2 weeks Ago
The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets are set to face each other in the NBA playoffs for the fifth time in 11 years, marking another chapter in the recent rivalry. After squaring for the first time in 2015, the two always seem to meet in the postseason. This time, both teams look very different.
The Rockets first faced a young, up-and-coming Warriors team in the playoffs 10 ago, back when Stephen Curry was making headlines with his first MVP award. Houston was also relatively new to deep postseason runs, led by 25-year-old James Harden with Dwight Howard as his co-star. In the Western Conference Finals, Golden State would take care of business in five games en route to its first of many NBA championships in the Curry era.
The next season, the two would face off in the first round of the playoffs, this time with the Warriors even more favored. The Rockets struggled to get to the postseason at 41-41 and were once again defeated in five games. Houston would finally get back to the Western Conference Finals in 2018, with Harden at the helm once again.
This time, the offense was totally revamped with head coach Mike D'Antoni, plus Harden's new co-star, Chris Paul. The Rockets went a league-best 65-17, and were looking like they could give Golden State a serious run for their money. We all know what happened next.
Houston would go up 3-2 with Harden and Paul playing some of the best basketball of their careers. Unfortunately, Paul went down in Game 5 with a hamstring injury, and the Warriors would come back to win the series from there. 2019 was more similar to 2016, with the Rockets being no match for the Warriors in round two of the postseason.
Houston would lose in six games, but not without Kevin Durant going down with a right calf strain in Game 5. After facing Golden State four times in five years, the Rockets would go into a rebuild a few years later in 2021. From there, the team would draft a plethora of players to form what is now a serious playoff team at 52-30.
Meanwhile, the Warriors have been trying to stay competitive with Curry and Draymond Green still on the roster since their first playoff meeting. This time, Klay Thompson is no longer Curry's running mate, rather Jimmy Butler. This first-round matchup will give Houston a good chance to make up for all of those years losing to the Warriors.
Even though no players from that era remain, the Rockets are hungry for their first playoff series win since 2020..
