The Houston Rockets have failed wafer-thin to knock the Golden State Warriors off the west throne. How did they fail? Was your season a success anyway? So what happens to Chris Paul or Clint Capela in the off-season – and can the Texans afford LeBron James? SPOX highlights the most important questions.
In the not always high-class, but intensive and exciting Conference Finals the Houston Rockets failed in their seventh game due to the defending champion, the Golden State Warriors.
Especially bitter from the Rockets’ point of view was the fact that they were allowed to play this game in their own hall, which they had worked towards during the long Regular Season. With 65 victories (franchise record!) and 17 defeats they had dominated everything there, even the tiebreaker against the Dubs was theirs. This did not help, although the chances were undoubtedly great.
Already in game 6 at Golden State, the Texans had everything under their own control after taking a 3-2 lead in the series. Without injured Chris Paul, who was also to miss the next game, they led 39-22 after the first quarter, but lost after a devastating second half and were forced into this seventh game.
And they played better than the reigning champion at times, led 11 points at half-time and defended strongly – only to break in again. Especially the triple line didn’t work anymore and the previously euphoric Rockets fans in the Toyota Center had to watch the game slip away from their colours.
And so the spectacular Rockets season ended on Monday evening local time, while the Warriors enter the finals for the fourth time in a row. What is certain is that Houston will have a lot of work to do in the summer.
Page 1: What happened?
Page 2: What was the reason for it against the Warriors?
Page 3: How is the season of the Rockets to be evaluated?
Page 4: What can the Rockets do in the offseason?
Page 5: Can the Rockets LeBron James afford?