The Golden State Warriors ousted the Houston Rockets 110-106 in a hard-fought Game 1 victory, setting the tempo for what should be an exciting series. Here's what we learned that will dictate the rest of the Western Conference Finals:
1) The Rockets have to play pick-your-poison with the Splash Brothers
Houston can struggle on defense at times, especially on the perimeter without starting point guard Patrick Beverley, who has been out with a torn ligament in his wrist since March. Trevor Ariza limited Klay Thompson to 6/18 shooting, but they had no answer for Stephen Curry. Someone else is going to have to step up on defense for the Rockets or hope one of the Splash Brothers has an off night if they're going to win.
2) Golden State's small lineup is dominant
Andrew Bogut didn't score a single point for the Warriors in just 16 minutes of game action as head coach Steve Kerr's decision to play small-ball worked wonders for the Warriors. He went to various different three-guard lineups with Draymond Green essentially playing center, and they were able to speed the tempo of the game up because of that.
Houston's bigs of Josh Smith, Terrance Jones, and Clint Capela (Dwight Howard missed most of the game after suffering a knee injury) were constantly put in mismatches and were severely outplayed. Look for the Rockets to counter with a small lineup of their own in Game 2.
3) Role players will decide this series
Stephen Curry and James Harden essentially neutralized each other during this game, but the difference was the 18 points Golden State got off the bench from Shaun Livingston - including 16 in the first half. On the flip side, Houston only had three players in double figures (Harden, Ariza, and Smith), and didn't get any real contributions from any unexpected sources.
Back to the Golden State Warriors Newsfeed