The Golden State Warriors took Game 1 from the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday night, shaking off a slow start to cruise to a dominant 119-106 victory. The result was never really in doubt in the second half and the game itself showed us a lot about how the rest of the series might play out. Here are the three biggest things we learned from Game 1:
1) Draymond Green is capable of changing this series
Green got a technical foul in the opening minutes of last night's game for starting an altercation with James Harden and then got into a few more borderline situations with the refs during the course of the game.
"I was a bit overzealous, a bit amped up, but I'd rather that any day than coming out flat," Green said about the technical he got.
Green always plays with emotion that borders on the edge of extreme and we've seen it get him - and the Warriors - into trouble in the past. Remember, his ejection and subsequent one-game suspension completely changed the 2016 Finals, allowing the Cavs to come back and win that series.
He flirted with an ejection on several occasions in last night's game and, if that happens, Houston will have a major advantage and possibly gain momentum in the series while Golden State's defensive gameplan will completely fall apart.
The Warriors need Draymond to be Draymond, but they need him on the court.
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2) Houston's supporting cast needs to step up
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How did Houston lose despite getting 41 points from Harden and 23 points from Chris Paul? Only two other players scored in double figures and their major role players - Trevor Ariza, P.J. Tucker, Gerald Green, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute - combined for just 15 points.
On the flip side, the Warriors got an unexpected nine points from Nick Young, seven from Shaun Livingston, and 11 from Andre Iguodala.
As important as star players are in the playoffs, role players often make the difference in games between two relatively evenly-matched teams. Houston simply needs more from their supporting cast if they're going to get back into this series.
3) Golden State is still untouchable
The Rockets were the team that was created to best challenge the Warriors and, throughout the regular season, looked like they would be able to provide the Warriors with a stiff test. Golden State tried to put that notion to sleep on Monday night by dominating the final three quarters, showing a level of play the Rockets were simply not able to match.
The scary part? Stephen Curry only had 18 points and Green only made one shot. Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson carried the load in Game 1 but Golden State shot less than 40 percent from the three-point line and didn't get their normal contributions from some of their best players.
The Warriors are clearly the best team in the league and they reminded everyone of that in Game 1.
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