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The Houston Rocketsare betting underdogs in their first-round playoff series against Golden State. The Warriors won three of the five head-to-head meetings in the 2024-25 season and have significantly more postseason experience between Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green.
Yet, Houston (52-30) holds home-court advantage as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference for a reason. Led by the likes of Defensive Player of the Year candidate Amen Thompson, All-Star center Alperen Sengun, and leading scorer Jalen Green, the younger Rockets won four more games than the Warriors (48-34). They also improved as the season moved along — including wins in two of the final three matchups versus Golden State.
Both teams were defensively dominant against the other in head-to-head meetings.
Since the Rockets had a superior record, the first two games will be played at Houston's Toyota Center, starting with Sunday night's Game 1. Then, under the NBA's 2-2-1-1-1 format, the next two games of the best-of-seven series (schedule) will be at San Francisco's Chase Center.
Should further games be necessary in order for one side to reach four wins and advance, a hypothetical Game 5 and Game 7 would be in Houston, while a Game 6 would be at Golden State.
More: 2025 NBA playoffs: Rockets learn first-round opponent, schedule versus Warriors
There is considerable postseason history between the Curry-led Warriors and the Rockets, with Golden State eliminating Houston from the playoffs in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. However, those were all Houston teams led by former star James Harden. None of the current players or coaches were with the Rockets in any of those series losses.
So, six years later — and in Houston's first playoff appearance since 2020 — will this finally be the year for the Rockets to break through against the Warriors in the playoffs?
Here is a roundup of what NBA media members and analysts across numerous platforms are thinking in the days leading up to Sunday's series opener. For a neutral perspective, we're excluding predictions from people who directly cover either the Warriors or Rockets.
Warriors in 6
Warriors in 6
Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley pick Rockets, Shaquille O’Neal picks Warriors
Warriors in 6
Zach Lowe predicts Warriors in 7, Michael Pina predicts Rockets in 7
Other USA TODAY series predictions
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Rockets-Warriors predictions: How NBA analysts view the playoff series
Continue reading...
Yet, Houston (52-30) holds home-court advantage as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference for a reason. Led by the likes of Defensive Player of the Year candidate Amen Thompson, All-Star center Alperen Sengun, and leading scorer Jalen Green, the younger Rockets won four more games than the Warriors (48-34). They also improved as the season moved along — including wins in two of the final three matchups versus Golden State.
Both teams were defensively dominant against the other in head-to-head meetings.
Since the Rockets had a superior record, the first two games will be played at Houston's Toyota Center, starting with Sunday night's Game 1. Then, under the NBA's 2-2-1-1-1 format, the next two games of the best-of-seven series (schedule) will be at San Francisco's Chase Center.
Should further games be necessary in order for one side to reach four wins and advance, a hypothetical Game 5 and Game 7 would be in Houston, while a Game 6 would be at Golden State.
More: 2025 NBA playoffs: Rockets learn first-round opponent, schedule versus Warriors
There is considerable postseason history between the Curry-led Warriors and the Rockets, with Golden State eliminating Houston from the playoffs in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019. However, those were all Houston teams led by former star James Harden. None of the current players or coaches were with the Rockets in any of those series losses.
So, six years later — and in Houston's first playoff appearance since 2020 — will this finally be the year for the Rockets to break through against the Warriors in the playoffs?
Here is a roundup of what NBA media members and analysts across numerous platforms are thinking in the days leading up to Sunday's series opener. For a neutral perspective, we're excluding predictions from people who directly cover either the Warriors or Rockets.
ESPN
Kevin O’Connor
"My series prediction is Houston in 6..."
- Kevin O'Connor[@KevinOConnorNBA] via The KOC Show
Thoughts?#Rockets#LiftOffpic.twitter.com/GcxAbfERXa
— Chris Gorman (@GormanChristoph) April 16, 2025
John Schuhmann, NBA.com
Warriors in 6
John Hollinger, The Athletic
Warriors in 6
TNT’s Inside the NBA
Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley pick Rockets, Shaquille O’Neal picks Warriors
Dan Devine, Yahoo! Sports
Warriors in 6
The Ringer: The Zach Lowe Show
Zach Lowe predicts Warriors in 7, Michael Pina predicts Rockets in 7
"Rockets in 7..."
- Michael Pina[@MichaelVPina] via The Zach Lowe Show on Rockets vs Warriors
Thoughts?#Rockets#Liftoffpic.twitter.com/zULeeFWv5w
— Chris Gorman (@GormanChristoph) April 17, 2025
USA TODAY
- Lorenzo Reyes: Rockets in 5
- Heather Tucker: Rockets in 6
- James Williams: Rockets in 7
- Jeff Zillgitt: Warriors in 7
Other USA TODAY series predictions
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Rockets-Warriors predictions: How NBA analysts view the playoff series
Continue reading...
