Rockets vs. Warriors: Whom to Watch in Game 5
Everyone's anxious to see how Stephen Curry rebounds from a head contusion and whether James Harden can duplicate his 45-point performance from Game 4, but they're just two of the players to keep an eye on as the Golden State Warriors look to clinch the other spot in the NBA Finals with a win over the Houston Rockets in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
Harden couldn't have played a better game than he did on Monday night.
The Houston superstar shot 13 of 22 from the field, including 7-of-11 from behind the arc. He took advantage of Curry's absence for a significant part of the game and carried the Rockets to a double-digit victory.
But with the exception of Game 3, Harden's had a good series. The Rockets still find themselves down 3-1 because Curry has played like the guy who beat him out in the MVP race, and his supporting cast has done its part.
Curry was limited to 31 minutes Monday night due to the head injury he suffered after taking a hard fall to the ground in the second quarter, and he didn't look all the way there once he returned to the floor.
Elliott Almond of the San Jose Mercury News spoke to Cindy Chang, the founder of the California Concussion Coalition, who chimed in on Curry's injury.
"You can't always tell how bad a concussion will be until 24 hours later," Chang said, according to Almond. "We all saw the injury on TV and saw how shocked and stunned he appeared after the injury."
He passed all the concussion tests, but it will be worth monitoring in Game 5.
Regardless of whether Curry's dealing with any lingering symptoms, the Warriors could use repeat performances out of Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, who had to carry the load offensively with their best player out.
Thompson—who has struggled mightily in this series—had his best game by far in Game 4, shooting six of 13 from deep and finishing with 24 points.
According to Rusty Simmons of SFGate.com, Thompson didn't do much differently on Monday night. With the Warriors down big, he lofted up more shots, and they just so happened to go in, unlike earlier in the series.
Thompson doesn't appear overly concerned about his recent struggles. Per Simmons, he said:
"I just saw one shot go in and I was really hunting my shot. Why not let it fly at that point? We were down 20 and playing with nothing to lose...I've played this game long enough to know that I'm going to have shooting slumps. The ball is not always going to go in as much as I want it to, but you can't let that dictate how hard you play.
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ESPN Stats and Info noted on Twitter how Thompson's Game 4 performance compared to the first three games of the series.
If Thompson can knock down his outside shots with the same consistency he did in Game 4, that can really open up the floor for Green.
Green has had himself a pretty good series, but he stepped it up in Game 4, scoring an efficient 21 points, 12 of which came in the paint, according to the ESPN.com shot chart.
When Thompson and Curry both find their strokes from downtown, the opposing team typically prioritizes perimeter defense, making things easier for Green down low.
Presuming Curry plays the way he has for most of the playoffs and Thompson and Green build off of Game 4, the Rockets can be in big trouble—especially since the game's at the Oracle Arena.
That brings us to the next "player" to watch—the Golden State faithful.
More so than Dwight Howard, who hasn't been able to dominate in the post much this series as he deals with a knee sprain, and even Josh Smith, who had a nice 20-point showing in Game 4, Warriors fans will be a big reason why Houston's season ends Wednesday night.
Golden State has lost three times at home during the regular season and playoffs combined.
The fourth won't come in Game 5.
Curry will ignite the Warriors and the crowd with another lights-out shooting performance that sends the Rockets home.
