Houston Rockets center Steven Adams (12) pressures a shot by Golden State Warriors forward Kevon Looney (5) during the first half of Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series at Toyota Center in Houston, Sunday, April 20, 2025.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had no problem disclosing the key to his team’s first-round series against the Houston Rockets late Sunday night.
“They know where their advantage lies,” Kerr said after a 95-85 win over the Rockets in Game 1 at Toyota Center. “Playing [Steven] Adams a lot.”
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Nope, not Alperen Şengün, Houston’s All-Star center who scored a team-high 26 points Sunday night. Not Jalen Green, nor Fred VanVleet, nor Amen Thompson, either. Instead, Kerr’s focus postgame remained on Houston’s reserve center, a player on his fourth NBA team who missed more than 20 months between January 2023 and October 2024 due to knee surgery. Kerr’s choice for the most important Rocket may seem strange to outsiders. Flip on the tape of Game 1, and Adams’ impact is immediate and obvious.
Extended Steven Adams highlights from Game 1 vs Warriors…19 MIN | 6 PTS 3-4 FG | 12 REB 5 OREB | 1 AST | +4 +/-Adams changed the game in his minutes… NetRtg REB%Adams on +11.1 71%
Adams off -31.2 50% pic.twitter.com/Ige7Amhp8M
— Steven Adams Stats (@funakistats) April 21, 2025
Houston’s offense against Golden State in Game 1 was abysmal, highlighted by a combined 7-for-34 shooting night from Green and VanVleet. How did the Rockets cut the Warriors’ lead to just four midway through the fourth quarter? Thank Adams. The 6-foot-11, 265-pound behemoth snagged more offensive rebounds (seven) than Golden State’s entire team (six), and Adams finished the night as the only Houston player to post a positive plus-minus (plus-four in 20 minutes).
Warriors forward Draymond Green noted on Sunday that the Rockets’ “best offense is offensive rebounding,” adding that his first-round opponent likes to “grab, hold” and “crash the boards.” Kerr, a former NBA player in the 1990s and early 2000s, seemed to take a small delight in Houston’s throwback style before returning to his own team’s directives.
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“I felt like 1997 out there to me,” Kerr said. “Completely different NBA game than what we’re used to. We have to be ready for that.
Steven Adams was a difference maker for the Houston Rockets in Game 1 versus the Golden State Warriors. Will we get more of the Kiwi in Game 2?
Alex Slitz/Getty Images
Houston is poised to win the possession game against Golden State, thanks to Adams’ rebounding excellence and the Rockets’ ability to generate turnovers. However, having more possessions will only take the underdog Rockets so far. Houston’s offense struggled not only because of missed shots in Game 1 (the team shot just 39 percent from the field). Both head coach Ime Udoka and Houston’s players pointed out the lack of spacing as a significant issue after the game, with a crowded paint resulting in tangled possessions and low-percentage attempts as the shot clock wound down.
A player of Adams’ size is usually a spacing detriment. However, for the current iteration of the Rockets, he could be just the opposite. Udoka said Tuesday he enjoys using Adams and Alperen Şengün in tandem in this series in particular, where their size and threat on the glass can “[occupy] guys inside so there are free [driving] lanes to the basket.” VanVleet echoed his coach’s sentiment.
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“He’s one of the best [screeners] in the world, probably the best I’ve ever played with, one of the best I’ve ever seen,” VanVleet said. “He takes up so much space. Obviously, now in the NBA, it’s so small across the board. He’s always the ultimate teammate, getting guys open for shots.
“He grabs two, three guys at a time down there, offensive rebounding. We need him.”
Adams’ NBA career was once in jeopardy after his 2023 surgery and the subsequent recovery setbacks. He could only play in limited spurts earlier this season, and Udoka used the Adams-Şengün ‘double-big’ lineup only sparingly. The selectivity regarding Adams is now out the window, with the Rockets facing a 1-0 series deficit and a Game 3 in Golden State on Saturday.
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Houston can’t drop Game 2 and still presumably win its first playoff series of a new era. For this rising young group, an unexpected veteran is now a much-needed anchor.
