Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors Game 3 preview

The series shifts to San Francisco as both teams look to take a 2-1 lead

In Game 1, the young Houston Rockets met the experienced Golden State Warriors and the jitters were evident for Houston. Only one member of Houston’s young core, Alperen Sengun, played anything close to a good game. The Warriors didn’t play particularly well, but they made plays at the right times and made shots when it counted.

In Game 2, Houston shrug off the jitters and never let the Warriors feel like they were in the game. Multiple times, Golden State cut Houston’s lead to 11 or 12, only for the Rockets to go on a mini-run of their own and establish order.

Usually in the playoffs, young players play better at home and struggle on the road. The environment is unlike anything they’ve ever played in, and it can be a shocking experience. That’s the real question tonight for Houston: did Game 1 get out all of the jitters, or will Game 3 on the road bring them back with a vengeance?

Jimmy Butler III is “in serious jeopardy” of missing tonight’s contest, and I think it makes sense for the Warriors to sit him. The Rockets aren’t some juggernaut at home, and Golden State has to feel confident that they can take another game in H-Town. If the Warriors win tonight, they may even rest Butler again in Game 4 for even more healing time.

I’m sure that Warriors fans will say that they would have won Game 2 if Butler was available, but I think that’s a little insulting to Golden State’s role players, who all stepped up. Until some garbage time misses, the Warriors were shooting above 40% from deep as a team. It felt like every time the Rockets hit a shot that could have been a dagger, the Warriors came back and promptly hit a 3. Either that says something about Houston’s inability to put Golden State away or it shows that the Warriors have some young pups of their own that aren’t afraid of the moment.

It’s surprising that the line for this game still favors Golden State. Maybe Vegas knows that Butler is actually better than expected, or the expectation is that Houston will have jitters again and drop another clunker. Either way, the signs point to taking the Warriors and giving up the points here.

We’ll be in the Playback room tonight, so you should come join to watch the Rockets and talk about the game. Remember, we get a handful of VIP passes that we give out to anyone who wants to watch the game. No League Pass necessary!

Tip-off

7:30pm CT

How To Watch

ABC and Playback

Injury Report

Rockets

Jae’Sean Tate: GTD

Warriors

Jimmy Butler: GTD

The Line (as of this post)

GS -2.5

Check here for updates

Looking ahead because we can

Game 4 in San Francisco on Monday