How Warriors plan to combat Houston’s rough-and-tumble style in playoffs

SAN FRANCISCO – One does not have to look far to find reasons for the Warriors to have bad blood with the upstart Rockets during the team’s first-round Western Conference playoff series that starts in Houston on Sunday.

As a member of the Grizzlies, Houston wing Dillon Brooks unleashed a flagrant foul that broke Gary Payton II’s elbow during Golden State’s championship run in 2022.

Warriors forward Draymond Green infamously kicked Steven Adams in the ground during the 2016 playoffs when the center was playing with Oklahoma City, and Rockets coach Ime Udoka recently was seen talking trash with Steph Curry during the teams’ April matchup.

So it is no surprise that staying cool and collected was a major point of emphasis for the seventh seeded Golden State.

On Friday morning at Chase Center, longtime coach Steve Kerr said the much needed four-day rest between Tuesday’s play-in win over Memphis and the Sunday showdown in Texas will help the team abide by that mandate.

“The rest and preparation that’s going into this, I think that will helps us be composed and poised, because that’s what it takes in the playoffs,” Kerr said.

Saying it might be easier than doing it considering the way Houston – fourth in defensive rating (110.8) and tops in offensive rebounding per game (14.6) – approaches the game against a team it held to under 100 points in 3-of-5 matchups.

Kerr invoked the names of fellow coaching greats Pat Riley and Chuck Daly when discussing how his opponent plays.

The Rockets had no problem grabbing, holding and daring the officials to bog the game down with whistles when they beat the Warriors 106-96 on April 6. It is a tactic those legendary coaches did not hesitate to employ during Kerr’s playing days during the 1990s, and a play-style that has once again become more prevalent in 2025.

Officials called only 18.6 fouls per game, the lowest in NBA history. Houston was whistled for just 19 a game, while the Warriors were a smidge over at 19.2 a night.

“The game, this year in general, is more physical,” Kerr said. “They’re letting more stuff go, and that’s all part of the equation. It’s not anything we worry about or talk about.”

The Rockets’ gameplan of sticking the uber-athlete Amen Thompson onto Curry and having the San Leandro native play tight man-to-man on- and off-ball contributed to the Warriors superstar shooting just 1-of-10 and scoring three points.

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No matter how the No. 2 seeded Rockets decide to guard the league’s all-time leading 3-point shooter, Curry’s teammate believes that poor shooting night was nothing more than a one-off.

“What I do know is that they’re not holding him to three points again,” Warriors big man Quinten Post said, before pausing for a beat and adding, “I know that for a fact.”

Kerr emphasized Curry’s ability to play off his teammates thanks to his elite understanding of spacing and positioning, and breakout second-year guard Brandin Podziemski said that the Warriors will look to take advantage of his pace to stay a step ahead of the Rockets (52-30).

“Spacing, cutting, transition,” Podziemski said. “Because they’re really good when they score and can set up their defense in the half court and play with so much pressure. ”

While the Rockets have their fair share of playoff experience, including Adams, Brooks and former Warrior slayer Fred VanVleet, no team in the league has a group that can match Golden State’s postseason pedigree.

“A factor for us is always playoff experience, and I mean, we’ve been at this for a long time and the fact that Steph and Draymond and Loon are still here, 10 years later, is remarkable,” said Kerr, who also praised perennial playoff riser Jimmy Butler.

And if veteran wiles is not enough, Golden State (48-34) is not above a little rough play too.

“By the way, we’re a very physical team too, and we’ve been very good defensively in the playoffs by playing a physical game,” Kerr said. “So I welcome all of that.”