Practice interviews: Rockets make final playoff preparations for Game 1 versus Warriors
For a fourth consecutive day in advance of the 2025 NBA playoffs, the Rockets practiced Saturday at their new training center near Houston's West Loop.
Saturday's practice was the final one before their best-of-seven, first-round series (schedule) against Golden State begins on Sunday night inside Houston's Toyota Center.
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'If it's anything like our (NBA Cup) game against Golden State, it's gonna be freaking lit,' veteran center Steven Adams said of the potential atmosphere for the franchise's first home playoff game since May 2019. 'It's going to be turned up. That was ridiculous. That atmosphere was amazing.'
Golden State (48-34, No. 7 in Western Conference) won four fewer games than the Rockets (52-30, No. 2 in West) during the regular season, which is why Houston holds home-court advantage. The Warriors did win three of five head-to-head versus the Rockets, though Houston won two of the final three.
After the opening two games at Toyota Center, the next two games of the best-of-seven series will shift to San Francisco's Chase Center, as part of the NBA's 2-2-1-1-1 format. Should further games be necessary in order for one side to reach four wins and advance, a hypothetical Game 5 and Game 7 would be in Houston, while a Game 6 would be at Golden State.
Because the Rockets practiced fairly intensely over the previous three days, Saturday's practice was shorter and lighter in nature as the team works to be in optimal condition for Sunday's Game 1.
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By day, per Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle, Wednesday's practice focus was overall personnel; Thursday's was Houston's offense versus the Golden State defense; Friday's was Houston's defense versus the Warriors' offense; and Saturday's emphasis was on situational items, such as late-game sequences and after-timeout plays (ATOs).
Head coach Ime Udoka did reveal that veteran forward Jae'Sean Tate (ankle) and center Jock Landale (knee) would be medically unavailable to start the series. Tate injured his ankle in the final week of the 2024-25 regular season, while Landale banged knees at one of this week's practices. Their precise return timetables are not yet known, though neither was expected to feature in Houston's playing rotation for the playoffs, anyway.
Complete interviews are available for viewing below, along with select practice footage.
Steven Adams
Tari Eason
Ime Udoka
Saturday's Practice Footage
More: 'Journey to Liftoff': On eve of playoff return, Rockets release feature film
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Interviews: Tari Eason, Steven Adams, Ime Udoka on Rockets-Warriors
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