HOUSTON — The Golden State Warriors are in the unfamiliar position of opening on the road as they prepare for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals Monday night with the top-seeded Rockets in Houston in the series many have been awaiting all season.
It’s the first time the No. 2 Warriors have been in a playoff series without home-court advantage since 2014 when they lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 4-3 in the opening round.
For a team that matched the Chicago Bulls’ record of 15 straight home playoff victories, the feeling is a bit unsettling.
“It’s different,” Coach Steve Kerr said. “I think our guys, they are taking the challenge and they’re embracing it. They feel like, ‘OK, we don’t have home court for the first time,’ but we seem to be at our best when we are threatened. That’s been kind of the M.O. of this team. We’re definitely threatened. We’re on the road for Game 1. We’ve never felt that.”
The Rockets, who earned the top seed for the first time by winning 65 games in the regular season, are certainly happy to be opening at home, but aren’t sure if it’s that much of an advantage in this series.
“It’s better to have it than not … it’s important but they can win away from home, we can win away from home,” Coach Mike D’Antoni said.
“This might be a series where you lose one or two and then win four in a row – either side. Because they’re capable of it.”
This will be their third playoff meeting in the past four years, with the Warriors winning both previous meetings. They downed the Rockets 4-1 in 2015 in Houston’s previous trip to the conference finals and ousted the team from the playoffs in the first round in 2016.
The defending champion Warriors are looking to reach the finals for the fourth straight year. For the Rockets, a win would put them in the finals for the first time since 1995, when they won the second of back-to-back titles.
“These guys are champions for a reason and they’ve shown on the big stage that they can perform at a very, very, very high level,” said D’Antoni.
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