The Houston Rockets will officially face the Warriors in the second round

The opponent of the Houston Rockets in the second round has officially been decided. They will play the Golden State Warriors, as expected, after they defeated the eight-seeded LA Clippers in six games.

After a little bit of waiting, the Houston Rockets now know who they will be playing in the second round starting next week. The Golden State Warriors took care of business tonight, beating the Clippers in dominating fashion on their way to winning their series in six games.

The couple of wins by the Clippers bought the Rockets a bit more time to rest and they will have that advantage heading into the Conference Semifinals. The two teams facing off are likely the two best in the West (if not the league), so it unfortunate to see them meet in just the second round of the postseason.

Golden State is stumbling a bit after dropping those games to the eight-seeded Clippers in this opening round. They are less focused than they normally are and look more beatable than ever. Is this the year that Houston breaks through or are the Warriors just toying around before finally turning on the jets?

Series beginning

This series is going to begin on Sunday in the 2:30 p.m. ABC time slot, as the battle between these two teams is easily the best second-round series. Here is the full schedule for the fun battle coming up:

#Rockets-Warriors Second Round Playoff Schedule.

Game 3 in Houston next Saturday night. pic.twitter.com/THodV4U0st

— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) April 27, 2019

There are a few injury storylines to look out for as well. Clint Capela is recovering from the multiple illnesses that he had in the first round that limited his productivity. James Harden also was seen with a wrap around his left hand, but insisted that he was perfectly fine.

For the Warriors, both Steph Curry and Klay Thompson had instances where they rolled their ankles tonight. With just one day to rest until the next series begins, this could affect the beginning of the next round for Golden State.

The Rockets are already in California and will practice tomorrow. The series will start in Oakland, where the Warriors have struggled so far this postseason. Both of their losses in the first round came at home in front of their roaring audience. Can the Rockets steal one, or more, of these games on the road and come back to Houston with a serious advantage? We’ll see starting on Sunday!