An early look at the Warriors’ first-round matchup with the Rockets

SAN FRANCISCO It took longer than they sought but the Warriors first-round playoff matchup is set With a thrilling - win over the Grizzlies in the play-in tournament Tuesday Golden State earned the seventh seed in the Western Conference and will rekindle an old rivalry to open the NBA playoffs The Houston Rockets await though they are a different gang than the one Steph Curry and Co ousted on four of their five trips to the NBA Finals from - The storyline There won t be James Harden or Chris Paul on the opposing bench this time but in their place is the bounty of a rebuild that blossomed into one of the league s preponderance exciting squads this season under coach Ime Udoka Udoka whom you ll remember from the Warriors NBA Finals battle with Boston has a talented young group of athletes fully bought into the his intense defensive style The coach indicated in the teams the greater part current matchup that he isn t afraid to mix it up himself jawing with Steph Curry just before halftime about the Rockets physical defense Warriors coach Steve Kerr will have to find a way to counter the length the Rockets get from Amen Thompson ppg reb Jabari Smith Jr ppg reb and Tari Eason ppg reb the size they have down low in Alperen Sengun ppg reb and Steven Adams and the pure scoring ability of Jalen Green ppg And sure to stir things up Dillon Brooks ppg provides another character from Golden State s postseason past The schedule Competition Warriors at Rockets Sun April TBD Contest Warriors at Rockets TBD Challenge Rockets at Warriors TBD Contest Rockets at Warriors TBD Competition Warriors at Rockets TBD Tournament Rockets at Warriors TBD Contest Warriors at Rockets TBD if necessary Season series GSW HOU - GSW Nov - GSW Dec - HOU Dec - GSW Feb - HOU April The Rockets are responsible for one of just seven losses the Warriors have been handed since Jimmy Butler III debuted on Feb Houston blitzed Curry for minutes and contained him to points on -of- shooting Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield combined to drain -pointers but Golden State turned the ball over times It went better for the Warriors in their first post-trade deadline meeting getting points from Curry and from Butler in his fourth championship with Golden State but Houston was playing without Eason and Fred VanVleet ppg ast in the - loss Key stat vs The series promises to be a brawl While the Warriors have been the NBA s best defensive company since adding Butler the Rockets have been doing it all season Golden State has allowed points per possessions in games with Butler Houston has allowed per over the discipline of games The Rockets also crash the glass and create second chances better than anyone leading the NBA with rebounds per contest and a league-best on offense X factor Playoff experience Related Articles Steph Curry Jimmy Butler carry Warriors to thrilling play-in preeminence over Grizzlies Moses Moody questionable for Warriors-Grizzlies play-in challenge Kerr talks guarding Morant Kuminga s role Warriors look to absolutely break through in NBA play-in tournament What can the Warriors expect from Playoff Jimmy Butler in the play-in and beyond Warriors would have preferred week off but we re not senior citizens The Rockets may be on the rise but the Warriors are wise with experience The future looks bright in Houston and the Rockets regular season was impressive But the fact remains that they haven t proven they can do it when the lights are the brightest The same can t be revealed for a company led by Curry Draymond Green and Butler The three have combined to play more postseason games than the Rockets entire roster Jalen Green Segun and Thompson make up Houston s three-headed monster and this weekend will be the postseason debuts for all three of them