I didn't see the game but I think the Rockets are the best matchup against the Warriors. If Kawhi were healthy I'd consider the Spurs too but it sounds like his injury is not healing nearly as fast as expected.
I think the Thunder and Spurs match up best with GS. The Rockets are the same olé D'Antoni teams, you really want to get into a shoot out with a team with Durant, Curry and Thompson. Plus Houston will be dead tired going into the playoffs.
Finito points out why Houston vs Golden State isn't a very good matchup. They'd be a great matchup in a 3 game series but Golden State's depth is too much for D'Antoni. Golden State also has enough defense that the Rockets would shoot themselves in the foot by trying to outscore them because GS would get stops and then score unmatched points while they're running.
Westbrook played great against Golden State though and now that he doesn't need to carry his team he's able to focus on particular aspects of his game he excels at and allow George and Melo to do their thing also, which makes a big difference overall. He was actually playing good defense, which surprised me some. The lineup of Westbook, Roberson, George, Melo, and Adams matches up really well against the Warriors, even when they had Iggy out there in place of Zaza. I'd like OKC's chances better if they still had Kanter but Adams played really well the other night. He's not the offensive player that Kanter was but with Westbrook, George, and Melo you don't really need more offense. I do wonder how their depth will stack up against the Warriors in 7 games but I think Westbrook would view beating KD like winning a title and this year he has the roster that allows them to at least put up one hell of a fight. The rosters have changed but OKC did have a 3-1 lead over the Warriors before Durant switched teams. Westbrook taking the next step in becoming a superstar along with Carmelo and George though makes this year's Thunder as dangerous as the Thunder were that year. Donavon is a good coach who doesn't get enough credit for being a good coach since he's had top 5 players since he's been there. This win will give them confidence for the next time they meet and more importantly it will allow Westbrook to trust his teammates a bit more because he can't do it alone, this year he doesn't need to.
Of course Golden State has the better offense overall but OKC has better scorers. They managed to keep the pace down and keep Golden State from taking the shots they wanted and getting in rhythm. Curry is the best shooter in the NBA but he's not that good of a scorer and that's what OKC tried to force him into being. Roberson was able to guard him with George on KD, and Roberson could smother Curry behind the 3 point line to keep him from a good look and then played him tight enough that he couldn't drive and score like KD does. George can guard Durant as well as anyone can but he made it possible for Roberson to guard Curry which was a big difference compared to last year. Westbrook played like a scoring PG instead of a guy trying to take over the game single handedly which was different, like he was 2 years ago. I caught about 3/4 of the game and OKC is the first team I've seen build a big lead over the Warriors that appeared safe, they just matched up with them really well. They were able to trade baskets when needed but also do so a bit slower that kept the Warriors setting the pace. The Warriors can score in bunches quickly but that didn't seem possible with how OKC played them. It wasn't a grind it out style but they worked the clock enough to keep GS from running that much. They meet again February 6th, February 24th, and April 6th, both games in February will be in Oakland so we'll see how OKC does on the road.
