Former Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale believes the Golden State Warriors can certainly be dethroned, and it won't even be in the 2018 NBA Finals. In a recent interview with Justin Terranova of the New York Post, McHale was asked whether he thought Golden State could be beaten in a seven-game playoff series, he named one team after answering in the affirmative.
“I think Houston. Chris Paul gives them another playmaker. If teams are loading up on (Harden) and he’s having a tough night, Paul can create and let James get off the ball, which is huge for Houston,” McHale said. “They are all just hitting cylinders. They added Joe Johnson, who is another shooter. And then a bunch of guys who could give them energy, like Trevor Ariza, Luc Mbah a Moute. They have a really good defensive unit, which hasn’t always been the case.”
The Rockets are simply on a roll right now, as they are now the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoff race heading into the All-Star break. The Houston hype-train is real and flying down the tracks right now to the tune of a 10-game winning streak and the league's best record at 44-13.
When asked by Terranova if the Rockets' addition of Paul over the offseason via trade helps cover up the off-court leadership concerns McHale had with Harden, the former Houston head coach was a little perplexed by the question.
“It wasn’t off the floor, I don’t even know what off-the-court leadership means. When you have situations on the floor when you need to get stops and have that voice that comes out, James gets more quiet,” McHale said. “Now he can get off the ball, make a 3 and work his way back into the game. I think (having) Paul on the floor will make a difference, yes.”
The Rockets took the regular season series from the Warriors, winning two of the three games. They most certainly will meet again in the playoffs and it should be an epic matchup.
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