They were the two best players in the league all season. One, Stephen Curry, was the engine that made the Warriors go. Golden State was the NBA's top team all year and Curry was the primary reason why. But he wasn't the only reason. The Warriors are deep and have lots of weapons. They can win games in a variety of ways.
That's one of the areas where Curry was able to separate himself from James Harden, the MVP runner-up, this season. Curry has help, teammates who make his life easier. Harden, on the other hand, is required to do all of Houston's heavy lifting. Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, which Houston dropped to the Warriors 110-106, he was magnificent, scoring 28 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out nine assists. But everything was hard for him and he had little help.
Curry, on the other hand, was able to score 34 points and hit 13 of his 22 shots from the field seemingly without breaking a sweat. Shaun Livingston played his best game of the year (more on that below), which allowed Stephen Curry to play off the ball, which allowed the Warriors to run him off picks Reggie Miller-style. Most of Curry's field goals were assisted. He also didn't have to make every big shot, or play, for his team. Livingston had 16 points. Draymond Green had 13 points and a team-high eight assists.
Harden didn't have anyone helping him that way. Most of his shots looked like this.
Harden is great, but Houston's not going to beat the Warriors with shots like that. Golden State is not going to wear down, either. The Warriors can throw mutliple players at Harden. There's Klay Thompson, and Andre Iguodala, and Harrison Barnes, and Draymond Green, and Shaun Livingston.
This is part of Curry's brilliance. He's able to dominate in a way that makes the game look easy. It starts with that effortless release but it's also because of his understanding of how an offense should run. Teams can't load up on him because he never pounds the ball into the floor. They can't make one game plan for him because he can beat them in numerous ways. There's the pick-and-roll, which no one is better at running. There's the pull-up three-pointers. And, as we saw Tuesday night, there's his ability to play off the ball.
Coming into the series we knew Houston had no point guards who could stick with Curry when he had the ball. Now we know the Rockets also have no answer for Curry when he doesn't have it. Harden is fantastic, and clearly one of the best players in the NBA. But Curry was the MVP this season for a reason. In Game 1 we saw why.
3 other things we learned
Dwight Howard might be injured, and the Rockets might be cooked. The reason: Howard is the only answer Houston has for Golden State's small lineup. The Warriors were able to erase the Rockets' 16-point first half lead (with a 25-6 run) when they put the 6'9 Draymond Green at center. Normally, Howard would be able to dominate against this lineup, especially on the boards. But early in the first quarter Howard got tangled up with his teammate, Josh Smith, and appeared hobbled for the rest of the night. He spent most of the fourth quarter on the bench with what was labeled a left knee injury. This left Houston with no one to punish Golden State for going small. The Rockets tried to match that lineup by going small themselves, but they just don't have the bodies or talent. There's a reason the Warriors were +18 in the 16 minutes that Green was at center. If Howard can't bounce back soon, look for Steve Kerr to continue using this small lineup, and for the Rockets to continue to struggle.
Shaun Livingston's emergence could further tilt the series in Golden State's favor. Livingston had 18 points in Game 1, 16 of which came in the second half. It's no coincidence that Golden State was able to erase Houston's large first-half lead while Livingston was on the floor. His presence allows Steve Kerr to go small and play five players of similar heights who can switch on nearly every screen, and also to have Stephen Curry play off the ball. In Game 1 Houston had no answers for either of these things. It's unlikely that Livingston scores 18 points again this series. But he doesn't have to. All the Warriors need from him is solid play. If they get that, they can go with that small lineup which Steve Kerr loves, and which Houston seemingly has no answers for.
Houston needs to figure out a way to get James Harden some easier shots. Think about it like this: on Tuesday Harden played as well as a human being possibly could -- and his team still lost. Now, odds are that, going forward, he won't be able to hit the shots he did in Game 1. It's not an indictment of him, just an acknowledgment that it's really hard to hit a bunch of contested mid-range jump shots and layups in traffic. We know Harden has to score for Houston to beat Golden State. But Kevin McHale is going to have to get Harden some cleaner looks. The Warriors are too good defensively and have too many bodies to throw at Harden. Harden will wear down before they do.
Play of the Game
What's crazy about this play is how easy Curry made it look, and how none of us were surprised that he hit this shot. Yeah, he's pretty good.
2 fun things
Vince Vaughn's "Old School" character would be proud.
Draymond Green showed off his wrestling moves.
Final Score
Warriors 110, Rockets 106 (Golden State of Mind recap | The Dream Shake recap)