Rockets meet old playoff nemesis Golden State in first trip to playoffs since 2020

Houston faced the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs four times between 2015-19, and each time the Rockets were sent packing. On Sunday night, the No. 2 seed Rockets return to the postseason for the first time since 2020 and will face their old playoff nemesis — Steph Curry and the seventh-seeded Warriors in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Western Conference series. While Curry, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney were around for all those battles with the Rockets, including wins in the Western Conference finals in 2015 and 2018, there isn't a player remaining on Houston's roster who played in even one of those games.