The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets are currently engaged in a first-round slugfest that is tied at one game apiece. Only the Memphis Grizzlies are scoring less efficiently on offense in the postseason than they are in this defense-first matchup, as the officials have allowed a generally physical style of play.
That physicality led to some issues in Game 2. Early in the game, Amen Thompson crashed into Jimmy Butler while chasing an offensive rebound, knocking Golden State’s All-Star out for the game and possibly longer. In the fourth quarter, Jalen Green was handed a flagrant-one foul for elbowing Draymond Green.
Jimmy Butler’s injury could rewrite what looked like the final chapter of Jonathan Kuminga’s Warriors tenure
Sam Quinn
If all of that physicality is getting to the Warriors, though, they certainly aren’t showing it.
“I thought it was a little bit less physical than Game 1,” Draymond Green said after Game 2. Stephen Curry concurred. “Actually, I might agree with [Draymond that it was less physical],” Curry said. “There were a couple crashes that happened out there, but we know what they’re trying to do — use their size advantage at times to try to bully us. We held up a pretty good fight both games.”
The Warriors are veterans of the postseason and are therefore well aware of the mind games that can be played through the media. The last thing they’d want to do is show the Rockets that their physicality is getting to them. But whether it’s true or not, the Warriors aren’t trying to start a war of words here. Even Butler’s injury hasn’t gotten a reaction out of them. Steve Kerr called it “inadvertent,” and now the Warriors await word on Butler’s status.
Whether Butler can play in Game 3 or not, though, the Warriors are going to have to find a way to adjust to Houston’s athletic advantages. They’ve won the rebounding battle by 30 through two games. Jalen Green, Houston’s most dangerous scorer, dropped 38 on them in Game 2, and while most of that came from behind the arc, it also included several highlight finishes.
The Rockets are bigger than the Warriors. They’re faster and jump higher. Golden State has a massive shooting advantage, but Butler’s injury complicates things greatly for the Warriors. They might not be willing to express outward concern, but Houston’s physicality is a problem they are going to have to solve if they plan to win this series.
