Don’t be surprised that the San Antonio Spurs, the second best Western Conference team, were decisively beaten 126-99 by the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs. During the 82-game regular season, the Spurs and Rockets, both repping the state of Texas, played four times. As they did on Monday, Houston, the three-seeded team, beat the Spurs once on their home floor but succumbed the other three times during the season.
Each of the four games were close. Three of the four were decided by two points. The other, won by San Antonio in this version of a Subway Series, was by six. On average, the Spurs gave up 102.3 points per game in the four games while only clocking 104.3 themselves, which reminds me of something that I once heard Boston Celtic great Bill Russell say: “We never lost a game. We just didn’t have enough time to win it.” Houston could win again. Maybe take the series. (The Memphis Grizzlies gave the Spurs a difficult time in the first round that concluded last week in six games 4-2. One of the Spurs’ two losses went into overtime.) The series matches up not only two of the NBA’s top teams but also two of their marquee players, Kawhi Leonard (Spurs) against James Harden (Rockets).
Games 3 and 4 of this series resume in Houston tomorrow (Friday) and on Sunday, and then back to San Antonio for Game 5 Tuesday. The Spurs won five more games than the Rockets did this season, giving them home court advantage.
The impressive play of the Utah Jazz, the 5 seed against the L.A. Clippers, the 3, not only advanced the Jazz to the Western Conference semifinals, it confirmed conventional wisdom. The Clippers as a unit really aren’t that good. A change in the roster (players) or in management, or the direction of the team’s management, is needed.
Utah, who hasn’t been to the post season in five years, took Round 1 of the playoffs from L.A. in seven games to advance. The downside? A slight one. Utah, whose series ended on Sunday, now plays the best team in basketball, the Golden State Warriors, who until Tuesday have been off for seven days after beating the Portland Trailblazers four games straight, and without head coach Steve Kerr because of his severe back problems. Mike Brown, assistant coach, now heads this team until Kerr’s return.
What was impressive against L.A. wasn’t enough in northern California. The Warriors picked up right where they left off when crushing Portland, defeating the Jazz 106-94, doing what the Warriors do—pass the ball, fast break you, hit their open man, lay you up, shoot threes and deep twos, rebound and prevent second chance shots.
“We weren’t clicking, making shots early on, but our defense really gave us an opportunity to find that flow, and that’s what you need in the playoffs,” said guard Stephen Curry, who contributed 22 points in 30 minutes of play. The Warriors’ other four starters, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, Zaza Pachulia and Klay Thompson were also in double figures.
“This team puts pressure on you in so many different ways, particularly with the shooting,” said Quin Snyder, Utah’s head coach, who has a very short time to figure it out and prepare himself and his team for Game 2 tonight (Thursday), again in the Golden State, and Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday, at home in Utah.
