With Houston up 2-0 in its first-round series and heading to Minnesota for Saturday’s Game 3, Karthik Prasad (@stanfordkp) joined us Friday to break down the first two games of the series and the predictive value of the results moving forward. - Topics explored on the show include:Adjustments made by the Wolves to slow James Harden (44 points on 15-of-26 FG in Game 1, followed by 12 points on 2-of-18 FG in Game 2), and how Houston countersThe excitement of winning a game with Chris Paul and defense, as opposed to HardenThe importance of the “turbo-nuclear button” shown by the Rockets in their 52-20 run in the middle of Game 2The defensive improvement shown by Clint Capela in limiting the production of Karl-Anthony Towns (6.5 points per game on 27.8% FG)Surprisingly stout performances from Nene off the Houston bench, and the implications for Houston’s bench when Ryan Anderson (ankle) returnsConcern level over a sluggish postseason start from Eric Gordon through two games (8.0 points per game on 26.1% FG)What needs to happen for the Rockets to grab a commanding 3-0 lead in the series on Saturday night? Tune in to find out! - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices