On your mark, get set, go!
Track meet, drag race, whatever analogy you like, the Western Conference finals between the top-seeded Golden State Warriors and second-seeded Houston Rockets should be played at a breakneck pace by a pair of teams who are attempting to change the paradigm of NBA offenses.
During the regular season, the Warriors led the league in points per game, overall shooting and 3-point shooting. They were second in threes made and scored at least 110 points 40 times, going 37-3. Meanwhile, the Rockets were seventh in scoring and led the league in threes attempted and made. They also were second in free throws attempted and went 25-2 when scoring at least 110 points.
Neither team has broken stride in the postseason, where things are supposed to slow down. Golden State is fifth in scoring, second in overall shooting and 3-point shooting and leads all playoff teams in threes made and attempted. Houston is first in scoring, free throws made and attempted, second in threes made, third in threes attempted and overall shooting and has scored at least 108 points eight times, going 7-1.
And both teams couldn’t care less about being careless. The Warriors are 15th among 16 playoff teams in turnovers per game. The Rockets are dead last.
So of course, with all this firepower on display, this series probably will be decided by defense – which team plays it first in each game, and for longer stretches. That would seem to favor the Warriors.
After finishing a respectable 17th in points allowed and 12th in opponents’ shooting during the season, Houston is actually allowing more points than it scores in the postseason and is 13th in opponents shooting at .460, even with Dwight Howard at the rim. Meanwhile, Golden State is third in playoff defense at 94.2 points per game and fifth in opponents shooting at .429. And this is after finishing 15th in points allowed and first in opponents’ shooting during the season.
One piece of advice: Wait for timeouts to run to the kitchen for your beer and munchies. You might miss 12 or 14 points if you don’t.
Here are five things to watch in the Western Conference finals.
1. The lopsided season series. The Warriors swept all four games from the Rockets, whose supporters will tell you that those games don’t mean anything now. The teams haven’t played since Jan. 21, Howard missed two of those contests and forward Terrence Jones missed all four. In addition, in-season acquisitions Josh Smith and Corey Brewer weren’t around for the first two.
However, it was alarming at how easily Golden State handled Houston. Two games were utter blowouts and only one was truly close entering the fourth quarter. In the four games, the Warriors averaged 115 points while shooting 50 percent overall and 38 percent from three, with Stephen Curry shooting 58 percent overall and 52 percent from the arc.
Meanwhile, the Rockets averaged 99.8 points while shooting 40 percent overall and a brutal 29.5 percent from deep. James Harden was uncharacteristically inefficient, shooting 40 percent overall and just 24 percent from distance whole averaging 5.3 assists. Houston cannot revert to that form or this will be a very short series.
2. The MVP showdown between Stephen Curry and James Harden. We know this isn’t an actual showdown because Curry already was named MVP. But we’ve already pointed out on several occasions that Harden was just as deserving of the award. This is the 22nd time that the players who finished 1-2 in the MVP voting have met in the postseason, and the MVP is 14-7 all-time.
Yes, there will be times that they guard each other. Yes, it will painfully easy to compare their performances throughout the series. But what could decide who goes to the NBA Finals is which team is better when their alpha dog isn’t playing quite like an MVP. Thus far in the postseason, that has been the Rockets.
Harden shot a combined 9-of-28 in the first two games vs. Dallas, both wins. He also was just 21-of-60 over the last three games 
in the Clippers, also all wins. In that stretch was a 5-of-20 in Game 6 when he sat the entire fourth quarter as his teammates staged an incredible comeback.
By contrast, Curry’s worst two games of the playoffs were Games 2 and 3 vs. Memphis – both losses – in which he shot a combined 15-of-40, including 4-of-21 from the arc. Those marked the first two games this season Golden State lost when holding its foe below 100 points. The Warriors did survive his 6-of-16 with five turnovers in Game 5. But it seems like when Curry is a bit off, so are the Dubs.
3. Corey Brewer getting most of Houston’s minutes at shooting guard. For 16 seasons, Jason Terry has never been been afraid of taking – and making – a big shot. He won a championship ring with Dallas in 2011. But at 6-2 and 37 years old, it’s hard to envision him guarding either Curry or Klay Thompson for any extended stretch.
That is where Brewer comes in. Although he doesn’t stretch the floor as well as Terry, his 6-9 frame and dedication to defense could present problems for either Curry or Thompson, who made need a little more room to get off their shots against him. He is also more difficult to contain in transition and a better finisher than Terry, who is pretty much a one-trick pony at this point in his career. Expect to see a lot of Brewer, especially if he continues to shoot 35 percent from distance, as he has in the postseason.
4. The matchup in the middle. The Warriors don’t need Andrew Bogut to score, even with offensive-minded backup Marreese Speights out for another game or two. They need him to anchor the back line of their defense with his pick-and-roll coverage and 
shot-blocking while neutralizing the opposing center. He did just that against Memphis, helping hold Marc Gasol below 38 percent from the field and keeping the Grizzlies to a series average below 90 points.
If Bogut replicates that against Dwight Howard, the Warriors will win the series because the Rockets have needed scoring from Howard, who may be playing his best basketball of the season in the playoffs. He is averaging 18.8 points in eight postseason wins and 14.0 points in four losses. The Rockets also are 6-0 when Howard grabs at least 15 rebounds, so his level of engagement at both ends is crucial to Houston’s success. If Bogut can disengage Howard in any way – including some occasional rough stuff and intentionally fouling the 41 percent free-throw shooter – the Rockets will be in trouble.
5. The collective forgetfulness of the Rockets. Houston’s postseason has been a dream case study for sports psychologists. After dispatching the Dallas Mavericks in five games, the Rockets lost at home to the LA Clippers in the conference semifinals opener. They bounced back to win Game 2, then became the first playoff team in 14 years to lose consecutive games by at least 25 points. Looking dead in the water, Houston responded with three straight wins, including the stunning Game 6 comeback.
Because the Rockets rely so heavily on the three-ball and are prone to defensive lapses, they are almost impossible to read from game to game in the postseason. Solid two-way efforts are followed by disappearing acts. Awful offensive performances are followed by explosions of efficiency. So far, that has been a good thing; their inconsistency appeared to lull the Clippers into a false sense of security. Will the Warriors take the bait as well?
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Chris Bernucca is the managing editor of SheridanHoops.com. His columns appear Monday during the season. You can follow him on Twitter.