As soon as the words,
"THE ROCKETS CAN'T BEAT THE WARRIORS, " were spoken by Charles Barkley, my fate was sealed. And, it is these words that might also seal the fate of the Golden State Warriors.
On any other day, spoken by any other human, I "may" have agreed. I will say this, that until I heard these words spoken by the incomparable Charles Barkley
In spite of the US Supreme Court Ruling today that would allow legalized gambling in every state in the Union, I am not nor am I going to be a "betting man." That does not stop me from picking teams, and if it wasn't for the Barkley Curse I would have gone with Warriors, but in 7 games. 6 at the very least.
But that fate reversed it's course when as soon as the "Rockets" landed in that phrase spoken by Chuckles.
I don't particularly care for the Rockets Team and have disdain for former Lakers' Coach, Mike D'Antoni.— Juan Cortes (@showtime17505) May 9, 2018
That being said, since Chuckles Barkley said, " the Rockets CAN'T beat the Warriors," and "Warriors in 5., " I am going with HOU in 7, SMH, reluctantly. https://t.co/FLeJOdv8dG
SO, I am going to tell you WHY THE ROCKETS CAN BEAT THE WARRIORS:
1) I have a problem with anyone telling anyone else, especially sports teams on this level, that they "Can't" do something. Rest assured that these quotes have been plastered all over the bulletin boards in H-Town. Anyone can beat anyone on ANY given Day
2) Didn't the Rockets have the best record in the NBA this season?
3) Flukey things happen, ie calls, ejections, or an injury that can change the course of 1 game which may dictate the end result of a series. So, the unpredictable is in play!
4) Chris Paul: CP3 is On a Mission (NOT a NEWS FLASH)
5) The Scoring Threesome of James Harden, Chris Paul and Eric Gordon is going to put a lot more pressure on the Warriors defense than any other team
14.1 (#1) MADE 3-pointers to 9.8 (#11 GSW)
6) To go along with a high powered offense with multiple weapons,
the Rockets actually HAVE A DEFENSE!
(#6 in the regular season (GSW #9) and number 2 in the playoffs (GSW #1)
7) Trevor Ariza vs Kevin Durant: I assume the Rockets will look (mostly) to Ariza to defend Durant. With the talent around the perimeter putting added pressure on guys like Steph Curry (between CP3 and Harden) Ariza and co (Capela) will be able to make things tougher on Durant than most teams have been able to do. If Ariza has an ALL-Star worthy defensive campaign againt Durant, Houston wins.
8) Houston is only allowing 10.7 Points off Turn-Overs to the opposition and Golden State is allowing 15.9
9) Two-In-One stat(s): HOU allowing opposition 8.9 points off second chance opps vs GSW at 12.2, AND HOU allowing 10.4 to opp off Fast Breaks vs GSW 13.6pts
Most ALL other "stats" are comparable except for the aforementioned_ 2018 NBA PLAYOFF sample
and, finally
10) Because Charles Barkley picked the Warriors in FIVE !
