Golden State Warriors vs Houston Rockets Dream11 Prediction: Dream11 Fantasy Tips for GSW vs HOU | Game 2 as TSR helps you make the best Dream11 team
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Houston vs Golden State game 1 lived up to its top billing with a gutsy battle between arguably the two best teams in the NBA, that unfortunately will be known for its drama regarding the no-call fouls on James Harden and Chris Paul shots. While these fouls have been a matter of debate all through the season, it was a first when referees refused to call such fouls on the Harden jump shot. Harden who pushes both his feet forward after launching the shot to get contact on the way down, has been called a cheater and foul chaser who focuses more on getting contact than making his shot, despite being a great distance shooter.
The entire debate is about the landing zone on a jump shot. The NBA Rule Book states that when an offensive player goes up for a shot, the defender should not impede the landing zone of the shooter or else it could be a foul or even a flagrant foul as it can lead to serious injuries.
The problem however is the fact that Harden moves forward on his jump shot and that falls in the grey area where the refs interpretation is what matters and there is no specific rule on the same. The rule only applies for the player landing in the spot he takes off from. If there is forward motion, then it is up to the referees to decide whether that can be deemed a foul or not, therefore making it perfectly legitimate for the refs to not call such fouls, as long as they remained consistent throughout the games, which they did, by not calling the same fouls on the likes of Steph Curry as well.
Golden State Warriors vs Houston Rockets Dream11 Prediction
The starting 5 of the Houston Rockets had a 79 Offensive Rating, which is extremely poor and that is what the Rockets need to focus upon rather than getting further embroiled in the foul debate, which the Rockets are doing now by talking about a report they prepared on the 2018 Western Conference Finals to prove that Warriors are being helped by the Warriors. But the report is a bit of a joke, to hear it from the words of Tom Miller of SB Nation:
“To be sure, the Rockets’ report is hilarious and (without seeing the full thing) seems wacky. The best example Lowe and Nichols share in their story: the Rockets claim that because the officials didn’t call a blocking foul on Harden in Game 7 (something the NBA report considers inconclusive in review), they cost Houston two points, or the difference between Kevon Looney’s expected point value from free throws and what actually happened (a Kevin Durant three). So somehow, this turn of events — Harden getting the benefit of a swallowed whistle on defense — is proof … the officials are biased against the Rockets? Riiiiiight.”
Either way, the Rockets need to pick up their offense, especially with Scott Foster the official in game 2, they can expect no favors after ranting on him the last few games they have played, with the previous game resulting in fines on Harden and ejections of Chris Paul and Mike D’Antoni. Warriors for their part need Steph Curry to be better than a corner shooter in this series the way he did last season. Kevin Durant, James Harden and Draymond Green were all on fire in the Game 1 while Curry, Thompson and CP3 were passive and unimpressive. Who steps up in Game 2 will tell us if this series gets leveled or the Warriors go up 2 to nothing.
Star Player:
- James Harden
- Kevin Durant
- Draymond Green
