At what point does pressure shift from the Rockets to the Warriors? After Rockets win game 5? Game 6? Game 7? or Never?
If the series shifts back to Houston then there will be pressure on them because the narrative will be that they dropped one in Oakland and now the rockets are feeling like they can do what they did to the clippers and pull off the miracle. Or something like that.
Before game 4, I said (not on here) that one injury could totally change this series. John Wall's injury changed the Wiz-Hawks series. Conley/Allen injuries totally changed the Warriors/Grizzlies series. If one of the Curry/Thompson/Bogut/Green sustains an injury and is out for the series, the pressure will shift to the Warriors that remain.
too soon to poll. every game is an elimination game for us. pressure is on our side, until we win the series if it happens.
If we would have won game 2 the pressure is on them since we are playing with house money. Doubt it though, do or die for us 3 games in a row now.
The pressure has been on Golden State since they took the 3-0 lead. They HAVE to win one more game. Houston doesn't. They should be playing free and easy.
If the Rockets win Game 5, the pressure starts to shift to the Warriors(especially if Cleveland wraps up the East tonight). If the Rockets win Game 6, that Golden State locker room will be in full panic mode.
I picked Game 5 because. . . . If the Cavs Sweep. Now Golden State has been caught looking ahead. Now they concerned about The Cavs Healing and resting After Game 6 . . .they would be a little panicked Rocket River
I'm with most here. Rockets would have to win game 5 for the pressure to really matter. I don't buy into the pressure argument to begin with, but if the Rockets can force a game 6 on their home court, then MAYBE the Warriors start feeling some doubt. Generally speaking though the "pressure" myth is a media narrative that doesn't hold up. Every time a team goes up 3-0 so far they've won.
Game 5 would give me hope, but no pressure on Warriors. Winning game 6 would put pressure on the Warriors.
This type of statement is so silly to me. If there was this "pressure" on teams that are supposed to win, then you would think that teams up 3-0 would have failed at least once by now.
The pressure is on the Warriors. Going home, you are expected to close out a team that you had in a 3-0 hole. They had pressure in game 4, and they have pressure now, and if we win game 5 they will have pressure in game 6. The only game we had pressure in was game 3, which we lost. Going down to a 3-0 hole gave all the pressure to GS and will remain on them to close us out.
I don't think it's on the Warriors one bit until we win one on their home court. Right now they don't even know we exist. We've beaten them 1 time in 8 tries. Make them fly back to Houston and we'll see which of their players step up and which ones fade. Right now though, game 5, at their house - we're just an insignificant fly they're waiting to squash.
Never? It is so difficult to close out a series in the NBA that pressure will always be on the team with the lead. Also, Houston will be feeling pressure to not get embarrassed. The pressure never switches, just the justification for the pressure that each team will feel.
They're ball movement is so damn predictable. Our guys were figuring them out. Almost every big man drive dishes to the other big man. Almost every close out will get a pump fake - reset. The swing arounds are predictable too. As a Rockets fan you started to see where the ball would go a mile away, and you were glad to see our guys were more than often seeing that too.