Western Conference Finals preview: Rockets' 'obsession' meets Warriors' toughest test

As soon as the Rockets acquired Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers, there was a sense of imminence that this would be the way the Western Conference Finals would be decided. The Thunder’s acquisitions of both Paul George and Carmelo Anthony were interesting, and the Timberwolves set themselves up nicely for the future after bringing in Jimmy Butler and Jeff Teague. But no move sent tremors throughout the league quite like the Rockets adding a Hall of Fame point guard to a team with a guy playing as well as anyone in the league over the last three seasons.

The payoff was immediate. The Rockets jumped out to an excellent start despite a few injuries to begin the season to all three of their top guys and haven’t looked back since. They finished the season with the best record in the regular season and have only lost two games this postseason as they look ahead to their matchup with the Warriors, who will continue to set the tone for the conference and the league until a team finds a way to disrupt their death lineup and top-heavy talent. If the Rockets are to be that team, they’ll not only have to play picture-perfect basketball for four of seven games, but they’ll have to impose their style of play on a team that has perfected its own.

On the surface, the Warriors and Rockets have similar offensive philosophies. There is a premium placed on the three-point shot with secondary actions working to get players looks at the rim. The midrange is avoided as much as possible, but neither team is going to pass up open looks when it gets them. The way in which each team generates these looks is wildly different.

For the Rockets, you’ll see a heavy dose of high pick-and-roll sets with Clint Capela as the screener an overwhelming majority of the time. With shooters in the corners and Capela working with either James Harden or Paul, there is a tremendous amount of space that lends to three-pointers off the dribble for Harden and open lanes for layups or kick-outs to the corners for Paul. While both Paul’s and Harden’s options are interchangeable, these are the kinds of patterns that have existed all year long. Capela has proven to be not just one of the game's best screeners, but he’s been a monster finishing around the rim this season, too. Eric Gordon, Trevor Ariza, Ryan Anderson and P.J. Tucker are all extremely comfortable in their roles, and if they’re knocking down shots, this is a team that is nearly impossible to defend.

For the Warriors, everything begins and ends with movement. Almost all parties involved in the offense are interchangeable depending on who is playing what is traditionally called the center. Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson can all initiate the offense in place of Steph Curry or Kevin Durant as long as the movement is constant, both player movement and ball movement. Curry and Durant have the green light to isolate off the dribble at any given time, and this green light just makes the offense run better when they keep everyone involved. Durant showed his ability to get the ball not just to the open man, but also to the man with tons of open space when New Orleans double-teamed him, and that often led to two and three extra passes that had the Pelicans scrambling. When the double didn’t come, Durant destroyed them on his own. You have to pick your poison with these Warriors and hope that you have the right antidote.

On the defensive end, they couldn’t be more different. Ideally, the Rockets funnel everything into the paint and allow Capela to clean up all messes. Ariza and Tucker have been excellent on the perimeter with a mixed bag between Harden, Paul and Gordon. Individually, they aren’t great, but as a unit they can be as good as anyone in the NBA. They finished with the sixth best defense in the league, and their ability to force tough shots and turnovers has as much to do with their top-ranked offense as Mike D’Antoni’s design. They could have a tough time against Golden State, however, considering that nearly everyone the Warriors put on the floor is a potential scoring threat. And the more time Capela has to spend guarding Green means the less time he spends around the paint protecting the rim. You should expect a lot of P&R action with Green and ball handlers to keep Capela away from the rim, and their off-ball actions should get them plenty of open looks right at the basket.

The Warriors, on the other hand, have myriad excellent individual defenders they can throw at Harden and Paul. Green can defend all five spots, and depending on who has it going, you can probably expect to see him spend time on just about everyone this series. Durant has grown into one of the NBA’s premier defenders with his length and quickness while Thompson has always been an excellent, keyed in defender — and everyone knows Andre Iguodala's defensive rep. Even Curry, who is limited in the range of players he can defend, has his moments on that end, especially in the passing lanes. They hadn’t been as great as a unit during the regular season as they have in years past, but they’ve turned things up these playoffs and have the best defensive rating in the postseason at 99.3 (the Rockets come in at No. 2 with a 102.1 dRTG).

There is no clear-cut advantage for either team aside from the fact that the Warriors have been here before. Both teams are as healthy as you could expect for a deep playoff run, and both teams have been nearly unbeatable while fully healthy. This one should be a doozy. Warriors in 7.