ClutchFans Game Thread: Warriors @ Rockets 4/20/2025 (Playoffs Round 1, Game 1)

It’s not disrespect, it’s insiders and gamblers knowing that the NBA is all-in on the Lakers/GSW matchup and the Lakers in the finals. They call it inexperience with playoff basketball, but that is just code words for inexperience with the NBA’s priorities. Nothing will change unless a whistleblower and Congress gets involved (highly unlikely). The finals aren’t fixed, because the match-up is already set and who wins has no effect on the ratings.

 

One time it was more of an affectionate fore play.

 

It will be interesting to see how IME manages minutes in these young guys first playoff series.

If everyone is playing well , then there wont be any tough decisions. But if jalen or alpy throw up a stinker in G1 , how long of a leash will be given in G2, or same Q for amen .

I'm not rooting for anyone to play poorly, but I am rooting for my Guy TATE to get some big minutes. Dude deserves a shot after being here the whole rebuild AND im curious to see what they let him get away with on D . Could be a huge factor.

 

I have a feeling Uncle Jeff is going to be a big plus for us throughout the playoffs.

 

I find this narrative hard to believe, with all due respect. Not so much that the NBA puts their thumb on the scale a bit (that I can believe, to a certain degree). But that the whole thing is 100% fixed up the conference finals. I don't think you see Denver, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Toronto, or even Dallas in the Finals in recent years if the NBA is just rigging the whole thing. Okay, you can argue sometimes they let a smaller/less important market in to make it seem fair and boost those markets, but why so often? And if they're going to rig it like that so often, what's the point of rigging it anyway? Why not just let the best team win, it will result in randomized, close-enough-to-equal results (but slightly favoring larger markets who can swallow bigger tax payments).

 

This team feels like an all out upgrade from the Parsons-TJones-Dmo-Dwight-Lin-Hardrn team.

 

Honestly, if the NBA was fixed they would have had the Warriors win that Sunday game, they then get to play against the Lakers in the first round, which obviously would be the premier series for the first round and then it also sends the Clippers to Houston, which at least has a story of Harden coming back to Houston.

I feel like if the league really wanted that, why have the Warriors go through Houston first? Seems like a risk because we've beaten them before, all of our games has been close, really this series could go either way. Could be a sweet either way, could be a 7 game series with the 7th coming down to some lucky play.

If the league wanted Warriors/Lakers so bad, all they had to do was get the Clippers to lose that game.

Instead I think what happens is superstar calls. The refs are biased, we see this in every sport, and so when a superstar player misses a shot the refs can't help but think there was something other than good defense to have them miss the shot.

Players get reputations and the refs officiate accordingly. People should know we benefit from this, Amen is starting to benefit from it, everyone knows we play physical, the refs know it too, and either they let a basketball game be played or they foul out the Rockets

 

This makes a lot more sense to me, honestly. If there is any kind of unfair league directive, it's probably something along the lines of "just be sure the star players get theirs"--the guys they consider the "faces of the league". But even that doesn't necessarily have to be the reality, it could just be individual ref bias, as you point out. (And certainly some specific individual refs could be and probably are corrupt.)

 

The only way we’re winning this series is if we bring in Tom Hardy to deal with “the situation”.

 

did you watch the end of the griz game. 100% this is what the refs were trying to do with the calls. The griz were just too sucky to be able to do anything with it

 

Who cares? The question pertains to the Warriors and the Rockets, us as fans, so the Raptors and him having delivered before have 0 relevance. He could have used that to give a confident statement that they will beat them.

 

Well if the Grizz won than the Warriors would havbe only been able to play OKC and then the Grizz play the Rockets.

I think that is not at all favorable to the league. The Warriors don't get out of the first round and the Rockets-Grizz series is not nearly as exciting as the Rockets-Warriors.

I'd argue our series is the premier series this first round. Along side Clippers-Nuggets and Knicks-Pistons

 

Maybe the league dgaf about the warriors old azz and feel it is diminishing returns on their ratings and superstardom. Maybe they want to start building up new stars and not be screwed when the current stars retire. Maybe the league wants to punish jimmy for making the heat look bad and players have all the power. Maybe they don’t want that to become a trend. I think it is a better story if we win and get the monkey off our back and really start a new era.

Neither team is winning this year and it means more for us to make round 2.

 

You are contradicting yourself because if Tate plays, that means someone is playing poorly or someone got injured.

 

bro for most of tuesday’s game jimmy had more FT’s than entire grizz team

 

Ya golden state vs Houston is a better narrative than Memphis. Jimmy losing the playin is less of a story than losing in the first round. Idk maybe the league loves jimmy.

 

IDK man...I agree, we're a darkhorse, but I'd say no other team has given OKC issues other than us. Our problem is getting to meet OKC will mean having to go through the Warriors and Lakers...which we've beaten these teams so we know we can.

I don't want to hand out hopium but I feel like every #2 seed has that shot for a reason. We also have no idea how our young players will play. Maybe we have Playoff Sengun or Playoff Jalen or Playoff Tari or Playoff Bari or Playoff Amen?

I think we can do it, unlikely sure, but we've beaten every team on our side of the bracket, so its not impossible. It's not like we are the Grizzlies or Mavericks that actually have no shot at this.