Well, here we go for Game 6 of what has turned out to be a wild Warriors-Rockets second-round series. The Warriors are up 3-2, but they're also without Kevin Durant for the remainder of this series. Historically speaking, the team that wins Game 5 in a 2-2 series goes on to win the series 82 percent of the time, which obviously favors Golden State. But with the Durant factor, all bets are off. This is Houston's best, and perhaps last chance to finally get past the Warriors and finish their obsession with the champs. 

Here are five things to watch for in Game 6:

Kevin Durant's absence

Obviously, this is the biggest storyline in Game 6: How will the Warriors compensate for such a huge loss, and how will the Rockets take advantage? You can bet the Warriors will be picking up the pace without Durant, whose isolation brilliance by nature made them more of a static offense, relatively speaking. I'd look for a lot more of the "old Warriors" cutting and passing and moving. I'd look for 40-plus 3-point attempts from Golden State and a concerted effort to push the tempo off defensive stops. 

But that, of course, requires getting defensive stops. 

That's where the Rockets should be able to really exploit Durant's absence, on the defensive end. Yes, his scoring will be missed, obviously, and if this game comes down to the wire, nobody else on the Warriors, including Curry, can get their own shot like Durant, but defensively he is a long, versatile defender that allows Golden State to switch everything and still have size on the floor with their small lineup that puts Draymond Green at center. Everyone will see time on Harden, but with one less capable defender, that puts a lot on Klay Thompson to track Harden as much as possible. That brings in a fatigue factor on offense. Look for the Rockets to get uber-aggressive in seeking out switches with defenders they can beat -- i.e. Curry, Kevon Looney and even Andre Iguodala. 

Fatigue Factor

This is a major story. The Warriors are already lacking for depth, and with one less body, the main guys are all going to have to play well over 40 minutes, and they're going to be a hard 40-plus minutes with everyone having to do more on the defensive end and run around to create offense without Durant. Because let's face it, when Durant is doing his thing one on one, Klay and Steph can catch at least a little breather off the ball. Not in Game 6. They're going to have to create a lot, and Curry is going to be seeing a lot of hard double teams without the fear of Durant burning Houston on the backside, which we'll get to in a second. 

That said, fatigue will be a factor for Houston, too. Again, the Warriors are going to play differently, and running around chasing Curry takes a lot of energy for Chris Paul and company. The adrenaline of this game and the home crowd will be a big boost to Houston's energy, but the bottom line is Harden is going to be in attack mode, or at least he better be, the entire game. In Game 5, he only took one shot over the final 8:30 of the game, and that was with 18 seconds left. Was he simply deferring to a Rockets offense that was running efficiently, or was he tired? If it was the latter, it's going to be an even bigger problem in Game 6, because the stakes could not be higher. 

Defending Steph Curry

This is pretty simple: Without Durant, Curry has to score and score big, and the Rockets know if they can limit Curry, who else is going to beat them? Klay can get hot, but now P.J. Tucker, an absolute beast of a defender, can track and bully Thompson instead of Durant. Bottom line, the Rockets can double and trap Curry at every turn with relative impunity. 

With Durant on the floor, if you double Curry, Durant kills you, or if you double Durant, Curry kills you. Now the Rockets don't have to live with that tradeoff. They can, and almost certainly will, be extra aggressive in making Steph Curry's life miserable. Can Curry beat all the traps and pressure and still get 30-plus? Absolutely. Will he? That's what we're all here to find out. 

Warriors foul trouble

This might be the biggest factor of all, and we're pointing right at you, Steph Curry. Curry has been in constant foul trouble in these playoffs, and he CANNOT afford to miss time in this game without Durant. He has to be on the court for Golden State to have a real chance, and if that means letting someone, particularly Harden, get by him on defense for a layup instead of trying to reach in and make a strip, as hard as that is for a competitor like Curry to stomach, he has to do it. No single bucket is worth more to the Warriors than having Steph Curry on the floor. This is non-negotiable. Stay out of foul trouble, Steph. 

It won't be easy, however. Even if Curry is extra careful, the Rockets are going to attack him relentlessly. Same for Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. None of these guys can get in foul trouble. Green fouled out of Game 5. That can't happen again. It's a fine line Golden State is going to have to walk, because obviously they have to defend hard and force some turnovers to try to make up for Durant's missing scoring, and doing that without fouling, against a team as adept at drawing fouls as Houston, is a tight rope. 

Also, how will Steve Kerr handle potential foul trouble? If Curry or Thompson get two early ones, will he take them out as he normally would? You would think he'll have to play it a little riskier and leave guys in the game and trust them to be smart. It will depend on time and score and a lot of factors, but the bottom line is at some point one of these Warriors, at least, is probably going to be in some foul trouble, and how they handle that, whether Kerr yanks them or they have to keep playing with limited aggression, is a major, major deal. 

Chris Paul time

Paul has flat out not played well in this series. He's 8 for 29 from three. The last two games he's averaging 12 points. That's just not going to cut it unless a bunch of the fringe players get hot from three, which you can't count on. Harden needs help to win this game and this series. This is what they signed, and extended, Paul for. He's getting paid a ton of money, probably more than he's going to be worth as soon as next season, but if he can dial up the old Chris Paul for two games and get the Rockets past the Warriors, it will all be worth it.