Spurs or Thunder will soon put Rockets out of their misery at long last

The Western Conference Finals is once again headed to a Game 7 after the Spurs stayed alive in Game 6. This will mark the first full-length series in the West Finals since 2018, and another fanbase will finally feel the same agonizing emotion of coming so close to a Finals appearance against a fellow juggernaut. That year, the Rockets had the best record in the NBA but fell in a heart-breaking Game 7 to the defending champion Warriors.

Rockets fans may experience painful flashbacks in Game 7

Of course, the 2018 Game 7 is the infamous contest where the Rockets missed 27 straight 3-pointers. If just a few of those had fallen, the final outcome may have been very different. Despite an all-time terrible shooting performance (7-of-44 from downtown as a team) the Rockets only lost by single digits, 101-92.

Houston fans are well past that era of the team now, and fully ready to embrace a new chapter with their current rising stars. Still, 2018 was the franchise's best shot at a title since their last championship in 1995. That year seemed like a magical one for the Rockets, as they won 65 games and James Harden took home the MVP.

Harden was dominating the entire league with his revolutionary style of hyper-efficient basketball that season, but it fell apart in the playoffs. When the open threes stopped falling, the Rockets weren't able to maintain their advantages or shift from their core philosophy in time. Both the Thunder and Spurs of today play a much more resilient style, including an emphasis on intense playoff defense.

But nearly every modern team relies heavily on its role players to hit open threes when given the chance, just as the 2018 Rockets did. If either the Spurs or Thunder don't hit their usual shots in Game 7, they will feel the pain that Houston fans have sadly remembered for nearly a decade.

Game 7 will have massive ripple effects regardless

For the Rockets, their 2018 Game 7 loss marked a huge wasted opportunity and ultimately led to the team's fallout. The next season, Chris Paul wasn't able to stay healthy and the Rockets eventually traded him to the Thunder for Russell Westbrook. That trade helped kickstart the Thunder's current powerhouse squad, while moving the Rockets closer to trading Harden and rebuilding.

Game 7 between the Spurs and Thunder could have similarly impactful butterfly effects. Both the Thunder and Spurs are young teams, but the loser could resort to desperate measures in an effort to surpass the 2026 Western Conference champion. Either team is liable to make big moves in the summer following a Game 7 loss (or even win), which could affect the entire NBA.

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