James Harden: Rockets 'More Than Capable' of Upsetting Warriors in NBA Playoffs

James Harden isn't overawed as the Houston Rockets prepare for their second-round series against the Golden State Warriors.

"We're a very confident group of guys," Harden said, per ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon. "We're more than capable. We're excited about the opportunity. We know the difficulties and the challenges that are going to come along that way, but we're prepared for them."

In three of the past four seasons, the Warriors have dumped the Rockets out of the playoffs. Most recently, Golden State reeled off two straight wins against Houston after trailing 3-2 in the series to close out the 2018 Western Conference Finals.

Harden's confidence isn't misplaced, though.

The Rockets won three of their four head-to-head meetings in the regular season. Most importantly, Golden State is coming off a first round in which it looked very sluggish against the Los Angeles Clippers.

A team that lost DeAndre Jordan in the offseason and traded away its best player (Tobias Harris) in the middle of the year pushed the two-time defending champions to six games. Ultimately, the Clippers simply had no answer for Kevin Durant, who averaged 35.0 points while shooting 56.7 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from beyond the arc.

Houston will undoubtedly have a hard time keeping Durant in check. Unlike Los Angeles, it also has an offense that should be able to keep pace with Golden State and potentially further expose what was a shaky Warriors defense in the opening round.

According to NBA.com, the Warriors had a 111.5 defensive rating to open the playoffs, compared to a 108.5 defensive rating in the regular season.

Granted, the Rockets will need more from Harden than they got against the Utah Jazz. The MVP contender shot 37.4 percent from the field in the series. Houston still won when Harden shot 3-of-20—as he did in Game 3. That won't happen against the Warriors.

Harden and the Rockets can make an emphatic statement this year with a win in Game 1, which tips off Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.