Since when do Rockets *implode*? - SB Nation

The Houston Rockets fought all season for home court advantage, and won it, and ... it disappeared faster than a Kevin Durant burner account after a misfired tweet. The Golden State Warriors took Game 1 of the highly anticipated Western Conference Finals 119-106 on the road Monday. Now Houston has to win at least once in Oakland to take the series.

The real concerning thing for Houston is that James Harden went off (41 points on 24 shots, 7 assists). Their defense just wasn't good enough. Against these Warriors, no one's defense is usually good enough. Durant was throwing darts all night (37 points on 27 shots), Golden State limited their turnovers, and Klay Thompson hit six threes. There's not much anyone can do, especially with Trevor Ariza stricken with foul trouble all night.

Golden State has a decided talent advantage, and should win the series. But Houston proved its offense can hang with the Warriors for long stretches. The Rockets just need to find something to make Durant less comfortable and something to goad Golden State into tossing the ball around a little less carefully. Good luck, Houston.

Monday's Score

Warriors 119, Rockets 106
Golden State leads 1-0
Recaps: Golden State Of Mind | The Dream Shake

Tuesday's Schedule

NBA Draft Lottery, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Cavaliers at Celtics, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Boston leads 1-0

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Links Galore

Read Paul Flannery on why these Celtics aren't like last year's Celtics. Game 2 on Tuesday is going to tell us an awful lot, innit?

I wrote about the Rockets' championship window. (It'll be open for a while.) Tim Cato wrote about all the reasons one should or should not trust the Rockets. Zito Madu brought out an appreciation of the mid-range jumper as shot by Chris Paul and Kevin Durant.

Ramona Shelburne's excellent gamer includes this mind-blowing stat: the Rockets ran more iso plays than any other team in the past five years. I mean ... wasn't Kobe Bryant still active five years ago?

Kristian Winfield on how the Celtics defense shut down LeBron. Kristian Winfield on how Kevin Durant exploited the Rockets.

Smart Howard Beck piece on how Mike D'Antoni has embraced a style he used to loathe.

Really cool piece from Marc Spears on new Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce, who he knew from their San Jose roots. I did not know Pierce played with Steve Nash at Santa Clara.

If you bet the Warriors to make the NBA Finals at a certain casino owned by the owner of the Rockets franchise, you've already won.

Speaking of betting, the Supreme Court repealed a law restricting states from allowing sports betting within their borders. Here are the winners and losers from that decision. Not a gambler? I feel you. The short "Why should I care?" from this in that case is that this *could* mean additional revenue for the NBA (and other leagues you may or may not care about). That could mean some labor strife, too, if the league(s) argue this income should not be split with players because it's earmarked to ensure there's no match-fixing or point-shaving. Here's a good Brian Windhorst read on that angle. The other short "Why should I care?" is that some of your favorite sportswriters are going to turn into the text versions of those sports radio Vegas insider bros hyped up on Monsters and Rockstars. Not that there's anything wrong with that. As the great Meek Mill said, scared money don't make no money.

Chris Herring on how the Rockets and Warriors reinvented defense.

The Sixers aren't being shy about chasing LeBron. Someone's going to get a sternly worded letter from Dan Gilbert.

WTH was this, Scott Foster? (I feel like you can say that sentence a couple of times any game Scott Foster works.)

Some heat from Tiffany M. Davis: the NBA respects women ... until it doesn't.

Dan Woike on Chris Paul's plan to win a title in Houston.

The Raptors and Bucks are both chasing Mike Budenholzer. If the money and years are similar, that's an interesting choice for Bud: a power who might have peaked, or an untapped upstart with a weird ownership situation?

Rick O'Donnell's final pre-lottery mock draft got the Bulls the No. 1 pick and Luka Doncic. Fancy that?

Speaking of Wonder Boy (that's Doncic's nickname, not O'Donnell's, although ...) here's everything you need to know about the Euroleague Final Four. The semifinals are Friday (starting at noon ET) and the championship game is Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.

Aind finally: Klay Thompson with the chef's kiss emoji for the Houston crowd. Your favorite grandpa trapped in a millennial's body could never.

Be excellent to each other.

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