NBA Playoffs: What should you know about the game 7 Rockets vs Warriors
The West Conference has two seventh games this weekend. How can each team advance and what are the key factors?
The second round of the NBA playoffs begins on Sunday, but before the Liga Advance, two seventh matches are emerging as important in the calendar.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves quickly eliminated their first round opponents, but the other two series of the West Conference have proven to be the most competitive of the first round of the NBA playoffs.
The Clippers forced a seventh game against the Denver Nuggets after a 111-105 victory over the Nuggets on Thursday, but they could not keep the pace as visitors on Saturday. Denver won 120-101 and advanced to face Thunder.
Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets, who lost 3-1 on Wednesday, kept their season alive with a 115-107 victory as visitors against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night. Both teams will face Sunday (6:30 PM CDMX / 8:30 PM ET, TNT) with the opportunity to face the Timberwolves in the second round.
With Nuggets already in the second round, what are the most important factors for game 7 on Sunday and how can both teams advance to the second round? Our NBA experts answer the most important questions of game 7 between Rockets and Warriors.
How can Warriors advance?
Golden State’s experience in the seventh playoff game must be a fundamental advantage on Sunday. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have played five games. Jimmy Butler has played four. Steve Kerr has also been a coach in four.
Warriors must resolve Houston’s defense and free Curry in attack. Curry scored 29 points in the sixth game, but only 13 in the second half, when he led 4 of 13. Curry and Green have a 3-2 historical record in seventh games, and won in a big way in Sacramento in their last seventh game in 2023, with Curry scoring 50 points. The Golden State star has averaged 32.6 points in seventh matches in her career, the fourth greatest amount for any player in the NBA history, only behind Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Michael Jordan, according to AM850 Research.
Butler will have to add another chapter to his legacy of “Playoff Jimmy” with an epic game in Houston. But Warriors need Curry and Butler to receive more offensive support. A third scorer must take a step forward, be it Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield or a Moody Moses that scored timely exterior shots to break that area. Green will also have to play as a defensive player of the year after being third in the vote for the award this season. Golden State must control their ball losses and control Fred Vanvleet. And, as if that were not enough, they would be good for an invitation. Kerr said that “everything is on the table” for the seventh game, including perhaps that Jonathan Kuminga has minutes of play. – Ohm Youngmisuk
How can rocks advance?
The IME UDOKA coach has preached the importance of consistency, play well and make simple moves again and again, so nothing has changed from that point of view. Houston has put the difficult things to Golden State when using his double -body alignments, which include some “necessity”, according to Uudoka, “to protect some clashes.”
Surprisingly, Rockets used zonal defense with the precise Stephen Curry shooter on the court.
“Our activity above is excellent, and the principles, obviously with Curry, and recognize where it is in the area, require a lot of communication,” said Umoka. “And if we keep it, we will cover the spaces behind.”
Golden State will look for ways in the seventh game to make Houston pay when he uses those schemes with Curry on the court. Houston needs to continue imposing his physique on veterans and injured Warriors, while he continues to win by scoring in the painting and scoring on a second opportunities. Umoka usually talks about Houston’s mantra of converting defense into an attack, which often allows rockets out and running. The Rockets scored 22 points after 17 Losses of Golden State ball in the sixth game. Players like Amempson Amen Thompson, Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green will be key for rockets to join points in counterattacks. – Michael C. Wright
How did they get here?
The Warriors took the first game in Houston, winning an encounter that, according to Steve Kerr, seemed taken from 1997 in terms of physicist, defense and the importance of each possession. Curry scored 31 points and Butler wore like the playoffs Jimmy with 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five robberies. Houston, however, recovered in the second game with a 109-94 win in which Jalen Green detached himself from the ball to score 38 points. Butler only played eight minutes in the first quarter after Ame Thompson made a low cut in a defensive rebound, which caused him a painful and deep bruise in the buttock.
Butler was lost the third game due to injury, but the Warriors achieved a 104-93 victory at home thanks to the 36 points, nine assists and seven curry rebounds. Golden State then took a clear advantage of 3-1 when Butler scored 14 of his 27 points in the last quarter and got the biggest rebound of the season after Draymond Green forced a failure of Alperen Sengun in the absence of 6.4 seconds.
However, the Rockets crushed Golden State in the fifth game, coming to advance by 31 points at the beginning of the third quarter before Kerr took their headlines in the absence of 5:50. In the sixth game, Golden State failed to close the series at home, failing 14 of its first 15 shots of the last quarter, which allowed Houston to chain a streak of 20-5. The Zonal Defense of Rockets has stopped Golden State and neutralized Curry sometimes, forcing a seventh game. – Youngmisuk
Key factors for the seventh game
The use of high double alignments by Houston, with Steven Adams and Sengun, has been a decisive element of this series. Golden State managed to win the fourth game despite being surpassed by 18 points in the 22.5 minutes that Adams and Sengun played together. With everything working in the fifth game, Umoka did not need to use its two pivots so much, but they achieved a +8 in 13 minutes.
The last quarter of the sixth game was the most important moment to date for Adams and Sengun, who shared the court for almost the entire period before both teams retired their headlines. The high doubles of the Rockets achieved a +9 in that period, and this time Umoka did not flinch when Steve Kerr committed an intentional lack of Adams, a change with respect to the fourth game, when Umoka withdrew Adams and did not recover it until the final two minutes, when the misunderstandings outside the play are considered technical faults.
Adams led 9 of 16 free throws in intentional offenses and Sengun achieved the rebounds of two of his failures, which resulted in 13 total points in eight possessions, which gives him an offensive assessment of 162.5.
Part of the challenge for the Warriors is that Houston has been able to use Adams – with a personal record records in this series – already Sengun in a hybrid defense that keeps a defender in Stephen Curry’s airspace at all times. Curry unchecked with 29 points and six triples in the sixth game, but only led 9 of 23 shots and lost five balls.
While Umoka has been finding new alignment combinations that work well, the Warriors coaching staff seems to not find the best quintet. Kerr put Payton in the sixth game to improve the defense of the team against Vanvleet, but the Rockets do not have to worry about Payton as a triple shooter like Brandin Podziemski. In addition to Curry, the other four Golden State headlines fired a combined total of 3 of 18 from the 3 -point line. – Pelton
