OAKLAND, Calif. -- James Harden, whose Houston Rockets have been eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in three of the past four NBA postseasons, firmly believes the fourth time will be different.

"We're a very confident group of guys," Harden said before the Rockets' practice at Oracle Arena on Saturday, a day before Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. "We're more than capable. We're excited about the opportunity. We know the difficulties and the challenges that are going to come along that way, but we're prepared for them."

The Rockets weren't competitive in the 2015 conference finals or the 2016 first round, getting eliminated by the Warriors in five games in both series.

But Houston pushed Golden State to seven games in last season's Western Conference finals, adding to the anticipation of the rematch this season.

"Of course it feels right," Harden said of facing the Warriors in the playoffs again. "We haven't been successful thus far. We've had plenty of opportunities but haven't come up on the winning side yet. Just another opportunity for us to change that."

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has made no secret of his "obsession" with chasing the Warriors, which is essentially just an acknowledgment that Houston's path to a title will have to go through Golden State.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr called the Rockets' focus on his team "flattering."

"I admire what Houston's done over the last couple of years -- building their roster, building their style and competing with us," said Kerr, whose team lost three of four regular-season meetings with the Rockets. "Obviously, last year's series was epic and great competition, so I've got great respect for what they've done. They're relentless. They're continuing to come at us, so we've got to be ready."

Last season, the Rockets, as the top seed in the West with an NBA-best 65-17 record, took a 3-2 series lead but lost Chris Paul to a strained hamstring in the final minute of Game 5. The Warriors rallied from double-digit halftime deficits in each of the next two games to eliminate the Rockets en route to their third title in four seasons.

Paul had very little interest in revisiting the disappointment of being forced to watch from the bench as the Rockets' season ended. He scoffed at the suggestion of him getting an opportunity to tend to unfinished business as a storyline this series.

"Man, I'm ready to play Game 1," Paul said. "Know what I mean? I'm sorry, I'm just not that dramatic about things like that. It's just, we're focused on getting ready for Game 1."