Who is the Real Threat to the Warriors?

Since 2015, the season long question/debate/point of conversation has always been "can anyone pose or be a viably true competitor for the Golden State Warriors?" More so for the Western Conference, it has been a season long point of conversation ahead of the playoffs. Few teams have "enjoyed" even the slightest bit of success, and even less than that can say they have a blue print and approach to deploy versus them, rather than an relying on an anomaly or "out of body" experience to sustain some sim success vs them. Many teams have conceded to moral victories versus them in this stretch. Others have looked good on paper in matching up with them, without the results to match. The latter of that last statement is what has left a majority of the NBA befuddled and GM's frustrated beyond measure.

However, there is one constant who has remained formidable the last handful of seasons not only on paper but well equipped match-up wise, as well as with a viable philosophy on both ends. The Houston Rockets, specifically under Mike D'Antoni and with Chris Paul.

The tier below the Rockets:

A lot of people would have rebuttalling counterpoints along the lines of mentioning Oklahoma City, and the Denver Nuggets for this season against the Warriors. However, for either of those teams to beat the Warriors in a seven game series, they would need an out of body experience or two to tilt things into their favor. In a series versus the best assembled roster in NBA history (five all stars, a dpoy winner, 2 MVP winners, etc.), the least "if's" you have, the better. Those two teams, although they are very good in their individual regards, just do not have it.

The Nuggets are the biggest wildcard because there is so much that remains to be seen for them when the lights shine the brightest on the playoff stage. Their best player Nikola Jokic is a match-up problem, but that prowess he has on the offensive end can be matched by how much of a target he would be in the pick and roll due to his lack of lateral mobility and foot speed. He is also often too passive on the offensive end, and when those shots are not falling from the myriad assemblage of streaky shooters the Nuggets have compiled, that's when the Warriors could and likely would pounce. Denver also leaves much to be desired on the defensive end against the Wests elite scoring teams as well. The Nuggets are just too young and do not quite have the star power necessary for this heavyweight match-up when it matters most. Ironically, they somewhat resemble the Warriors from 2013 (the last time the Warriors lost on the playoffs) and are on a similar trajectory path when you look at their roster. They have plenty young talent, one clear cut best player, a very solid coach, and a bright future. This year, as presently constructed, is just not the time for them.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are well assembled and more equipt for this match-up than the aforementioned Nuggets. The Thunder have more viable bodies on paper in both the scoring and defending department, but their stretches where they are seemingly inept of 3-pt shooting are a relevant recurrence of inconsistency at this point. In those stretches, needless to say, the Warriors would likely create insurmountable separation. The Thunder do also have a very solid and consistent team defense to rely on, and also have an abundance of length and bouncy athletes to deploy as well. They also have great rebounding presences 1-5. However, if you cannot score enough, you simply cannot compete. There are only so many stops you can get versus the Warriors, and not having the firepower offensively is eventually going to come back to bite you. The Thunder also have a tendency to turn the ball over at a higher rate, in large part due to their play initiator being Russell Westbrook more often than not. For as many assists as he gets, he is typically a high volume turnover suspect as well. He's not as gifted as a point guard like Steve Nash or Chris Paul who can rack up extremely large assist totals with little to no turnovers. That in combination with how sometimes his heart charging approach (which gets the best of him sometimes in trying to outplay his match-up in superstar match-ups) is another adversity in the way of OKC.

Why is Houston the best match up again?

No the Rockets are not perfect, and yes they have questions of their own. However the Rockets quite simply have ways of covering up those flaws, and have a proven track record in both the regular season and the playoffs to validate their status. This playing style and roster, which can erupt not unlike the Warriors can, match-up well across the board and they also have two of the three best passers and playmakers in the NBA. The tandem attack of James Harden and Chris Paul is as dynamic a guard combination as the league has ever seen. Along with those entities, they have a plethora of "3 and D" players (of varying statures) that are consistent enough in those roles to hold it down on the wing defensively. Iman Shumpert, Danuel House Jr., PJ Tucker. Along with that, the Rockets have both Chris Paul and Austin Rivers who are both above average defenders in the pick and roll as well as one on one. The Rockets now have great depth to deploy. There are defenders, scorers, playmakers, high energy rebounders, and veteran savvy IQ along with a chemistry that allows for them to directly match-up with the Warriors.

Two summers ago, the Houston Rockets assembled a roster that was able to match up with the Warriors in a way that no other team has been able to in this stretch of dominance from the reigning champions. The Rockets had the correct combination of continuity, skill, star level talent, and most importantly, chemistry. Even Warriors GM Bob Myers admitted to this over the summer. In response to being asked if there was a time he thought they would lose to the Rockets in the playoffs last season, Myers responded with, "Oh yeah... when we lost game 4. I feel like you can never give away a playoff game. Especially at home... for us to lose our composure -- and Houston had a lot to do with that... I thought maybe this isn't it." On another occasion he admitted that against last seasons Rockets, it was the most anyone has pushed them in this stretch. To be humbly commended like this says a lot. Very rarely have the Warriors been "scared" in more that one game in any series, especially one not involving LeBron James.

Speaking to the Rockets of this season, their core has returned. They are back with a better version of MVP Harden, a spry version of Chris Paul, and a more complete version of Clint Capela. Couple that with Eric Gordon and the ever reliant PJ Tucker (who is the quintessential role player). This core has made for the teams starting line-up for the majority of this season, and effectively so. Gordon, a well-known Sixth Man of the Year winner, has allowed for coach Mike D'Antoni to do something that teams can rarely get away with, and that is insert your sixth man into the starting line-up without losing that firepower off the bench. This is because they now have very quietly compiled a bench that is even deeper than last season's version, making them potentially tougher to beat come playoff time.

The bench guys being Austin Rivers, Gerald Green, Iman Shumpert, and Kenneth Faried make for an extremely solid nine-man rotation. Add in Danuel House Jr., who agreed to a rest of the season deal after he was sent back to the G League two months ago due to his two way contract stipulations, and that is their 10-man rotation. House, who started during the Rockets' previous win streak of 6 games at the turn of the calendar, makes the rotation that much more dynamic. Each of the aforementioned players making up the bench have skills that compliment each other and fit extremely well combined with plenty high stakes experience that is invaluable at this point of the season.

Although regular season results rarely prove relevant when it comes to post season series previews, it is worth noting that the Rockets went 3-1 vs the Warriors this season, winning yet another season series in this ongoing heavyweight series.

The Rockets have a taste in their mouths that they have not forgotten about, being the results of last seasons Western Conference Finals where they feel that if Chris Paul did not get hurt at the end of Game 5 in Houston, they would have closed out the series and went on to the NBA Finals. No one can say they are wrong regarding that, as there is more than enough evidence that in the games Chris Paul played, his impact individually on both ends was so relevant that his absence really tilted the scale.

The Warriors finished the season in 1st place, and the Rockets in 4th. So if we are to get this much anticipated series, it would come a round earlier than last seasons 7 game gauntlet, but each would also need to handle their business against two of the more pesky teams in the playoffs being the Clippers and the Jazz respectively. I predict that each teams opening round series will be done convincingly and rather early via a sweep or gentleman's sweep. Allowing for both to rest and gameplan for a couple of days while the other series' finish.

Not in any way to neglect the teams in the way of this looming rematch, but last season Rockets GM Daryl Morey admitted to the fact that he and his staff are all in on dethroning this juggernaut. "It's the only thing we think about... we're obsessed with 'How do we beat the Warriors.'" This is exactly what the roster has shaped into and all roster additions have aligned accordingly.

Tactically, the Rockets play in an ever-switching defensive scheme, which is much to the strengths of James Harden specifically. He is then, often times put in a situation where his typical liability on defense can be neutralized because of his strength in the post on defense, as well as the Rockets being able to use their strong help defense to cover up for his shortcomings as well.

They've beat the Warriors 2 times without one of their 2 best players, each of these wins in Oracle on top of that, then the other win being the first of the season in this match-up.

Since the All-Star break, the Rockets have been top 3 in the league efficiency wise on both offense and defense. They are playing their best basketball and have all of their players healthy, and intact just in time for the most important part of the season.

Should we be gifted with this series again, I will have a series preview up to check out a more in-depth look at the two teams when they share the court. Until then, it is playoff time with the first games tipping off early Saturday.

I do, however, have the Rockets getting past the Warriors in the second round.

This playoffs will have a lot at stake from players and pending free agency decisions, to front office decisions this summer, and roster construct moving forward.

With that being said, let the games begin.