The Houston Rockets blew out the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of the Western Conference first-round series.
The Rockets trailed 3-1 before Wednesday’s game, so they knew they couldn’t afford another slip-up and needed to play with urgency from the first whistle.
Well, Ime Udoka’s team was up 76-49 at halftime after a dominant display, which allowed him to rest his best players for much of the third and fourth quarters.
Charles Barkley praised the Rockets for their excellent performance, but he was “surprised” it took until Game 5 to play that way.
Barkley explained that the Rockets’ success against the Warriors in Game 5 came from a change to their style of play.
The Hall of Fame power forward praised how quickly Udoka’s team attacked the Warriors, which they clearly couldn’t deal with in the first half.
His only criticism of Houston was that they waited until the last three games of the series. They better hope it works as well in Games 6 and 7.
“Well, number one… I’m surprised they broke this game plan out this late in the series,” Barkley said. “It’s been a knockdown, drag-out series. They’re not a good shooting team, and they’re not a good halfcourt team, other than [Alperen] Sengun.
“Man, they’re running this thing out of the building today. First of all, their defense is terrific. But they’re running and gunning and using their athletic ability. That’s the difference: the pace of the game.
“They’re really going at Golden State, and Jalen Green came out aggressive. He got a three-point play to start the game. Fred’s pushing it, and they’re running and gunning. Good job by Ime changing up the game plan.”
The Warriors have many strengths, from Steph Curry’s shooting and Draymond Green’s defense to Jimmy Butler’s two-way play and Steve Kerr’s coaching.
The obvious weakness on the Warriors’ roster is age. Their three best players, Curry, Green, and Butler, are all at least 35 years old. Plus, fellow starter Buddy Hield is 32.
This doesn’t mean they can’t defend. They were actually the seventh-best defense in the NBA in the 2024-25 regular season.
However, it does mean that transition defense against high-speed offenses can be an issue. That’s why the young Rockets team needs to play as quickly as possible to wear the Warriors out.
