Houston Rockets: Can they break the Warriors streak?

The Houston Rockets will travel to Oakland and attempt to do what no other team has done in the Kevin Durant era.

After losing Game 1 and having half of the NBA world declare this series over, the Rockets bounced back and blew out the Warriors in Game 2.

Now, the Rockets will travel to Oakland to play the Warriors on their own court. Since Kevin Durant joined the Warriors in the summer of 2016, Golden State is 15-0 on their home floor. The talent of the Warriors coupled with one of the loudest crowds in the NBA has made Oracle Arena among the most difficult arenas to win in.

If there is one team in the league that can win in Oakland, its Houston. The Rockets won a league best 31 games on the road in the regular season. The Rockets are 3-1 on the road in this postseason and they took two big games in Utah after the Jazz won a game in Houston.

In order to win on the Warriors home floor, James Harden wants the Rockets to be the more aggressive team, via the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen.

“I think so. You look back at that Utah series, we lose Game 2 and take our focus to another level and have a pretty good game in Game 3, and get greedy and win Game 4. So the same thing happened. We knew how difficult it was going to be, but we didn’t come out (in Game 2 against the Warriors) with the approach of it being that difficult, in the sense that we lost Game 1. We had that mindset, after the loss, to be the aggressor. We have to keep that same mentality in Game 3, and no matter where we are. If we have that mindset, we’re in good hands.”

The Rockets just have to carry the same defensive intensity from Game 2 into Game 3. They have to get into the bodies of the Warriors players and force as many turnovers and Kevin Durant isolation plays as possible.

When the Warriors get out of their usual rhythm, they start to miss more shots and they have a tendency to get a little loose with the ball. At that point, the Rockets are able to capitalize in transition and get into their offense earlier in the shot clock.

Next: Chris Paul is fine despite slight foot injury in Game 2

That’s the formula that worked in Game 2 and there’s no reason it won’t work again in Game 3.