still beat the Warriors despite having a worse defense.

“Their offense is unstoppable,” Muth said. “James Harden is the best scorer in the league, and Chris Paul and Eric Gordon are great scorers as well. The Warrior’s defense isn’t good enough to consistently stop them.”

The Western Conference Finals has been a series with many blowouts so far and only one close game, but GHS students are still engaged in the series and are finding it exciting. With the series tied at 2-2, the series is up for both teams at this point. The Warriors and Rockets are arguably the two best teams in the NBA, so whoever wins this series has a good shot at winning the finals.