The Houston Rockets came so darn close to knocking off the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.
A team that was hand picked by general manager Daryl Morey to defeat the Warriors fell short in seven games. This came after star guard Chris Paul missed the final two games of the series to injury.
With that disappointment in the rear-view mirror, Morey is once again reiterating that he’s completely “obsessed” with defeating Golden State moving forward. When asked on ESPN where his obsession was on a scale of 1-10, the GM didn’t hold back.
“I’d say 10. I don’t understand the teams that aren’t obsessed with beating them,” he said. “To win the championship, you have to beat the Warriors.”
Rockets' GM Daryl Morey doesn't understand the teams that aren't obsessed with beating the Warriors. pic.twitter.com/L13j5R5Zv9
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 6, 2018
In no way is Morey wrong, especially when looking at the dynamics in the Western Conference. Golden State is in the midst of its fourth consecutive NBA Finals appearance. During that run, Steve Kerr’s squad has posted a 265-63 regular season record and is 48-14 in the Western Conference Playoffs.
Morey is also 100 percent correct in chasing the Warriors. If you’re not, what exactly are you doing in today’s NBA?
Houston has indicated that it is in good position to add even more talent to take on Golden State this summer. Unfortunately, recent reports that Chris Paul won’t take less to re-sign with the Rockets could hamper the team’s chase of LeBron James in free agency.
Even then, Morey has done a tremendous job building a roster that’s at least competitive against Golden State. That includes adding the likes of Chris Paul, Trevor Ariza and P.J. Tucker.
It will certainly be interesting to see what Houston does this summer. Morey has been among the game’s best general managers. Don’t expect that to change come July.