Last season's Western Conference Finals was a battle for the ages. Bob Myers, Golden State Warriors general manager, admitted that their foes — the Houston Rockets — gave them the biggest challenge.
As per ClutchFans, Myers admitted that the Rockets concocted an excellent game plan. He also noted the unfortunate injury to Chris Paul in the last few ticks of Game 5. It forced Paul to sit out the last two games — both of equal importance.
Warriors GM Bob Myers said the Rockets "had a game plan that was almost flawless" in the WCF. "They had an injury (Chris Paul). Who knows, it's a hypothetical, but that mattered. They were clearly the biggest challenge we faced."
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) July 9, 2018
The Warriors and the Rockets were the best teams entering the playoffs. Critics and basketball fans alike believed that it was pretty inevitable that the two teams would eventually battle it out for the Western Conference title. And given that the East had a relatively weaker crop of teams, fans believed that whoever comes out of the West will most likely be crowned NBA champions.
Some discounted the Rockets, saying that their offensive playbook — which consists of shooting threes and driving for layups — is no match for the Warriors' highly-sophisticated offense. But as the series unfolded, the Rockets proved that they are legitimate championship contenders.
But as bad luck had it, Paul suffered an injury during the final moments of Game 5. They were up 3-2 at that point — just a win away from an NBA Finals appearance. Paul was ruled out in Game 6 — the Warriors took advantage of his absence and beat the Rockets to a pulp. Come Game 7, the Rockets' offensive playbook didn't work for them. In the most important game of the season, they shot a horrendous 15.9 percent from downtown.
Was it just bad luck that led to the Rockets' demise? Or the stubbornness to stick to something that's clearly broken? Who knows. Just expect the Rockets to come out stronger in the coming season.
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