Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets preview – 03/26/17
By Chris Hughes
In the feature ABC matinee the Oklahoma City Thunder play the Houston Rockets in a match that promises to feature two of the league’s standout performers. Tip-off is 3:30 PM E.T.
Today’s match-up will see two of the league’s in-form teams take to the court together, with both sides boasting six wins from their last seven games.
For the first time since November the Oklahoma City Thunder have three different leading scorers in their past three games in Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo and Enes Kanters.
Houston meanwhile are on a three-game winning streak themselves, having beat the Denver Nuggets twice in back-to-back games before defeating the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night.
At home, the Rockets boast a stellar 27-9 record, having won their last four games at the Toyota Center. Their aforementioned win over New Orleans on Friday means they’ve now won 50 games this regular season.
However the result will have a much bigger effect on the Thunder and their standings in the conference. After today OKC have ten games until the end of the season, OKC are embroiled in a tense battle to try and reach the fifth seed, without slipping down to seventh in the process.
But the Rockets are no easy task, with Mike D’Antoni’s side boasting the second best points average in the whole league (115.5) – only the Golden State Warriors can better that.
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Previous Match-ups
Being Western Conference rivals, the two teams have already met three times this season, with two wins going in favor of tonight’s hosts.
The Thunder won the first game against Houston this campaign, in a narrow 105-103 game back in November. However since then, in match-ups in December and January, the Houston Rockets have taken the W.
What’s more, in recent years the Rockets have been the dominant side against OKC. Since the start of the 2014/15 season, the side have won seven of the ten matches. However, the Thunder did draw the season series last time out.
It promises to be a high-scoring affair too, with both teams having scored triple figures in all-bar-one of the last nine games.
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Battle of the guards
Tonight’s match will be won and lost on the back-court, as two MVP candidates take to the floor against each other.
Russell Westbrook is leading the league in points with a 31.2-point average, coupled with 10.5 boards and 10.4 assists. James Harden has been no slouch however, with his return of 29.5 points the closest in the charts to Russ.
The man with the beard is leading the league in assists too, with his 11.3 average bettering the likes of John Wall, Chris Paul and Westbrook himself.
But the point guard’s aren’t the only back-court players that will make a difference, with the match-up in the two spot just as important.
Victor Oladipo, who has averaged just over 16 points per game, will be massively important on defense for his side, with Sixth Man candidate Eric Gordon having shot more three-pointers this season than any OKC player.
Patrick Beverley meanwhile will also be a solid starter for Houston, having scored 17 points in his last outing against New Orleans.
It means the time without Westbrook on the court will be even tougher for the Thunder, heaping increased pressure on back-up guard Semaj Christon.
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Predicted Line-ups
Oklahoma City Thunder:
- Point Guard: Russell Westbrook
- Shooting Guard: Victor Oladipo
- Small Forward: Andre Roberson
- Power Forward: Taj Gibson
- Center: Steven Adams
Notable Substitutes: Enes Kanter (C, PF), Doug McDermott (SF), Semaj Christon (PG).
Houston Rockets:
- Point Guard: James Harden
- Shooting Guard: Patrick Beverley
- Small Forward: Trevor Ariza
- Power Forward: Ryan Anderson (*)
- Center: Clint Capela
Notable Substitutes: Nene (C), Eric Gordon (SG), Lou Williams (SG).
(*) – Ryan Anderson left his side’s game early on Friday through injury, and if he can’t play today, he will likely be replaced by Nene.
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Injuries and Game Day Specifics
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Coach Billy Donovan will have a full squad to chose and rotate from for the match-up, with none of his players injured.
Meanwhile Ryan Anderson could miss the encounter having left his side’s last game with an injured ankle. He is currently listed as day-to-day by ESPN.
Due to the game being shown on English channel BT Sport, it has a much earlier tip-off of 3:30 PM E.T at the Toyota Center in Texas. You can also watch along on ABC, or listen along on WWLS 98.1FM OKC.
If you enjoyed this preview, be sure to check out Chris Hughes’ Thunderous Intentions profile here to view his other articles.