Feb 17, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Western Conference guard James Harden (right) of the Houston Rockets and guard Russell Westbrook (left) of the Oklahoma City Thunder react after a three pointer in the fourth quarter of the 2013 NBA all star game at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

This comparison and debate was brought up on Twitter the other day. It’s one that you think would be more common but I don’t remember giving it much thought.

Who is better? Russell Westbrook or James Harden.

Not very long ago there was an easy answer to this. Just about everyone would have given the nod to Westbrook.

Since Harden has gone to Houston and had a breakout season, the question is now much tougher to answer.

The first thing that needs to be decided in a debate like this is what makes a player better than another one. You’ve got overall impact, raw ability, potential, value to one’s team, etc. There are really so many factors that there’s no right answer especially when the player’s are this close.

Overall Impact

This is what I think is the most important factor in determining if a player is better than another. How much does a player affect a game and how much does he have his fingerprints on?

Westbrook was second in the league (and ahead of Kevin Durant) in terms of usage percentage for the second straight season. Only Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant used more possessions than Westbrook did the last two years. This is important because it represents the amount of a load that Westbrook carries with the Thunder and the argument that he does less because he plays with Durant is clearly not very relevant.

Harden was ninth in the league in usage percentage this season right behind John Wall and ahead of Brook Lopez for some perspective.

Harden has a reputation for being much more efficient than Westbrook and in many respects he definitely is. Harden boasts a 60.0 true shooting percentage this season while Westbrook was only at 53.2 percent. Harden took 16.1 shots per game and got to the line 9.6 times while Westbrook took 18.7 shots and got to the line just 7.0 times per game. Since Harden is a clearly superior outside shooter, he is much more efficient.

Harden did turn the ball over more frequently than Westbrook this season (14.9 percent of possessions compared to 13.2 for Westbrook). Westbrook averaged more rebounds per game and assists per game but large margins. Of course, the two play different positions. Harden can safely be considered a better passer for his position than Westbrook is but the same must be said for Westbrook being a far better rebounder, especially on the offensive side.

At the end of the day, Westbrook had a higher PER than Harden this season which may be surprising to some. Westbrook was at 23.9 while Harden 22.9. Considering that PER takes into account your production compared to the rest of the league at your position, this is even more impressive for Westbrook as the point guard position is far deeper than shooting guard is.

Defensively, Westbrook should be the clear-cut winner when compared to Harden. Westbrook has the potential to be one of the best defenders in the league but his lack of discipline and desire to play the passing lanes and take risks has kept him from this status. Not to be too harsh here, but Harden is a really weak defender. His disinterest level is much higher than Westbrook’s and while he was able to still average the same number of steals per game as Westbrook this season, his overall impact on that end of the floor isn’t as high. When focused, which is a pretty decent way to judge defense really, Westbrook definitely is a step above Harden.

Ability/Potential

We are getting away from determining who is the better player right now by delving into this but I still think it is at least somewhat relevant because potential can simply mean how high a player can perform in certain instance throughout the season.

I consider Westbrook to be the best athlete in the NBA because he is most consistently playing at an elite athletic level compared to anyone else. I think for the most part, people would say LeBron is the most athletic player league then Westbrook and then there’s a pretty big drop-off.

So Westbrook is definitely more athletic than Harden which immediately gives him a big advantage in the potential category since we’re talking about a game where athleticism can overpower almost anything.

But you can definitely make the case that there is a lot of room for improvement for both of them in their careers. Imagine if Westbrook became more efficient and a better point guard. Imagine if Harden became a 50-40-90 player and a lockdown defender. There’s a lot that could happen in the next few years.

In two years or maybe even sooner, we might be talking about the NBA and saying Westbrook is the best point guard, Harden is the best two-guard and Durant is the best small forward. Great trade by the way!

The situation they are in

What if you traded Westbrook for Harden right now? What changes?

Westbrook would still be an All-Star and probably would put up huge numbers in the Rockets’ system. With more spacing, he would shoot a higher position, get more assists and more rebounds with the higher pace.

We have a pretty good idea of what Harden would be in OKC. He’s pretty much a super Ginobili with some Paul Pierce thrown in. He will pick you apart in the pick-and-roll and the more spacing, the better. He will destroy you in transition. It’s safe to say though that Houston is a spot where Harden’s abilities are being maximized as opposed to OKC for Westbrook.

If you go through the list of NBA teams, there will be a handful that would prefer Westbrook and a handful that would prefer Harden. It’s a manner of taste and need and fit.

Trying to come up with an answer

Like I said before, I don’t think there is a right answer here necessarily. But I’d go with Westbrook and not just because I’m an OKC fan. Trust me, I was a much bigger Harden fan than Westbrook fan the past two years.

Westbrook simply has a bigger impact on the game. Look no further than the PER rating. Shouldn’t Harden have a better one than Westbrook? That’s how valuable Westbrook is and shows how much of the game he affects.

You will shake your head at things Westbrook does 100 times more per year than Harden. Harden is textbook in his approach to the game. Westbrook is a loose cannon.

This debate has only started though. As the year’s go on, it will probably become one of the most prevalent ones in the NBA. There will be times when you’d take Westbrook and times when you’d take Harden. But for now, give me Russ.

He did make an impact in a way that Perkins is known for.

Perkins set a hard screen on Francisco Garcia in the first quarter and then get a technical foul for what escalated after, the usual in your face trash talking between Perkins and Garcia.

While the referees were conferring, Perkins decided to do this.

The pushups didn’t end on the basketball floor for Perkins either. Perkins would celebrate at the airport after the win doing the very same thing.

This is what makes Kendrick Perkins so valuable, right? The little things?

Well, Perkins wasn’t much help for the Thunder vs. Houston after they decided to commit to small ball after Game 1.

Perkins will be of much bigger use in the next round when the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Memphis Grizzlies. Then, Perkins will get to use his physicality on Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol in the paint.

There’s a good chance that more pushups and technical fouls will ensue too. Just look at what Randolph did with Blake Griffin last night.

Randolph and the Grizzlies won their wrestling match vs. Griffin and the Clippers. Perkins will gladly accept the next challenge, which begins tomorrow at noon CST on ABC.

May 3, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) drives the ball on a fast brea during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets in game six of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Thunder finally closed out the Rockets last night with a 103-94 victory. It took them three games, but they finally closed them out. This was a total team effort, and that is what finally enabled them to break through and get a victory.

Game Grades:

Kevin Durant- 43 minutes, 27 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists- A+

KD got a lot of help in this win, but he was still amazing for OKC. He wasn’t looking for his shot until the Thunder really needed it in the fourth quarter, and he helped them pull away. KD let the game come to him, and there is nobody in the NBA (maybe LeBron) that does that better than KD. Durant was also great at passing the ball when he needed to, and he set up his teammates very well in this win.

Serge Ibaka- 26 minutes, 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks- C

Ibaka had another bad game and I really don’t like what I have seen from him over the last few games. He is pretty much invisible on offense, and he hasn’t been that intimidating force that he normally is on the defensive end. Ibaka will have to play a lot better in the upcoming series against the Grizzlies if the Thunder want any shot at advancing to the conference finals.

Kevin Martin- 40 minutes, 25 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds- A-

K-Mart had a simply amazing first half of offensive basketball last night, and then he tailed off in the second. However, he was so great in the first half that I don’t mind his disappearance in the second half. He had 21 points at the break for OKC, and this was huge because it took a ton of the pressure off of KD and allowed him to be fresh for the second half. Hats off to Martin, he received a ton of criticism after his awful game 5 performance, but he responded last night.

Reggie Jackson- 45 minutes, 17 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds- A

Jackson played another great game last night, and he is starting to emerge as the second scoring option behind KD. Jackson is very good at attacking the basket (much like Westbrook) and his athleticism is off the charts. He is continuing to learn to control his game as he gets more and more playing time in these playoffs, and the results are just awesome.

Derek Fisher- 27 minutes, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals- A+

The numbers don’t do justice to how much Fisher impacted this game for the Thunder. Fish made countless big plays in the fourth quarter that helped put the Rockets away, and that is the definition of a clutch player. He was very good on defense in defending James Harden, and he knocked down some big three point shots when the defense collapsed on a KD drive to the basket. I have been a big critic of Fisher, but every since Westbrook went down Fisher has been great for OKC.

Thabo Sefolosha- 24 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals- C-

Much like Ibaka, Thabo had an overall bad game last night. He was a no show on offense and his defense wasn’t really up to par either. He was eventually replaced by Fisher late in the game when Thabo picked up his fourth foul, and he never got back into the game.

Nick Collison- 22 minutes, 10 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block- A

I don’t think it was a coincidence that the Thunder didn’t start playing well until Collison started playing well. Collison is a huge part of this team and he showed that in last nights win. He is a very good defender, and an exceptional passer for a guy his size. He also came up with some big points under the basket late in the game.

Kendrick Perkins- 4 minutes, 0 points, 0 rebounds, 2 turnovers- C

Perk better be ready for Memphis, he has had enough rest.

Scott Brooks- B+

I really liked the way Brooks handled Collison and Fisher’s minutes last night. He saw that Collison was playing well, and he kept him in. He also saw that the Thunder were struggling on offense, and he made a great substitution by bringing in Derek Fisher, who right now is a better offensive option than Thabo is. Brooks had a nice rebound game as coach from game 5′s disaster.

May 3, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) controls the ball as Houston Rockets shooting guard Francisco Garcia (32) defends in the first quarter in game six of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Everyone take a deep breath. This series is over.

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Houston Rockets 103-94 tonight in Game 6 to advance to the second round where they will take on the Memphis Grizzlies.

Kevin Durant scored 27 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists. After being held scoreless in the fourth quarter in Game 5, Durant came out aggressive scoring nine points in the final period tonight.

The Thunder got a huge help from their bench tonight.

It was Kevin Martin stepping up in the first half where he scored 21 of his 25 points in the game. Derek Fisher also came in to provide a huge lift with 11 points and three three-pointers. The Thunder were plus-32 in Fisher’s 27 minutes.

Nick Collison played 22 minutes and the Thunder were plus-20 while he was on the floor. He finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end.

Reggie Jackson also came up huge for the Thunder finishing with 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

James Harden struggled for the most part scoring 26 points on 7-for-22 shooting.

The biggest key for the Thunder tonight was Martin and Jackson stepping up in the first half and then Fisher and Collison in the second. Durant didn’t have to do everything tonight and the well-balanced effort from OKC allowed them to outlast a valiant Houston effort.

Give Scott Brooks credit too for matching up with the Rockets and playing Kendrick Perkins just four minutes.

The road will of course get tougher in Round 2. Houston was no slouch and became that much tougher after the Russell Westbrook injury. But the Grizzlies should be tougher.

The good news for the Thunder is they won’t have to worry about matching up with small lineups in the next round. Perkins becomes relevant again and the more conventional style of play may actually bode well for the Thunder.

Game 1 in that series will be Sunday at noon CST in OKC on ABC.

May 1, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) handles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson (15) and Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha (2) during the first half in game five of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Things just seem to keep getting worse for the Oklahoma City Thunder in this series.

Since taking a 3-0 lead, the Houston Rockets have fought back to force tonight’s Game 6 and all of the momentum seems to be in their favor.

The loss of Russell Westbrook has left the Thunder scrambling to figure out how to play without him. It hasn’t been pretty and really the only reason they have been in these games has been the offensive brilliance of Kevin Durant.

Durant is averaging 38.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game since the Westbrook injury and he’s shooting 52 percent from the field.

In the fourth quarter of Game 5, we saw Durant held scoreless for the first time in his playoff career in the fourth quarter as the Thunder could not come back.

OKC resorted to hacking Omer Asik again and again in what is usually a plan for a team with no answers.

James Harden stole the show playing his best game of the series and making all seven of his three-point attempts.

The Rockets’ confidence is now at an all-time high and for good reason. They still need to win two more games though.

There were some positive signs you can take from the last game. The offense did seem slightly better but maybe that was just because they were playing at home.

It was impossible though for the Thunder to overcome Kevin Martin shooting 1-for-10 from the field. Odd as well was Nick Collison playing just six and a half minutes in the game.

For as bad as the Thunder offense has looked, they’ve still been decently efficient. It’s the defense that is really struggling against Houston’s small lineups.

Small lineups have stumped Scott Brooks in the past and this series is more of that. Kendrick Perkins has been basically useless and even the perimeter players are making simple mistakes on a regular basis.

The Thunder need to get it together on that end of the floor before anything else to finish the Rockets off. Two losses in a row should serve as a pretty big wakeup call and the Thunder should put forth a better defensive effort and performance tonight.

It feels like the Thunder will need a complete game to get the win though. They need to tighten up the defense and hope Durant can still play out of this world.

The game will tip at 8:30 p.m. CST tonight and air nationally on ESPN.

Jan 6, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) talks to forward Serge Ibaka (9) and guard Reggie Jackson (15) against the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre. The Thunder beat the Raptors 104-92. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s dynamic duo was broken up this postseason after Russell Westbrook’s injury in Game 2 required knee surgery.

It’s the second break-up this season that the Thunder have had to endure. Their amazing trio that included James Harden was also broken up right before the season.

OKC has had their problems adjusting without Westbrook in this series vs. the Houston Rockets and it’s resulted in them losing the last two games.

Amazingly, Westbrook’s replacement, Reggie Jackson, has produced along with Kevin Durant’s new production very close to what KD and Russ did in the regular season.

Take a look at this:

Durant and Westbrook regular season
73.4 minutes per game
17.2-36.4 field goals (47.3 percent)
14.0-16.3 free throws (85.9 percent)
51.3 points per game
12.0 assists per game
13.1 rebounds per game
6.8 turnovers per game

Durant and Jackson the last three games
75.7 minutes per game
17.7-36.0 field goals (49.2 percent)
16.3-19.4 free throws (84.0 percent)
55.6 points per game
8.0 assists per game
13.0 rebounds per game
7.0 turnovers per game

As you can see, the Durant-Jackson duo has actually been slightly better than Durant-Westbrook were in the regular season in a lot of areas including scoring and field goal percentage.

Ironically, the area of Westbrook’s game that the Thunder miss the most is his passing. The Durant-Jackson duo is averaging just eight assists per game combined while KD and Russ got 12 per game in the regular season.

This totally confirms what we’re seeing in this series. The Thunder are relying on isolation more than ever before. Durant is basically playing point guard for most of the game. The Thunder are ending up taking way more terrible shots than ever before. The spot-up shooters in Kevin Martin, Thabo Sefolosha and Serge Ibaka have not stepped up. Only Derek Fisher has.

The other area that this doesn’t take into account is Westbrook’s defense. This was the one area that we thought Jackson could do the best job replacing. It’s not as much that he hasn’t either as it also is that the Rockets are going small and the Thunder would have had trouble with this even with Westbrook in the lineup.

It feels like the Thunder are right now in the worst shape they’ve been in a long time. The Rockets have stolen all of the momentum in this series and look like they may actually have a legitimate shot at winning this series.

The big thing that needs to change for the Thunder is the ball movement, which is tough when you basically don’t have a point guard anymore. The Thunder did do a better job of this in Game 5 and have made at least a tiny bit of progress over the last three games.

Just to keep up with Houston, Durant has been playing out of his mind the last three games. If he lets up even a little, the Thunder may not have a chance.

Game 6 is tonight at 8:30 p.m. CST on ESPN.

May 1, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Houston Rockets center Omer Asik (3) attempts a free throw after being fouled repeatedly by the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half in game five of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Rockets defeated the Thunder 107-100. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

I needed a few hours to let my go of my anger and frustration before writing a piece on what is going on in Oklahoma City.

My emotions post-game were just as bad as most Thunder fans: Worried, frustrated, dismayed, and uptight. Are the Rockets going to comeback from a 3-0 hole and make history? Is Kevin Martin that bad? Is Perk any help? Can the Thunder get one stop after scoring? Should the Thunder fire Scott Brooks?

You know the deal.

But, then reality sets in. The Thunder are up 3-2 in the series. The Rockets still have to win at home, and then go back to Oklahoma City and win another one. No team in NBA history has ever came back from a 3-0 deficit.

But, what makes Thunder fans so worried and in panic mode is…

Oklahoma City’s lack of scoring without Westbrook

Just so we get this straight: Kevin Durant is only human. After all, he is having an outstanding series. Last night, Durant put up 36 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists. It’s the other guys who have to step up. Durant gets double teamed nearly every time he gets a touch. And when Kevin Martin goes  1-10, Sefolosha goes 3-8, Jackson goes 7-15, and Fisher goes 2-6, you’re not going to win. It’s just that simple.

Scott Brooks’ coaching decisions

I was going on a rant on twitter when the Thunder went into their “Hack-a-Asik” stage about how dumb it was.  Yes, I get it that Asik was a 56% free-throw shooter in the regular season. But last night, before the Thunder started the “Hack-a-Asik”, he was 5-7. Not only that, but the Thunder kept scoring and the crowd was getting into the game.  Oklahoma City cut the lead to six with four minutes to go, and at that point, as a coach, you just have to have confidence in your teams defense. But instead Asik was fouled two more times, and the lead was back to nine. The fouls on Asik changed the momentum. And it for sure changed the outcome of the game.

Getting stops defensively

It seemed as if after every Thunder basket, the Rockets came back and responded. Half of that goes to James Harden for being absolutely unguardable last night but the other half goes to Oklahoma City’s lack of focus on the defensive end. It’s a simple method in which if you can’t get stops, you don’t deserve to win.

Needless to say, the Thunder just need one more win and then they can forgot about Patrick Beverley and Francisco Garcia and move on.

October 24, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Houston Rockets power forward Royce White (30) against the New Orleans Hornets during the first half of a preseason game at the New Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Houston Rockets rookie Royce White – who has yet to make his NBA debut – has made a name for himself this year on Twitter.

He says what he feels and rarely seems to hold back.

Last night after Houston’s 107-100 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, White tweeted at Kevin Durant.

@kdtrey5… Y’all are looking SHAAAKYY BAAABYY.#RedNation

— Royce White (@Highway_30) May 1, 2013

White later backed up his tweets and called Durant a “deadly player.”

The truth is that the Thunder have looked pretty shaky since Russell Westbrook’s injury. They are in a very tough situation trying to learn on the fly how to play without the guy that ran the show for them all season.

The Thunder don’t seem to really be making great strides either. The offense still ends up with Durant doing everything and when he’s not, his teammates look lost quite often. Worst of all the defense has been struggling too and giving up way too many open looks for the Rockets on the perimeter. The Thunder need to figure that out as well.

I don’t really care what White tweets and I’m not one to tell him to shut up. That’s the job of the Thunder. A win Friday night in Houston will do the job.

Maybe the Thunder can use this as motivation although they probably don’t really care.

Apr 24, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) talks to NBA official Jason Phillips during play against the Houston Rockets in the second half during game two of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder have gone from the Western Conference favorites to a team fighting for their playoff lives since Russell Westbrook injured his knee in Game 2 of this series.

The loss of Westbrook is proving to be devastating for the Thunder, who most recently lost 107-100 at home to the Rockets last night.

Given the makeup of this Thunder team this season, Westbrook may very well be one of the most valuable players in the NBA, even more so than Durant to a degree.

This is about value and not about talent. Durant and LeBron are more talented than Westbrook without question but all that Westbrook was asked to do for this Thunder team puts him right up there with those two in terms of value.

Think about this: the Thunder basically run the simplest offense in the NBA. They’re the opposite of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs yet are just as efficient and for most of the NBA season, had the most efficient offense in the NBA.

We are seeing that same offense in the last three games vs. Houston. It is ugly. Without Westbrook, the offense has been revealed for what it truly is.

Westbrook was basically an insertion of chaos into the offense. He could single-handedly make it unpredictable and overwhelming for opponents. He would attack at odd times, pull-up for jumpers in transition and just always keep the engine revving at a high level.

With the Russ chaos factor now missing, the Thunder have fallen back to a slightly above average.

In the last three games, the Thunder are scoring 106.0 points per 100 possessions. They scored 112.0 points per 100 possessions in the first two games of this series and 110.2 in the regular season.

The team’s true shooting percentage has also dropped about 4-5 points and the assist percentage is down to quite a bit as well.

The Thunder were able to match and exceed Houston’s pace with Westbrook in this series. That hasn’t been the case at all in the last three games as the Thunder have drastically slowed down the pace by about five possessions per game. Westbrook gave the Thunder the ability to be a high-octane offense and also one that could thrive in the halfcourt and now they are neither.

Even defensively the Thunder are now much worse without Russ. Did you see how Aaron Brooks and Patrick Beverley penetrate last night whenever they wanted? Westbrook is by no means a perfect defender but that doesn’t happen if he’s on the floor. The open threes the Rockets have been going would not nearly be as frequent either, especially considering how Westbrook plays the passing lanes.

The other crazy part of this is that Durant has stepped up in Russ’ absence as much as anyone could have expected that he would. He’s been amazing averaging 38.3 points, 5.7 assists and 9.7 rebounds in 44.7 minutes per game. He’s doing that while still posting a 65.1 true shooting percentage, which is better than what he shot in his 50-40-90 regular season.

What Durant has done the last three games is insane. He didn’t score in the fourth quarter last night, which may be a sign of how difficult it will be for Durant to continue playing at this level.

Imagine if Durant performed like a human these last three games and the increased workload resulted in his efficiency decreasing instead of increasing. Where would the Thunder be and what would they look like?

The Thunder are in real trouble right now. They should still be able to win this series. It’s hard to imagine them losing four times in a row to the Rockets even without Russ.

What awaits them in the next round is looking more like the end of the road when just a week ago it was supposed to be the next step toward a championship.

The one winner in this is Westbrook. The hate and criticism should completely leave him now. Scott Brooks’ turn now.

May 1, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson (15) attempts a pass against Houston Rockets center Omer Asik (3) during the second half in game five of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Rockets defeated the Thunder 107-100. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Thunder lost game 5 last night 107-100 and this series will continue on. The Thunder played one of the worst games I have ever seen them play and serious things will have to be fixed if they want to win friday night in Houston.

Game Grades:

Kevin Durant- 45 minutes, 36 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds- A+

KD will continue to get an A+ until some of the pressure is taken off of him. Until Reggie Jackson starting making some plays in the fourth quarter the entire Thunder offense was “give it to KD and watch”. Nobody helped him at all and I really felt bad for Kevin. In the third quarter KD was absolutely balling, and nobody could manage to help him out, and that is where the game was lost. Granted, Durant did have an awful fourth quarter but with all of the other things he was doing for OKC throughout the game, I can’t blame him too much.

Serge Ibaka- 35 minutes, 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks- B-

Ibaka played much better than he did in game 4, but it still was not nearly enough. He was pretty effective on the defensive end, but he has to step up on offense. He needs to hit those mid range shots to take some of the pressure off of KD, and unless he starts to do that consistently, the Thunder will be in trouble.

Kevin Martin- 23 minutes, 3 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist- F

That’s right, I give Martin an F. That is how bad I thought he played, and I think everybody that knows basketball would agree that Martin deserves an F. He did not do a thing offensively for OKC, and that is the main reason why they lost this ball game (along with Ibaka). Martin wasn’t aggressive in taking the ball to the hoop, and he couldn’t hit a perimeter shot to save his life. He was 1-10 from the field and 0-5 from the three point line. The Thunder will lose this series to the Rockets if Martin continues to play like this. This performance was downright pathetic.

Thabo Sefolosha- 36 minutes, 9 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists- B

Thabo played three quarters of really bad offensive basketball, but then knocked down a few threes in the fourth. However, I think if he had been able to hit a few perimeter shots early in the game it would have opened up a lot of options on offense for OKC.

Reggie Jackson- 32 minutes, 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists- A

Jackson showed me something in this game. He is a big time player, and he kept the Thunder afloat in the fourth quarter. At times during the fourth, Reggie took over the game on the offensive end for OKC, and it was pretty cool to watch. Jackson is a cold blooded guy much like KD and much like Westbrook. If Jackson were on any other team, I think he would be a rising star in this league.

DeAndre Liggins- 18 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist-B+

It seemed like Liggins played a lot more than 18 minutes in this game, and that is because I thought he played great. Liggins brought a lot of energy to the Thunder, and he played amazing defense on James Harden. It was not Liggins fault that Harden decided to go bonkers on OKC and light it up from deep. Liggins was very solid defending Harden and he should get some credit.

Derek Fisher- 29 minutes, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal- B

Fish made some big plays towards the end of the game, but he didn’t play as well of a game as he did in game’s 3 or 4. He did miss a couple big free throws down the stretch and that is very uncharacteristic of him.

Nick Collison- 7 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks- B-

Collison played much better last night than he had in the previous games, and I thought that he should have been given a few more minutes by Brooks.

Kendrick Perkins- 16 minutes, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal- C+

Perk is just not fit for this series, and he will sit on the bench for the majority of it. This series is all about the guards and Perk is obviously not one of them.

Scott Brooks- C

The whole Hack-A-Asik thing was interesting. I personally don’t like purposely fouling so early in the fourth quarter, but it worked for awhile for OKC. However Brooks made a major blunder by sticking with it for too long. OKC had the lead down to 6 with 4:16 left and they should have stopped it there. Instead they stayed with it, and Asik knocked the Thunder out of the game at the charity stripe. Bad move by Brooks.

May 1, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) handles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson (15) and Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha (2) during the first half in game five of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Rockets did everything right on Wednesday right, playing cohesively and intensely to force Game 6 back in Houston with the Oklahoma City Thunder after beating them 107-100 on the road. The Rockets dominated from wire to wire, leading 30-26 at the end of the first quarter and rarely relinquishing the lead throughout the rest of the game. With their win, they pull the series 3-2.

For the Rockets, James Harden–who was battling flu-like symptoms but showed nothing of it–led with 31 points and made seven straight shots from deep.

Kevin Durant had 36 points in the losing effort, and the significance of Russell Westbrook to this team was really felt when no one else really stepped up to aid Durant in this contest.

Houston led by as many as 16 before staving off a rally that Oklahoma City scrounged up with an interesting ploy: the Hack-Asik.

The Thunder played sloppily for four straight quarter, and even when they could muster together a string of made shots, Houston had an answer at every turn.

With five and a half minutes to play in the fourth quarter, the Thunder began relentlessly fouling Omer Asik, a 54-percent career foul shooter. He made 8-of-12 attempts, and put Houston up 101-92 with nearly four minutes left before OKC dropped the tactic.

With the loss, OKC now must travel back to Houston for Game 6, a critical match-up now, as the Thunder could very easily let this series slip away from them now that they are playing without Westbrook.

These two teams will square off again on Fri., May 3 at the Toyota Center at 9:30 p.m. EST.

Apr 27, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) gets the ball on a fast break during the second quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder during game three in the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Houston Rockets All-Star James Harden left the team’s shootaround today with flu-like symptoms.

Coach Kevin McHale says he’s sure Harden will be ”ready to go” on Wednesday night.

”We’re confident coming in here. Obviously, we need James and we want James to play for us to win at a high level,” teammate Chandler Parsons said.

”No doubt in my mind, he’s going to play tonight. There’s no way some little flu bug is going to keep him from playing in an elimination game.”

Via FoxSports

Harden struggled mightily in Game 4 against the Thunder scoring just 15 points and turning the ball over 10 times.

Harden is averaging 25 points per game in the series but for the most part the Thunder have been able to handle him.

Houston obviously needs to be at full strength tonight to beat the Thunder at home and if Harden is under the weather, that will make it tougher for them to overcome OKC.

Harden seems like the kind of player that is easily affected by something little like this messing with him. I wouldn’t feel good about him possibly being pretty sick for the game tonight.

The Thunder will be back home for the first time since the Russell Westbrook injury and they will be looking for some of their role players – who always play better at home – to step up.

Thabo Sefolosha didn’t shoot well in Houston, Kevin Martin only played well in the first halves and Serge Ibaka no-showed Game 4.

Houston saw their role players shoot lights out in Game 4 and expect that to go down tonight, especially if Harden isn’t 100 percent and unable to get them as many open looks as usual.

Apr 29, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets small forward Chandler Parsons (25) takes a shot over Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) in the fourth quarter in game four of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Thunder 105-103. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder return home tonight to try and close out the Houston Rockets for the second time in this series.

The Thunder had a chance to sweep Houston Monday night in Game 4 but came up just short, losing 105-103.

Serge Ibaka missed a putback as time expired that would have sent the game into overtime.

Kevin Durant had another monster performance throwing up 38 points, eight rebounds and six assists. He did turn the ball over seven times however but he was 12-for-16 from the field.

The Rockets were hot from deep and hit the offensive glass which helped them come out on top. James Harden had a very weak game for them scoring just 15 points and turning the ball over 10 times.

Odds are the rest of the games in this series will be tight. Both teams didn’t quite play as well as they could have in Game 4 but also came up big in other areas. If it balances out at all, we’re still in for another close game.

The Rockets showed in Game 2 – the first game in which they totally committed to small ball – that they can hang with the Thunder in OKC. And the Thunder had Russell Westbrook for that game.

As long as the Rockets keep playing small, they should have enough depth for enough guys to step up and knock down shots while they continue to give the Thunder trouble by spreading the floor.

The Thunder’s offense is still a work in progress since the Westbrook injury. Durant handled the ball slightly less in Game 4 than in Game 3 but the stagnant sets still showed up late in the game.

Reggie Jackson can still handle the ball more in the pick-and-roll as he continues to learn the right decisions to make. Kevin Martin did a decent job establishing himself. And Derek Fisher can’t miss.

The Thunder had to work so hard to get Durant touches and only his brilliance saved them and made it a close game.

The real key for the Thunder though is to hurt the Rockets on the offensive glass. Ibaka needs to be the guy here. He had seven offensive boards in the Game 3 win but just two to go with eight points in the last game.

The Thunder should be able to settle down some since they are at home and get a better offensive game from everyone. The way Houston is stacking up on defending Durant has made it so that the open spot-up looks still exist for the Thunder role players. They’ll shoot better at home.

The game will tip at 8:30 p.m. CST tonight and air nationally on TNT.

Mar. 20, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Washington Wizards center Jason Collins against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center. The Wizards defeated the Suns 88-79. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Not everyone is happy about Jason Collins coming out as the first gay, active professional sports player.

It’s brought out a lot of hate in some people, in particular the Westboro Baptist Church, who will be out protesting Game 5 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets tonight.

In light of NBA veteran Jason Collins becoming the first active professional athlete who is openly homosexual, Westboro Baptist Church’s Twitter account @WBCSays said Tuesday it will picket outside Chesapeake Energy Arena for the Rockets and Thunder Game 5 first-round playoff matchup.

Westboro supporters have sent out threatening messages to Collins, Thunder forward Kevin Durant and others associated with the NBA while also using a ‘#GodH8sTheNBA’ hashtag.

The independent church, led by pastor Fred Phelps and his daughter Margie, is known for protesting military funerals and believes that President Barack Obama is the Antichrist.

Via the Houston Chronicle

Kelly Dwyer of Ball Don’t Lie disagrees with the notion that God hates the NBA and he brings up some good points.

I’m guessing God was particularly happy with a few highlights over the last 65 years – rumors abound that the Almighty was a keen fan of Dick Motta’s offense, the 2004-05 Phoenix Suns, Wes Unseld’s outlet passes, those old Denver Nugget uniforms and the San Antonio Spurs’ coyote – but this relationship is apparently over, according the minds at the Westboro Baptist Church. I’m mostly fearful that God couldn’t have waited out Derrick Rose’s return, because that doesn’t speak well for this mortal’s potential to stay patient.

Via Ball Don’t Lie

Whatever you believe, hopefully nothing crazy happens from this.

Apr 21, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) handles the ball prior to a free throw attempt in action against the Hosuton Rockets in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

On the Oklahoma City Thunder’s final possession of Game 4 vs. the Houston Rockets Monday night, Serge Ibaka missed a simple putback as time expired that would have tied the game and sent it into overtime.

Ibaka said he couldn’t sleep after the game.

The Thunder lost their first game of the series largely due to Ibaka’s absence. He finished with just eight points and five rebounds on 3-of-8 shooting. The Thunder cannot afford another performance like that from Serge.

The fact that Ibaka was bothered by missing that final shot so much is a good thing for the Thunder. Don’t expect Ibaka to no-show in Game 5, especially since the Thunder will be back home.

Ibaka holds one of the biggest matchup advantages vs. the Rockets and is therefore one of the keys to this series. The Rockets have committed to going small against the Thunder leaving an opportunity for Ibaka to dominate the offensive glass. He did that in Game 3 as he outworked Houston for seven offensive rebounds.

The Thunder in the post-Russell Westbrook world will need to adapt more than ever expected. Ibaka maybe the most. The open midrange looks simply will not be as frequent for Ibaka without Russ drawing the attention off him. Ibaka will have to find his offense from rebounding and hustle. He’ll need to play smart and cut when the opportunity is there and not hesitate when he gets the ball.

We’ve seen this before from Serge. By all accounts, he appears to be extremely confident in his abilities and taking more shots, which he’ll need to do, is something he doesn’t have a problem with.

The Thunder aren’t losing to Houston of Ibaka comes up big again like he did in Game 4. Odds are, he’ll do just that.

Apr 29, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) and power forward Serge Ibaka (9) show emotion after a foul call against the Houston Rockets in the fourth quarter in game four of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Thunder 105-103. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder were unable to come up with the sweep last night in Game 4 vs. the Houston Rockets, falling 105-103.

Kevin Durant had another fantastic game with 38 points, eight rebounds and six assists. He shot 12-for-16 from the field, 13-for-15 from the free throw line but he did turn the ball over seven times.

The Rockets are a good team that you didn’t really expect the Thunder to sweep before the playoffs started. Everything changed in this series after the Westbrook injury and we still don’t know exactly what to expect from the Thunder going forward.

What we’ve seen in the two games since Russ has been somewhat troubling. Durant is really handling the ball a lot and while the offense looked better in Game 4 than it did in Game 3, it has still been pretty troubling.

The Rockets really swarmed KD last night and that’s why he could only take 16 shots. His makes were all very tough and you don’t expect him to shoot 75 percent from the field the rest of this series while Houston may be able to keep him under 20 shot attempts per game if they keep playing this way.

The real question is: did the Rockets give the Thunder one of their best games last night and is that why they won? Yes and no.

Houston was hot from deep (12-for-27) and got a career game from Chandler Parsons (27-10-8). But James Harden went just 4-for-12 in the game and scored 15 points while turning the ball over 10 times. You definitely expect Harden to play better than that going forward.

The Thunder also shot particularly well from deep going 11-for-25 in the game. Derek Fisher made 4-of-5 threes and Kevin Martin scored 16 points, which has been very above average from him in this series.

Serge Ibaka however was far too quiet going just 3-for-8 from the field with eight points and five rebounds.

Ironically, Reggie Jackson, who has been starting in place of Russell Westbrook, shot two more times than Durant did last night. Jackson had a solid game scoring 18 points in 36 minutes but only had three assists.

Houston definitely has something with these small lineups against the Thunder. OKC desperately needs Ibaka to be a force on the offensive glass to counteract them. The Thunder are still waiting for another ball handler to step up. Jackson did a fine job last night as a scorer but he missed some opportunities to set up his teammates and settled for a few jumpers when he should have driven.

I don’t think there is any need to be worried yet if you’re the Thunder. The Thunder should be able to match as well as they played in Game 4 at home for Game 5 and really should be able to play a better overall game.

The Rockets can be better too but they’ve shown their youth in this series. On the road, it will only get tougher for them and the three-pointers shouldn’t fall as frequently.

Game 5 will be Wednesday night. It’s by no means a must-win but the Thunder would definitely prefer to close them out at home and avoid another trip to Houston.

Apr 29, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Kevin Martin (23) during a break in the action against the Houston Rockets in the second quarter in game four of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Man that one hurt. The Thunder lost a nail biter 105-103 to the Rockets last night to extend this series to a game 5 and depriving the Thunder of a sweep. The Thunder had a chance to tie or win on the last possession but Reggie Jackson missed a tough shot and then Ibaka missed an easy layup at the buzzer.

Game Grades.

Kevin Durant- 42 minutes, 38 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists- A+

What another amazing performance by the man they call KD. He was absolutely incredible last night. Once again he was the Thunder’s main offensive weapon throughout the game, and once again he nearly carried them to a victory. KD didn’t play as much point as he did in game 3, but he was just as effective. (38 points on 12-16 shooting, take that Melo)

Serge Ibaka- 34 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks- C-

Ibaka had one of the worst games of his playoff career last night. He wasn’t very effective on the defensive end of the floor, and on offense he seemed to be invisible until he missed a wide open layup to win the game. If the Ibaka of game 3 had shown up last night, the Thunder would have won this game by 15 points. Ibaka has to consistently play well on the offensive end, particularly on the offensive boards if the Thunder want to make a deep playoff run.

Kevin Martin- 33 minutes, 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists- B

Martin played much better in this game than he did in game 3. He was aggressive on offense, and he showed glimpses of that top ten scorer that he used to be. He really helped out KD in the first half with the scoring load and I hope he continues to do that for OKC.

Reggie Jackson- 36 minutes, 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists- B+

Jackson did his best Russell Westbrook imitation last night, and I really loved seeing that out of him. Jackson was very aggressive in taking the ball to the basket, and he even knocked down a couple of big three’s. When KD couldn’t get the ball or he was double teamed, Jackson bailed the Thunder out numerous times much like Russ usually does.

Derek Fisher- 29 minutes, 12 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist- B+

It sure is great to have an old guy like Fisher on this team right now. He continues to play great in Westbrook’s absence, and he did it again last night by hitting 4 out of 5 three’s and all of them seemed to come at big moments. It is nice to see that a guy not named Durant can hit clutch shots on the Thunder.

Thabo Sefolosha- 30 minutes, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals- B+

Thabo had another lackluster offensive performance, but he more than made up for it on the defensive end. He was great on James Harden all night and he really disrupted the Rocket’s offensive flow because Harden was struggling. Holding the great James Harden to 15 points on 4-12 shooting is a great achievement, and hopefully Thabo can do that again on Wednesday in OKC.

Nick Collison- 14 minutes, 3 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks- C

Collison again had a very sub-par performance last night. It is weird not seeing the usual effective Collison out there for OKC and it will be interesting to see how he performs in game 5.

DeAndre Liggins- 14 minutes, 3 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal- B

It has been nice to see Liggins get some playing time in Russell’s absence and I have liked what I have seen from this kid. He hit a nice three in the first quarter last night, and he brought a lot of energy to the table for OKC.

Kendrick Perkins- 9 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 4 turnovers- C

As usual Perk did not get much playing time in this game, because this series is all about the small guys. Perk just doesn’t match up well with the Rockets, and because of that he will spend the majority of the game on the bench.

Kevin Durant took flight with one of his best ever Monday night in Game 4 on the road vs. the Houston Rockets.

It wouldn’t be enough though as the Oklahoma City Thunder lost 105-103.

Durant ended up with 38 points, eight rebounds and six assists. He also turned the ball over seven times though as the Rockets made it their primary focus to double-team him on every occasion.

This dunk was nasty though. Durant had just hit a three to pull the Thunder closer and then took matters into his own hands as much as anyone could with this play and finish.

This is now the third time in the last two games that Durant (in Russell Westbrook’s absence) has gone coast-to-coast with a crazy dunk.

We’re seeing a different Thunder team as was expected since the Westbrook injury. Durant has assumed a larger role which is very interesting considering he is the second best player in the NBA and I guess we never really knew what it would look like if he was on the 2010 Cavaliers.

The loss is not too worrisome for the Thunder that are still up 3-1 in this series. The Rockets played a great game at home as they desperately didn’t want to get swept in front of their home crowd. They came out with a strategy and stuck to it and made big shots.

Game 5 will be Wednesday night back in OKC.

Apr 29, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard Carlos Delfino (10) takes a shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second quarter in game four of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets met for Game 4 of this NBA Playoffs Series on Monday night, and the Rockets avoided the sweep, winning 105-103 in a thrilling match up.

OKC took on the Rockets without Russell Westbrook (knee) and Houston had to play without Jeremy Lin (chest), so many wondered how this one would ultimately shake down without these two dynamic players. Surprisingly, it ended up being one of the most captivating, competitive matches of this series.

For the Thunder, Kevin Durant led with 38 points and Reggie Jackson added 18 more, and for Houston, Chandler Parsons was just shy of triple-double figures, having 27 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists.

Houston started the game on a roll, shooting out to a 13-4 lead. They led for the first time in this series at the end of the first quarter, 29-24.

The Thunder went on a huge run in the second quarter, leading in scoring 15-5 in the first five minutes. They maintained a 10-point lead for most of the second quarter, absolutely silencing the Toyota Center. The big play for OKC came when Reggie Jackson seamlessly went from playing defense to offense: Thabo Sefalosha stripped the ball from Harden, and Jackson pounced on it. In the next moment, he was striking down the open court and laying it in for two.

Derek Fisher had a solid first half as he stood in for Westbrook, doing what he does best: sailing shots from behind the arc and knocking down all of them. He was 3 for 3 from the 3-point line, and helped push OKC’s lead to double digits.

But the Rockets were determined not to exit the Playoffs so soon. Carlos Delfino hit two clutch threes late in the first half, both of which cut OKC’s lead from 13 to only seven going into the break. James Harden on the other hand was ice cold, having more turnovers (seven) than points (six) in the first half.

After the break though, the Rockets played liked a completely different team.

The Rockets outscored the Thunder 38-24 in the third quarter, even taking a thirteen-point lead and completely dominating the Thunder after the break. Beverly scored nine of his 16 points in this quarter alone, including two three-pointers.

When Houston went on its run to give them a double-digit lead, the exclamation point came when Delfino stole the ball away from Martin and strode down the court from an invigorating dunk over Durant that brought the home crowd to its feet. Houston took an 85-75 lead.

The Thunder played a particularly sloppy game on Monday night: Houston scored 28 points off 17 OKC turnovers, and that bad ball-handling was most prevalent during the third quarter, when the Rockets made the game theirs.

OKC did close the quarter much better than it starting, closing the gap to 91-84 going into the fourth quarter, but the Rockets still controlled all the momentum.

In the fourth quarter, things got even more interesting. The Thunder kept it within six for most of the period and in the final six minutes, the momentum went back and forth between these two squads. It started when Derek Fisher drew an offensive foul from Harden, sending him to the bench with five fouls. On the subsequent possession he grabbed an offensive board and fed it to Jackson under the hoop to cut the lead to 98-94. Parsons responded on the next play by bodying his way through the paint to lay it in.

Later, Durant found his second wind, knocking down an ice-cold three in the face of a defender and grabbing the defensive rebound on Houston’s next possession. He then drove down the court, beat two double-teams and dunked on two more Rockets in the process. With his five straight points, the Thunder were within two points of Houston, 105-103, with under a minute to play.

With the Rocket’s next possession, Harden air-balled a three, and OKC got the ball back with 53.7 seconds left to make something happen. Durant tried to drive and take the lead, but he was called for an offensive foul. Then Harden put up a jumper to close the door on the Thunder, but he missed and OKC’s Fisher rebounded it.

Houston needed to keep the final shot out of Durant’s hands if they wanted to squeak out this victory, and they got it done: Durant had to dish it to Jackson who missed the shot, only to see Ibaka put it back up but not with enough push to put it through the hoop. He feel immediately to the floor after, and the Rockets’ bench celebrated on.

The Rockets rallied from big deficits twice in this game for their first victory of the series, forcing a Game 5 with Oklahoma City.

Game 5 takes place on Wed., May 1 at Chesapeake Energy Area.

Apr 27, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Kevin Martin (23) reacts after a play during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets in game three of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the Toyota Center. The Thunder defeated the Rockets 104-101. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder will get a chance to go for the sweep tonight on the road against the Houston Rockets in Game 4.

Game 3 was the first game in Thunder franchise history without Russell Westbrook.

Kevin Durant dominated playing 47 minutes and scoring 41 points to go with 14 rebounds and four assists. Durant also hit a huge three-pointer with 41 seconds left to seal the deal for the Thunder.

The Thunder got out to a 26-point lead in the game but the Rockets were able to come all the way back and take the lead at one point late in the fourth quarter.

Despite getting the tough, road, playoff win, there is a lot to worry about with the Thunder going forward.

It felt like they willed themselves to win Game 3 in honor of Westbrook. That should be less of a factor tonight and if we see more of what went on in the second half of that game, the Thunder won’t be in good shape.

Durant essentially played point guard the entire game. The Thunder need to find a way to feature players like Reggie Jackson, Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin more.

Durant probably won’t play the entire game again but don’t be surprised if his minutes are still up around 45. It’s not just resting him on the bench that is important but resting him on the floor and not asking him to do absolutely everything.

Jackson played well starting in place of Westbrook and it feels like his confidence will only grow with the more experience he gets.

Ibaka got seven offensive rebounds which is key in this matchup vs. the Rockets. He needs to keep that up and find more touches within the offense as well.

Martin has had three bad games in this series and is basically due to wake up. The Thunder desperately need to be able to run their offense through him some with Westbrook out.

The Rockets will continue to go small in this series and don’t be surprised if they pull out the win tonight. This doesn’t feel like a team that should be swept, even by the Thunder.

The game will tip tonight at 8:30 p.m. CST.

Apr 27, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts during the first quarter against the Houston Rockets during game three in the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

We saw a different game from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kevin Durant in Game 3 vs. the Houston Rockets as the Thunder were without Russell Westbrook for the first time in franchise history.

Durant was the primary ball handler for much of the game as he played 47 minutes and scored 41 points to go with 14 rebounds and four assists. Durant shot 13-for-30 from the field and did seemingly everything for a Thunder team that was missing such a big piece.

Durant said after the game that it felt like he was playing street ball handling the ball as much as he did and trying to make something out of nothing on almost every possession.

That’s a great quote but doesn’t say anything great about the Thunder and especially head coach Scott Brooks. The Thunder need to figure out how to play without Westbrook. What happened in Game 3 can’t be the norm going forward because it simply will not work for long.

We’re talking about an NBA team here with one of the most efficient offenses in the league the past two years that looked like a street ball team in a playoff game. How is this possible?

The issue is that the Thunder never really had a very complex offense. There already was a lot of isolation for Durant and Westbrook but they were good enough that it didn’t matter.

Now without Westbrook all of that changes. When the amount of isolation now increases and you just have Durant, the Thunder will not be able to be nearly as efficient.

Brooks needs a find a way to feature Reggie Jackson, Kevin Martin and Serge Ibaka more. We need to see more of Jackson handling the ball in the pick-and-roll and more plays run for Martin trying to get him going.

Part of why they didn’t really get going in Game 3 was that Durant played the whole game and dominated the ball the whole game. That needs to be toned down going forward and these other guys need to step up.

The Thunder will be in real trouble if nothing changes, maybe even in this Houston series.

Game 4 will be tonight in Houston.

Apr 27, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley (12) brings the ball up the court during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game three of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

An Oklahoma City Thunder ball boy tweeted a death threat at Houston Rockets point guard Patrick Beverley and now the police are investigating the matter.

Oklahoma City police captain Dexter Nelson tells The Associated Press that their department is working with the Houston police and the NBA to investigate the threats.

The Thunder says in a statement that they “do not condone his comments. He works game nights on a voluntary basis and the matter will be handled internally.”

Game 3 was Saturday night in Houston. Security was increased for the game, but it was done because of the Boston Marathon bombings.

Via ESPN

The ball boy tweeted that he “is coming to kill” Beverley after news broke that Russell Westbrook would be having knee surgery after his collision with Beverley in Game 2. He later deleted the tweet.

The ball boy later tweeted an apology to Beverley and then claimed that his Twitter account had been hacked and that he was not the one who tweeted.

Like I wrote yesterday, I in no way believe that this 17-year old kid planned to actually kill Beverley. This was just one of very many nasty tweets that Beverley received. People don’t think before tweeting and definitely don’t think their tweets will be taken seriously.

But at the same time stuff like this needs to be taken seriously. The reason is that this kid works for the Thunder and would have access to being on the court for another Thunder home game. It is unfortunate that it has come to this but there is really no other option than for the police to investigate this thoroughly.

Hopefully, this is the last we here about this.

Apr 27, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) shoots during the fourth quarter as Houston Rockets power forward Terrence Jones (6) defends during game three of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Durant put the Oklahoma City Thunder on his back last night leading the Thunder to a 104-101 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Durant had 41 points, 14 rebounds and four assists in 47 minutes of action in what was the first game in franchise history without Russell Westbrook.

It was clear that the team and Durant had one thing on their minds coming into the game and that was to win it for Westbrook.

Durant basically played point guard for much of the game. Twice, he went coast-to-coast bringing the ball up the floor and finishing with dunks over Houston big men. KD provided the finishing touches in the win too when he sunk a three-pointer with 41 seconds left after watching the ball bounce around the rim three times.

The three was meant to go in and the Thunder were meant to win this game. They willed their way to victory without their vocal leader. Durant stepped up.

Where does Durant’s performance rank among the all-time great playoff performances?

There have only been 10 times when a player had at least 41 points, 14 rebounds and four assists in a game since the 1985-86 season. LeBron James did it once, Charles Barkley twice and Shaq three times.

There was more riding on Durant’s game last night than any of the other’s except for LeBron. This was a statement by Durant that this Thunder team is not rolling over and dying.

It brought with it shades of Magic Johnson in his rookie season when he led the Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA title. After a devastating injury to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the 1980 NBA Finals, Magic stood up in front of his teammates and proclaimed, “Have no fear, Magic is here.” Magic then went on to have 42 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists in Game 6 as the Lakers beat the 76ers for the championship.

Durant and the Thunder are only in the first round but it was a similar moment for OKC. Everyone was ready to completely write them off after hearing news that Westbrook was done for the playoffs. Durant reminded everyone that he’s still healthy.

Last night was definitely the greatest playoff game in Durant’s career and he’s had some good ones. If the Thunder can make a run to the Western Conference Finals without Westbrook then everyone will remember last night’s game as one of the best ever.

For the Thunder, Durant will need to continue having these all-time great performances for them to keep winning in the playoffs. Until OKC learns how to get more production from Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin, they will rely on Durant to put up gaudy numbers like last night just to stay in games.

If there’s one thing we learned last night, it’s that Durant is up for the challenge. We’ll be in for a show the rest of these playoffs. The Kevin Durant Show.

Apr 27, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts after making a basket in the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets in game three of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Thunder took a 3-0 series lead over the Rockets last night with a 104-101 win. This was the first game the Thunder have played without Russell Westbrook in quite a long time, and they managed to hang on for the win. Going up 3-0 is huge for the Thunder because no team has ever come back from that in NBA history.

Game Grades:

Kevin Durant- 47 minutes, 41 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists- A+

Durant was awesome in this game for OKC. There is no other word to describe how he played besides awesome. Without Westbrook on the floor, the Thunder offense ran through KD for the entire game. He did not get much help aside from Ibaka late in the game. Durant was pretty much OKC’s only offense and considering that burden, he played amazing. Durant was also a monster in the first quarter going for 17 points and he really set the tone for the game there. He was aggressive  and very assertive in what he wanted to do and when KD does that, he is unstoppable.

Serge Ibaka- 31 minutes, 17 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks- A

Ibaka was great in the minutes he played in this game. When I checked the box score at the conclusion of the game I was shocked to see that he played 31 minutes and Nick Collison only played 17. It seemed like Collison played a lot more than that and I thought that was one reason why the Rockets got back into the game. Ibaka brings a solid jump shot to the offense, and he is decent on the offensive glass. He showed this late in the game, and he really helped KD close the deal for the Thunder.

Kevin Martin- 31 minutes, 12 points, 3 assists, 2 steals- C+

With Westbrook being out for the rest of the playoffs, Martin is going to have to play much better than he did last night. Martin should be the third option in this offense behind KD and Ibaka right now, and at times last night it seemed like he wasn’t even on the court. He has to be more aggressive, and take some of the pressure off of KD. He didn’t do this last night and it nearly cost the Thunder the ball game.

Thabo Sefolosha- 42 minutes, 3 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists- B

Thabo was solid last tonight on the defensive end (as always) but he shot very poorly on offense. Once again, he is another guy that will have to shoot better with Russ gone for the playoffs. Thabo gets a lot of open three point looks because of KD’s ability to go to the basket, and he will have to knock some of them down. He was only 1-6 from three last night.

Kendrick Perkins- 16 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist- B-

Perk was virtually a no show to this game. His style just does not fit this series, and I can’t fault him too much for this. I did however like his opening statement to Patrick Beverley with that screen early in the game.

Nick Collison- 17 minutes, 6 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block- C

Collison hasn’t had a very good playoffs so far, and once again he wasn’t very good last night. It seemed that he couldn’t convert easy opportunities under the basket numerous times and his passing wasn’t up to par either.

Reggie Jackson- 25 minutes, 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 HUGE free throws- A

In Jackson’s first career start, he put up 14 points in only 25 minutes of play, and he made probably the two biggest free throws of his career late in the game. I absolutely loved Jackson’s play last night, he was under control for the most part and he did not crack under pressure when he was put into the game during the crucial moments.

Derek Fisher- 24 minutes, 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist- B

I admit that I usually bash Fisher because he is old and unable to be as effective as he used to be, but he was big last night. He hit a couple big shots late, and he also knocked down two important free throws. I will give Fisher this, without Westbrook playing he is the second most clutch guy on the roster behind KD. If KD can’t shoot the free throws at the end of the game, then I want Fisher taking them. There. I gave him some credit.

Scott Brooks- C-

My main issue with Brooks last night was how he used Ibaka and Collison. I think that he left Collison for far too long in key moments in the game. Ibaka is the best rim protector in the game, and he also can be very effective offensively. Collison was just having a bad game and I think Brooks should have spotted that and made the changes quicker.

Apr 27, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) drives the ball around Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) in the first quarter during game three in the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Phew. Can I breathe now?

Wait. Give me a second.

Ok. I’m good now. Well, I’ll just give you a run down of how this game went real quick. The Thunder looked dominate in the first half leading by as much as 26, blew the lead, were down, and somehow came out on top to take a 3-0 series lead. And, yeah, Kevin Durant was something else. He finished with 41 points, and 14 rebounds. Someone said something about him stepping up without #0?..

The first half could not of gone any better for the Thunder. To open the game, the Thunder went down 7-1 in early going. However, after the slow start, the Thunder responded to take a lead 16-9 with 6:18 to go in the first as they went on 13-0 run. Durant’s slam over Asik was the talk of the first quarter. At the end of one, the Thunder led the Rockets, 39-19. Durant was the high scorer with 17.  Oklahoma opened the second quarter on fire as they led 46-22 with 9:36 to go in the quarter. At the time, Houston was shooting 1-11 from deep. The Rockets showed spurts of life with big production from Francisco Gracia. Houston went a 14-6 run to end the half, but the Thunder still had a demanding lead going into the locker room, 66-49. Durant had 27 points at the half.

In the third quarter, the Rockets rallied themselves right back into the game. The Thunder led by 17, 73-56 halfway through the quarter. However, the Rockets went on an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 13. Then, all things went South as the Rockets cut the lead to 9 with a Chandler Parsons three.  Francisco Garcia’s three made it an 11-0 run for the Rockets, but Durant’s three ending that run (his only points in the quarter). Heading into the fourth quarter, Oklahoma City led 80-76. In the fourth, the Rockets stayed in the game in the early going. The Thunder led by 2 with 7:49 to go in the game. The Rockets took a one point lead with 3:30 to go for the first time since the 9-6 lead in the first. Durant’s three with 20 or so seconds to go gave the Thunder the lead back by 1, and Derek Fischer’s two free throws gave the Thunder a three-point lead with 12.5 seconds to go. Harden responded with a quick two, but Reggie Jackson’s two free throws sealed the deal as the thunder survived, 104-101.

When Durant was asked what adjustments he had to make without Westbrook, he said, “Well, I gotta do whatever Coach needs me to do.”

Like I said, a win is a win, and the Thunder are up 3-0 in the series. See you Monday night for Game 4 as the Thunder try to bring out the broom and sweep the Rockets.

Apr 24, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) attempts a shot against Houston Rockets cetner Omer Asik (3) in the second half during game two of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The mood among Thunder fans is a somber one right now after hearing news that Russell Westbrook will be out for the remainder of the playoffs. I give you the Thunderous Intentions staff answering some burning questions regarding the injury and how it affects the Thunder.

1. What was your first thought when you heard Westbrook needed surgery?

Andrew Kennedy: Oh no. I can’t believe this. Didn’t even know it was possible. The Thunder’s title chances are suddenly out the window.

Eli Friedman: My knee jerk-reaction was rough. I was heartbroken, and was just ready to tear up. Thought of ,”boom. There goes all of those finals expectations,” and “No more playoffs run for the Thunder” came to mind. I was totally speechless, I lost for words.

Cyrus Geller: I was in shock, I really was. This is a huge blow to the Thunder and I really am scared at the thought of OKC playing without Russ. He is such a good player, and one of the most dependable guys in the league as well. It was a such shock to find out that he will be gone, because in his career he has never missed a game. The Thunder are really going to struggle without him.

2. How will the Thunder do the rest of the Houston series with Westbrook out?

AK: I think they will still win this series with relative ease. The 2-0 series lead helps a lot with this and I think the team will be really up for the next few games to win them without Russell. Houston’s just not good enough defensively to make it tough enough on the Thunder.

EF: For the Houston series, the Thunder should be just fine. Its not like Houston has any special PG, especially with Lin questionable for Game 3. Anyways, the Thunder still have #35.

CG: I think they will still finish them off in five games. Kevin Durant is just too talented to let the Rockets back into this series. The Thunder will also be playing with a lot of emotion because I believe that Russell is the heart and soul of this team, even more than KD. When a team loses their heart and soul, they will play very inspired basketball.

3. Assuming Westbrook is out for the playoffs, what are the Thunder’s chances at reaching the NBA Finals?

AK: I think there is still a chance but things will get much more difficult earlier than expected. I thought the Thunder were the clear-cut favorites in the West before the injury and now it feels like the Spurs are. Clippers/Grizzlies will be very tough but I think with KD still there is a chance to get past them and possible the Spurs as well.

EF: Slim. I wont say slim to none, because like I said: Oklahoma City still has #35, and a deep young, excited team. I will not be easy getting by San Antonio now though.

CG: I would give them around a 30% chance of actually making it to the finals. If they somehow get there then they will be swept by Miami. The only reason I give them 30% is because of how weak the rest of the west is. After the Rockets series they will probably face the Clippers and OKC has shown that they can beat the Clips pretty easily. Granted they had Westbrook during those games, but the Thunder do have other guys that can play and in my opinion beat the Clippers in seven games. However if they have to play the Spurs after that without Westbrook, then they will probably go down in five or six games to them. OKC is just not as talented without Westbrook, and that really brings them down a couple of levels in this league.

4. Should Westbrook come back if he’s not 100 percent?

AK: I think it would probably be too risky considering the way he plays. Also, it’s hard to imagine Westbrook being very effective if he can’t be the super athlete that makes him so great. His game revolves around his athleticism and without it, what’s the point?

EF: Oklahoma City is so young, and there future is so bright, so probably not. Let him rest up, heal, and then be ready to go for a finals run in the 2013-2014 season.

CG: No. Absolutely not. Westbrook has way too bright of a future to jeopardize it over this one playoffs. Westbrook and KD are only 24 years old. They will have plenty of more chances to get back to the finals. If Russ comes back too early and damages the knee further, he could be out for a lot longer period of time and maybe never come back the same player. I say wait until it is 100% then come back and make another run to the finals with Durant.

5. What kind of numbers will Kevin Durant put up with Westbrook out?

AK: I’m hoping for 35-plus per night and 25-30 shots. I think teams will really focus on doubling him though allowing Duran to flirt with triple-doubles every night. He will be playing huge minutes so expect bigger numbers while being less efficient.

EF: If you look at the situation in New York, its quite similar. Amare Stodimire, the Knicks second option at the time, goes down. And as well know, Carmelo just went on a tear. MVP contender, scoring title, and leading his team to the 2 seed. Hopefully Durant will realize what is at stake, and just puts matters into his own hands. I say Durant averaged 31 or so points a game for the rest of the playoffs.

CG: I think KD will put up 30+ a night. He is going to absorb most of Russell’s shots and because of his incredible ability to shoot, he is going to convert those shots into points. You combine that with the fact that he will be playing with a lot of emotion, I think ‘Angry KD’ is going to show up.

6. Do you see Kevin Martin, Reggie Jackson or Serge Ibaka taking their game to another level with Russ out?

AK: I think they will all step up and do a good job. I’m not sure how long it will last in the playoffs though. They may look great in the Houston series and then start to decline. Ibaka is the one I’m worried about since his production has always been tied so closely with Russ.

EF: I sure hope so. Scott Brooks is counting on it, and so are every Thunder fan. Kevin Martin in particular he has the ability to do so. A great opportunity for Ibaka, Martin, and Jackson to make a name for themselves, and I hope they seize the opportunity.

CG: Honestly I don’t see any of them playing that much greater than they already do. Ibaka has already improved so much over this past year that I doubt he can play much better in this years playoffs. Martin may put up some more numbers, but that doesn’t mean he will play at a higher level. I think he is just going to get more shots, and therefore he will get more points. As for Jackson, I know that the kid is very talented, and by playing starter type minutes he will definitely prove that he is a solid player, but I don’t think he is going to improve his game a lot in this short period of time.

Apr 24, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) talks with Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant in the second half during game two of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Well, this series took a turn for the worse.

We found out yesterday that Russell Westbrook would be having surgery on his right knee to repair a torn meniscus from a collision with Patrick Beverley in Game 2. We find out today that Westbrook is out for the rest of the playoffs.

Now we get to see a Thunder team that we have literally never seen before: one without Russell Westbrook.

This changes so much in this series basically because we don’t really know what to expect from the Thunder.

Houston committed to small ball in Game 2 and it gave the Thunder some trouble and resulted in a much closer game. That’s surely going to be the strategy going forward for the Rockets while we’re not even sure what the Thunder will do to combat it.

Kevin Durant will be called upon to do it all from now on in the playoffs. This is something he has basically been preparing for with his LeBron James imitation this season. Expect KD to play 44 minutes per night and probably the entire second half of every game the rest of the playoffs.

Defenses should be more geared to Durant than ever before now which will mean Durant’s willingness to pass will be on full display. The Thunder can only hope that their shooters will be open and they will be ready to knock down shots.

Reggie Jackson will start at point guard in place of Westbrook. He should see a big increase in minutes along with Derek Fisher and Kevin Martin.

The Thunder desperately need Martin and Serge Ibaka to step up as scorers. Both haven’t exactly been consistent at that this year but have shown the potential to do so at times.

Tonight will be about winning it for Westbrook. The Thunder are worse off for the rest of the playoffs without him but tonight should be an emotional game for a Thunder team that will play their hearts out to win it for Russ.

You expect someone will have to be inserted into the rotation to replace Russ and that might be Ronnie Brewer, who should fit in well with this series as a defender against Houston’s small lineups.

We will see how Scott Brooks reacts. The game will tip at 8:30 p.m. CST and air nationally on ESPN.

Apr 4, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) celebrates a 3 point basket against the San Antonio Spurs in the second half in Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

It’s official now. Russell Westbrook has had surgery on his torn meniscus and the Oklahoma City Thunder announced that he will miss the remainder of the season and playoffs.

Not surprising the Thunder opted for the safe, long-term route. Have to think of Westbrook’s health and career first and foremost.

— Royce Young (@dailythunder) April 27, 2013

Thunder GM Sam Presti said that repairing the meniscus as opposed to removing it was the best possible scenario for Russell’s long-term health as a player and a person.

This was expected. The Thunder are playing it safe here and that’s exactly what they should do. While I guess there was a chance Westbrook could have tried to return in these playoffs, considering the way that he plays injuring his knee even worse seems like it could have been a real possibility.

The chances that the Thunder win the NBA title this season are just about completely gone now. There’s just no way to think they could get past the Miami Heat without Westbrook.

I do think that there is still a shot they could win the Western Conference, which would be a heck of an accomplishment. They will be underdogs from the second round on out.

The Thunder should be able to get past the Rockets with relative ease thanks to the 2-0 cushion they now have. But the Los Angeles Clippers or Memphis Grizzlies will be very tough to deal with in the second round.

Homecourt will help and the fact that the Thunder still have the second best player in the world in Kevin Durant. This Thunder team just isn’t well-practiced in playing without Westbrook.

I’m not sure what to expect tonight. Hopefully the guys rally for Russ and get the win. Game 3 will tip at 8:30 p.m. CST.

This is what happens on Twitter these days. It happens every day and it’s pretty nasty to look at. It’s even happened to Kevin Durant before.

We’re almost to the point where we are numb to what people tweet. I know I just expect the worst at this point.

One of the death threat tweets Beverley has received has come from an Oklahoma City Thunder ball boy. This was first discovered by ClutchFans.net, a Houston Rockets blog.

@patbev21 I’m coming to kill you. #spaz

— Mitchell Brown (@MitchellBrwn) April 27, 2013

Is this now where we need to take Twitter death threats seriously? What if this ball boy actually does plan to kill Beverley?

I’m here to say right now that I don’t think in any way that this Thunder ball boy is seriously considering this with this tweet. I fully believe that he just didn’t think before tweeting this or think that anyone would care enough to take this seriously. He’s just upset and doesn’t actually want to kill Beverley.

That’s what I think.

But should we play this on the safe side and not allow him to be present at any more games in this series?

That’s what a lot of the Rockets fans from this forum believe. It’s hard to argue with them.

What do you think?

Update: Ball boy claiming someone hacked his account so I guess he’s kind of apologizing for the tweet.

@patbev21 yesterday someone tweeted on my account making a death threat towards you and it wasn’tme. I apologize.

— Mitchell Brown (@MitchellBrwn) April 27, 2013

April 11, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook (0) celebrates during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. The City Thunder defeated the Warriors 116-97. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

It’s time to see for the first time in franchise history what the Oklahoma City Thunder will look like without Russell Westbrook. The timing couldn’t be any worse.

The Thunder are up 2-0 in their series with the Houston Rockets but only barely beat them in Game 2. One of the biggest reasons, to no surprise, that the Thunder are such a tough matchup for the Rockets was Westbrook.

We will have answers to a lot of questions tonight when the Thunder play without Westbrook. What will Kevin Durant look like without him? Will Serge Ibaka still be able to be effective without him? Are Kevin Martin and Reggie Jackson ready to step up?

Now, it’s really impossible to know exactly what the Thunder will look like without Russ. You can look at the numbers of how they produced with him off the floor this season but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

Kevin Durant

The most interesting thing is how Durant will be now. All of the defensive attention will be geared toward him more than ever. He will be constantly doubled in the post and in the pick-and-roll and coming off screens. He’s become a willing passer this season as he’s tried to imitate LeBron and now he will have the most opportunities to be a playmaker.

The key for KD will be keeping the turnovers down. Losing Westbrook is horrible but if the Thunder can somehow flip this into becoming a team that now turns the ball over much less, that will limit the loss.

Reggie Jackson and Derek Fisher

We will have players tweaking their roles and playing more minutes now. Jackson will start in his place and see a big increase in his minutes. He’s in just his second season this year and has really come on strong but increasing his minutes is something he may not totally be ready for. The good news is in this series vs. Houston, Jackson has a big athletic advantage against Houston’s point guards so the pressure won’t be on him too much yet.

Derek Fisher will be getting more minutes now too. Finally, that doesn’t feel like such a bad thing and his signing looks like a good one now. The reality is that the Thunder will need him now without Westbrook. He is a solid backup to Jackson who at times may be the better option, depending on how Jackson handles all of this.

Kevin Martin

Martin will definitely be playing more now. At times, Martin was not on the floor this season closing out games but he will be needed more than ever now without Westbrook. Martin really needs to become the second scorer on this team. He can kind of create his own shot now and then and the Thunder will need him to try.

Expect to see more isolation plays from Martin now. He’s actually pretty decent on isolation plays scoring 0.93 points per possession. He will need to be more aggressive than he’s ever been with the Thunder going forward.

Serge Ibaka

Ibaka’s production has always been tied to Westbrook as much as any player in the league. When Westbrook was making good decisions and passes in the pick-and-roll, it was Ibaka who benefited the most. It will be interesting to see if Ibaka’s looks in the pick-and-pop now go down or if they stay the same. There’s a chance for either.

Ibaka should get more opportunities posting up. It won’t be a lot more but if he gets going at any point in the game, the Thunder will look to go back to him more than they ever have in the past. Ibaka has gotten much better in the post this season but is still very far away from being a consistent option down there.

The prediction

I think we see a team trying to run the same stuff even though they’re now without Russ. KD will be handling the ball a lot more now, and he was already handling it quite a bit. Jackson will try and push in transition similar to how Westbrook did.

Westbrook wasn’t always the most efficient player in the world as we all know. So replacing his production is possible in a sense. Though, it’s hard to know if the Thunder are up to it. Not to mention, the Thunder were of course always at their best and looking like a title threat when Westbrook was efficient. The hope is that he would be that in the playoffs.

I think Durant will have moments where he goes to another level. He will take over some games but at the end of the day, Durant is better when he has Westbrook on the floor with him to take the attention away from him. At first, Durant will probably turn the ball over a lot but I think he figures out playing without Russ quickly.

Ibaka is the one I’m really worried about. Maybe not in the Houston series but in the second round, teams are easily going to be able to take him away. Russ created so much havoc for any defense that it was easy for Ibaka to get looks. Teams will focus on him more and his game is not good enough to score a lot by himself.

The Thunder should still be able to get past Houston with relative ease. It might take six games now instead of four or five but don’t worry, OKC will be advancing to Round 2.

The Clippers may very well and with good reason be considered the favorites in the second round now. Maybe even the Grizzlies would be. The series becomes so much tougher for OKC now without Russ. The good news is that Russ always really struggled against those teams and the Thunder still managed to beat them. So in the next round, the Thunder will basically only have to replace a struggling Russ and they should be able to still win the series. I doubt that series doesn’t go six or seven though.

Now is not the time to look past the second round. You can’t do that with the Thunder now without Russ.

Hopefully for the Thunder, Westbrook is somehow able to come back by the conference finals. It is possible but we don’t know enough yet to say.

Tonight, we get the first glimpse of OKC without him. It will be weird.

Apr 24, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) is helped from the floor by Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) in action against the Houston Rockets in the second half during game two of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

If Russell Westbrook was mad at Patrick Beverley immediately following the injury on the court, that’s nothing compared to how he feels about him now.

According to Yahoo! Sports, Westbrook is “irate” at Beverley, who ran into him causing this injury in Game 2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first round series vs. the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

Yahoo! Sports is also reporting that the injury – a tear to his lateral meniscus – is “minimal.” Westbrook could potentially return within weeks instead of months from this.

The first thought when you hear Westbrook is injured and that he needs surgery is that he would be done for the playoffs. This isn’t that type of serious injury. If anyone can return quickly from an injury, you’d think it would be Westbrook who hasn’t missed a game in his high school, college or NBA career.

At best, it does seem like Westbrook will miss the first and second round. Maybe he could return very late in a second round series vs. the Los Angeles Clippers or Memphis Grizzlies but that feels unlikely.

We don’t really know yet though.

Metta World Peace suffered a similar injury earlier this season and amazingly returned in just 13 days. Blake Griffin suffered a similar injury in his freshman year at the University of Oklahoma and returned in only six days.

Again, Westbrook seems like the type to do the abnormal and come back as quick as possible.

We know Westbrook’s competitveness will make him try and come back as soon as possible.

Yahoo! Sports also reported that the Thunder do not want to rush Russ back in a way that would risk his future. Considering the way Westbrook plays, unless he is 100 percent it seems like that risk will definitely be there is he tries to return in the playoffs.

It’s going to be weird watching the Thunder without Russ the next few games. Kevin Durant hasn’t played in a Thunder game without him since his rookie season.

OKC should be able to still get past the Rockets but this series just got a lot more interesting. A second round matchup vs. the Clippers or Grizzlies is an entirely different story though.

The impossible has happened. Russell Westbrook is injured.

Westbrook injured his knee in the video above in Game 2 and will now undergo surgery on his knee and may miss the rest of the playoffs.

Most players need 6-8 weeks to return from a meniscus tear. Metta World Peace returned after just 13 days earlier this season which was a unique case. If anyone, you’d think Westbrook could return as fast as anyone.

Blake Griffin also returned very quickly from a minor meniscus tear during his freshman year at Oklahoma. He returned after just six days.

We need more information about Russ’ injury before we can really say how long he’ll be out.

As you can see in the video, this play did not need to happen. The Thunder were about to call a timeout before Patrick Beverley went for a steal that never gets made and made contact with Westbrook’s knee.

Westbrook was very angry after the play and at Beverley.

It wasn’t a dirty play by Beverley but was pretty lame of him in retrospect. You never want to see something so meaningless result in a player possibly being lost for the season.

Westbrook is officially being called “out indefinitely.” Maybe he will miss the rest of the playoffs. There’s no doubt he will make a speedy recovery.

I really don’t even think I’d want Russ hurrying back unless he is 100 percent. Just hard to imagine him being as effective playing hurt. Wouldn’t want to risk injurying himself more either.

Westbrook hadn’t missed a game in his high school, college or pro career up until now. There was never any worry that he would ever get hurt in any kind of way.

Kevin Durant gets to be pretty much a one-man show now. It might actually be kind of cool to watch and I think that this Thunder team still has a good shot to make it to the conference finals.

Reggie Jackson will start in place of Westbrook and hopefully will continue to improve upon what has been a great season for him. It’s time for him to grow up real quick now.

The Derek Fisher signing seems decent now. Who would have thought?

Kevin Martin should start getting to handle the ball a lot more now. The same for Serge Ibaka.

The Thunder still have a lot of talent but it’s just hard to imagine them without Russ.

This is a sad day for the Thunder.

Apr 24, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) knocks the ball out of the hands of Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins (5) in the first half during game two of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

If you haven’t heard about what occurred in Game 2 Wednesday night, I’ll just sum it up for you real quick: Houston battled and scrapped the whole game, but the Thunder seemed to open the game up early in the fourth quarter to a 15-point lead with 9:23 left in the game. But, midway through the fourth, the Rockets went on a 17-2 run and eventually took the lead. Ibaka’s midrange jumper, Sefolosha’s clutch three and two Kevin Durant free throws sealed the deal for the Thunder to win Game 2.

However, that being said, there is a whole lot to take out of what happened last night and what needs to change moving forward.

For one, Oklahoma City needs to find a way to find a solution to the other team “going small” issue. All props go to Rockets head coach Kevin McHale for scouting that, and figuring out that going small would frustrate the Thunder. Last year, in the NBA Finals the Heat really frustrated Oklahoma City with having Bosh at the five, and having Ibaka guard LeBron or Battier at times. Last night, McHale attempted to do the same exact thing. And to be honest, it worked.  There were points in last night’s game in which Scott Brooks had Ibaka guarding Harden, which didn’t work out because Harden just blew by Ibaka every time and made someone help which usually led to a kick out for an open three or a foul. Harden finished the night with 36 points and attempted 20 free throws.

Not so much of an adjustment, but more of a key is the play from Durant and Westbrook. Yes, they did both score 29 points last night. Yes, Durant and Westbrook went a combined 20-51 last night. Yes, do the math, that’s 40 percent. Not too shabby, huh?

But if you look at the actual play from Durant and Westbrook, it kind of makes you ponder for a second. Westbrook left the game early in the first because of quick two fouls. And, Durant didn’t score in the fourth quarter until there was 2:56 to play.  Not saying it’s not a good thing to get others involved, but, the Thunder got 17 of their 27 fourth quarter points from guys without a #0 or #35 on their back.  Its more of a “being too unselfish” kind of thing to me. Late in a playoff game, the ball needs to be in Durant or Westbrook’s hands. That’s just the nature of the game.

Needless to say, it did work. Sefolosha and Ibaka came up BIG. The Thunder did win Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead, and yes, the M-V-P chants did come down when Durant was at the line with 11 seconds to go.

Houston played an excellent game without one of their better players in Lin (who is questionable for Game 3). You have to give them their credit. Game 3 will be played on Saturday night in Houston.

Apr 24, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) talks with Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant in the second half during game two of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder escaped Game 2 with a 105-102 victory over the Houston Rockets Wednesday night.

Kevin Durant came through with two huge assists in the final minutes to help the Thunder clinch the win.

But it was Houston’s change to their starting lineup that made this game so much closer than Game 1. Head coach Kevin McHale elected to start Patrick Beverley and go small with Jeremy Lin, James, Harden, Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik.

The small lineup was an equalizer for the Rockets as the Thunder tried to match up with them.

The Thunder have a much harder time beating teams when both have a small lineup on the floor. There are just so many more holes in the Thunder defense when they are small and when their opponent spaces the floor properly, they can score a bunch on OKC (the 4th most efficient defense in the regular season).

We saw that last night as Harden finished with 36 points and seemed to have a lot more space to operate in than in Game 1. Beverley was also very effective scoring 16.

The Rockets were able to get 18 offensive rebounds as well which was due mostly to the fact that the Thunder weren’t as sound defensively.

This has been a theme all season for the Thunder. They struggle against teams that can go small.

People think the Thunder are fine at going small because Durant is so effective as a stretch four but their defense becomes so much worse.

The reason OKC is still able to beat Houston is because the Rockets simply don’t have the defensive chops to stop the Thunder. The Thunder are hardly turning the ball over vs. Houston and are getting plenty of good shots throughout the series.

This issue vs. small lineups is not an issue in this series but will be going forward in these playoffs for OKC.

We saw what the Miami Heat did to them in the NBA Finals a year ago. If the Thunder see the Clippers and Spurs in the next two rounds, two teams that go small quite a bit, OKC will be in a lot of trouble.

Right now, it almost feels like the Thunder would be better off sticking to their bigger lineups. At least they should be able to have an advantage on the offensive glass, something that the Thunder haven’t been great at taking advantage of this season.

If you’re closing out games with Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison as the two bigs then you will be fine having one of them stick a spot-up shooter in the corner. Closing out games with Kendrick Perkins over Collison won’t be as effective but still might be better defensively than the small lineups the Thunder have been using.

In the past, Scott Brooks seemed pretty committed to the traditional lineups to close out games. This year though Brooks has gone small more often than not and nearly always when facing another small lineup.

This will at best make the games very close for the Thunder. Durant and Russell Westbrook are good enough to close out any close game but it’s no guarantee this way, especially when the Clippers will have Chris Paul and the Spurs Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

This is the biggest worry right now for a Thunder team that really has been great this year. It’s nitpicking but pay attention to when the Thunder go small and how their defense really suffers. It’s worrisome.

Apr 24, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts to a play in action against the Houston Rockets in the second half during game two of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Thunder managed to hold off the Rockets in game two to win 105-102 and take a commanding 2-0 series lead. The Thunder did exactly what they needed to do as they defended home court. They now will go to Houston to try and finish the sweep. Here are the game grades:

Kevin Durant- 46 minutes, 29 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds- B-

KD didn’t have a very efficient night on offense as he only went 10-25 from the field and 2-9 from deep. However, Durant showed why he is the second best player in the NBA by coming through in the clutch. He made a huge three pointer to put the Thunder ahead for good 98-97 late in the game. He then made a great play to set up Thabo Sefolosha for another three and that pretty much sealed the ball game.

Russell Westbrook- 37 minutes, 29 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds- A

Westbrook was the MVP of this game as far as I am concerned. He got two quick fouls in the first quarter, but he was a beast after that. He carried the Thunder through the whole game and then let KD close it out. Russ was attacking the basket as usual, and he also got his mid range game going for a little bit.

Serge Ibaka- 34 minutes, 12 points, 11 rebounds, 6 blocks- A-

Serge was really a non factor offensively for OKC but he was great on the defensive end. He was the the ultimate rim protector for the Thunder as he finished the game with 6 blocks, and he influenced many more.

Kevin Martin- 21 minutes, 10 points, 1 steal- B

Martin struggled throughout the game until the fourth quarter came around. He then hit two giant threes for the Thunder and showed why OKC went out and got him. He is a great shooter and showed that he can come through under the pressures of the playoffs.

Kendrick Perkins- 29 minutes, 4 points, 6 rebounds 1 block- B+

Perk’s numbers don’t look very good (do they ever?) but he did exactly what he is here to do in this win for the Thunder. He played great defense, he was physical and delivered the “nasty” for OKC.

Thabo Sefolosha- 36 minutes, 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists- B-

Thabo was okay throughout the game defending the various Houston guards, and he hit a huge shot late in the fourth quarter on a pass from KD that put OKC up 101-97. That shot was pretty much the nail in the coffin for the Rockets.

Nick Collison- 12 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal- C+

Collison was surprisingly a non factor for the Thunder in this game. He usually makes a lot of great plays when he is in the game, but in this win he hardly seemed there. A lot of this had to do with the fact that Ibaka and Perk got a lot more minutes than usual at the four and five spots.

Reggie Jackson- 19 minutes, 6 points , 3 assists, 4 rebounds- A

What a game for Reggie Jackson. Well, I should say what a first quarter. Jackson came off the bench much earlier than usual because Westbrook had the two quick fouls. But Jackson played great in Westbrook’s absence in that first quarter. He helped KD with the scoring load by hitting two big threes, which is really unusual for Jackson because he is not a very good three point shooter.

Scott Brooks- C+

I don’t think Brooks responded very well to the different match-ups the Rockets were throwing at the Thunder and specifically I don’t think he reacted very well when they came at OKC with that 2-3 zone. This let Houston back into the game, and it nearly lost the Thunder home court advantage in this series.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma City narrowly held off the Houston Rockets on Wednesday evening, winning 105-102 to take a 2-0 lead in the first round of the playoffs.

For the Thunder, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each dropped 29 in the winning effort; 21 of Durant’s points came in the first half alone. Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefalosha also scored in double-digits with 12 and 10 apiece, while Ibaka also had 11 rebounds and six blocks.

James Harden shouldered most of the burden for Houston–much like he did in Game 1–scoring 36 points and having 11 rebounds in a double-double effort. Furthermore, Patrick Beverly and Chandler Parsons showed up much more this time around, scoring 33 points between them.

It was a sloppy win for Oklahoma City, who squandered a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter that forced them to ultimately come from being down four points with under four minutes left to play.

In the beginning, the Rockets made it clear that they had no intentions of cruising through this game like they did in Game 1, keeping it close with the Thunder from wire to wire. They went on a 17-2 run to tie it at 91 with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, giving the Thunder a legitimate scare down the stretch.

But Durant, Ibaka, and Sefalosha stepped up with the game on the line, each knocking down a clutch shot to put OKC back on top, and to then give them just enough cushion to pull out the win. Near the end of the game, Durant drained a deep three to put the Thunder up one, 98-97. On their following possession, Ibaka dished a clean pass to Sefalosha who also knocked down the tre ball, extending the lead to 101-97. And finally, Ibaka drained a turnaround jumper following a missed free throw from James Harden to make the score 103-98.

It was a nice series of possessions for the Thunder, in a quarter marred by careless mistakes.

The Thunder and the Rockets have the next two days off, before they resume this series on Sat., Apr. 27 at the Toyota Center in Houston. It is critical that the Rockets can win on their home turf in these next few games, or the lights will unceremoniously cut out on their postseason hopes.

Apr 21, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Houston Rockets forward Greg Smith (4) handles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

After two days off, the Oklahoma City Thunder are set to host the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of their first round series.

The Thunder completely dominated the Rockets in Game 1 winning 120-91. The Thunder shot 53 percent from the field in the game and seemingly got whatever they wanted on offense.

James Harden was held to 20 points on 6-of-19 shooting. He was the only Houston starter in double-figures.

Kevin Durant finished with an easy 24 points while Russell Westbrook had 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. KD and Russ both went 7-for-15 from the field.

Westbrook was huge simply putting a ton of pressure on the Houston defense. Any chance he got, Westbrook would drive right at Jeremy Lin and make a play. The Rockets defense simply could not handle him.

Lin really struggled for Houston shooting just 1-for-7 from the field and scoring only four points. Lin turned the ball over a few times early in the game as he just didn’t seem ready for the speed of the playoffs.

Serge Ibaka really came up big for the Thunder aggressively looking for his shot from the start. He went on to score 17 points along with seven rebounds and three blocks.

It will be interesting to see if Houston tries to take away Ibaka going forward in this series. If they do, it will only open up more driving lanes for Westbrook.

We saw in Game 1 just how bad of a matchup this is for the Rockets. The Thunder can play at any pace Houston desires and do so better.

The Rockets will need to commit more to small lineups and hope to shoot lights out from three to stick with the Thunder the rest of the series.

Tonight’s game will tip at 6 p.m. CST and air nationally on TNT.

Apr 21, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jeremy LIn (7) handles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Thabo Sefolosha (2) and Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) in the first half during game one of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

There is a common notion with the Oklahoma City Thunder that they are one of the best teams in the league at playing a small lineup because they have Kevin Durant who can be deadly when playing the four.

For the most part, this is true. It is near impossible for any power forward in the NBA to cover Durant.

What about when the other team is going small too? This is where the small Thunder lineups is no longer such a great advantage.

Offensively, OKC is always a beast with their small lineups. They are shaky on defense though because they don’t have a lot of experience playing these smaller lineups.

For the Houston Rockets to get back in this series, they need to totally commit to small ball lineups.

We’ve seen the New York Knicks and Miami Heat kill the Thunder this way earlier this season. The Rockets won’t be able to be as effective as New York or Miami but they can at least give it their best shot against the Thunder this way.

The small lineups will help spread the floor of course which will create more driving lanes for James Harden, who was smothered for the most part in Game 1. The Rockets should be able to get more open threes this way as well and also will lure the Thunder into playing Derek Fisher more minutes.

We saw in Game 1 Omer Asik manhandle Nick Collison when they were the only two bigs on the floor. We also saw Serge Ibaka get lost defensively a few times when he was playing center.

The Thunder will match up with the Rockets when they go small. They won’t come out with two bigs.

There is a chance too that Scott Brooks will go with Collison instead of Ibaka if he continues to get lost in his rotations. This will be huge for Houston because Ibaka killed them offensively and any minutes you can keep him off the floor will be big for the Rockets.

Houston is probably not coming back in this series and going to win more than a game or two.

We did see some instances in Game 1 where they looked like they could give the Thunder problems. There only chance will be completely committing to the small lineups and maybe they win a game or two.

Apr 21, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) handles the ball against Houston Rockets guard Jeremy Lin (7) in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Thunderous Intentions staff got together to answer some questions we had after Game 1 of the Oklahoma City Thunder-Houston Rockets series.

1. Were you surprised by how much the Thunder dominated the Rockets?

Andrew Kennedy: Not at all. The Thunder are just such a bad matchup for the Rockets and it showed in Game 1. you knew OKC would come out strong to start the playoffs. When the Thunder play focused like they did, they should have no trouble dominating Houston.

Trenise Ferreira: Yes and no. Yes, because this is the Playoffs, and you expect teams to be really competitive at this point in the season. However, it wasn’t all that surprising, as the Thunder ave averaged over 120 points against Houston all season. The Rockets couldn’t find a way to contain all of OKC’s threats during the regular season, and Sunday night’s playoff game proved to be no different.

Eli Friedman: I wasn’t so surprised, as I was more on the “oh i knew this was gonna happen” kind of reaction. The Thunder are just quite simply the better team. More athletic, more experienced, more talented, and just an all around better team. There was no moment in last night’s game where the Rockets actually threatened the Thunder, and when they seemed too when it was 40-40, the Thunder just turned the switch and dominated.

Cyrus Geller: I was actually a little surprised at how badly the Rockets lost. Obviously the Thunder are much more talented than Houston, but I was a little concerned with the Rockets ability to shoot from the outside. If they get hot, they can challenge any team in the league. However, the Thunder showed that they have the defensive capability of shutting down the three point line and once you close that up against the Rockets, they will really struggle.

2. What was the best thing you took away about the Thunder from Game 1?

AK: Serge Ibaka’s big game. Ibaka needs to be the third scorer for the Thunder in the playoffs and Game 1 was a step in that direction. Russell Westbrook did a nice job incorporating Ibaka and finding him in the offense.

TF: The Thunder look like a team that is ready and capable to compete with anybody. If they continue to come out the gates fiery like they did against Houston, the teams in the West will be hard-pressed to slow them down. One thing that really stood out to me was how well this team shoots when it can establish a rhythm; they are nearly impossible to stop.

EF: The play of Serge Ibaka. I always talk about how vital and important this guy is to the Thunder playoff run. Some question Oklahoma City’s lack of an inside scoring presence, but if Ibaka can be the player he was last night, the Thunder are almost unstoppable. Now, you add a fourth 15 a night kind of guy to go along with Martin, Durant and Westbrook. The Rockets play a decently small line-up, but Ibaka just dominated last night.

CG: The major thing I took away from this win was the Thunder’s defense. The Rockets were the best scoring team in the league coming into the playoffs, and the Thunder totally shut them down. If OKC can do this consistently throughout the playoffs, they may have a shot at the NBA title.

3. How many games will the Rockets win in this series and what will it take for them to win any?

AK: I think they win one but no more than that. I still think the only way they win a game is if James Harden goes off in one. I wouldn’t be surprised if that doesn’t ever happen either and the Thunder sweep them.

TF: If the Rockets play mail in Game 2 like they did Game 1, they will be lucky to win any games! I want to believe they have more fight than this, and all it takes is a win for Houston on their home turf for this series to stabilize. For them to get a footing, they have to find a way to impede Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook’s ability to score at will; they dominated in the paint on Sunday and really gave the Rockets headaches. When this series comes to a close, I anticipate the Rockets will win…2 games.

EF: Maybe 1. And if Houston wins a game, they would have to shot there way into a win. Last night, Houston jacked up 36 threes and only made eight of them, while the Thunder shot 24 and made 10. So, it the Rockets would find a way to snatch a game, the Thunder would have to play absolutely atrocious and Houston would have to be on absolute fire from downtown.

CG: I will give the Rockets one game just because of James Harden. Harden is a top ten player in the league in my opinion, and he is capable of going off for 40 any night. I think Harden will do this in either games 3 or 4 in Houston, and he will at least save the Rockets from the embarrassment of a sweep.

4. Are the Thunder the favorite to win the West right now?

AK: I think they should be considered this. There are definitely some teams out there that could give the Thunder trouble in a series. OKC still seems to be the team with the best chance to make it back to the NBA Finals.

TF: If the Thunder aren’t the favorite in the West, they should be. As fundamentally sound as The Spurs are, I don’t see them going toe-to-toe with Oklahoma City through seven games. The Clippers could prove to be formidable, but I anticipate that the Thunder will storm their way through the West, onto the Promised Land.

EF: Right now, I would say so. Judging just from Game one’s from around the West, I would say so. Denver had to win on a buzzer beater, the Clippers haven’t beaten the Thunder all year, and the Spurs can’t handle Oklahoma City’s uptempo game in a seven game series. Oklahoma City took the regular season crown and it looks as if they are the favorite to be once again the Western Conference Champions.

CG: Right now I think they are, but I also thought that they were the favorites before the playoffs even began. The west is very weak this year and because of this, the Thunder have to be the favorites, just by default. They are just too talented for any other team out there, and barring any significant injuries, I think that they are going to steamroll their way to the finals.

Nov 28, 2012; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) looks to pass on Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) during the game at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Oklahoma City won 120-98. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Houston Rockets last night 120-91 in Game 1 of their first round series.

The game was much hyped because of James Harden’s return to Chesapeake Energy Arena for his first playoff game wearing red.

The Thunder came out and sent a message. The message being that the only way Houston isn’t losing by 20-plus points is if Harden comes out and scored 40.

Game 1 showed how this matchup is such a bad one for the Rockets. The Thunder brought their playoff defense and other than a few minor breakdowns when Houston went small, smothered the Rockets on every possession.

The game began with Houston turning the ball over a few times and the Thunder racing back down the court the other way.

Russell Westbrook put the most pressure on the Rockets’ defense attacking their point guards constantly. Russ would finish with 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

The fact that Westbrook is going to be able to do whatever he wants and get wherever he wants in this series is a death sentence for the Rockets. Their only hope is getting Westbrook to turn the ball over and shoot a low percentage and that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.

Kevin Durant could have shot better but still ended up with 24 in the game. He went 1-for-5 from downtown and surprisingly only had four assists despite the Thunder getting hot from downtown.

Durant took over for a stretch in the third quarter running point for OKC. Houston didn’t have an answer and it was a statement from Durant that he’s going to be able to have his way with them the rest of the series.

The biggest lift for the Thunder was Serge Ibaka, who scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. The Thunder are hoping for a third scorer to emerge in these playoffs and Ibaka did just that last night.

He hit some tough midrange jumpers with a defender right on him but the best thing was that his teammates were able to find him on a consistent basis.

This game was about what we expected. The Thunder came out strong and Houston is no match for them when they are playing well. OKC actually could have played better and shot a little better which is a scary thought for Houston.

This series will live up to its 1 vs. 8 billing. The Thunder will make quick work of the Rockets. The only way Houston is winning a game will be behind a huge Harden attack.

Apr 15, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) attempts a shot against the Sacramento Kings during the first half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Thunder easily beat the Rockets in game one of their first round matchup 121-91. Game one is always a big game in the playoffs and the Thunder came up big setting the tone for the rest of the series.

Game Grades:

Kevin Durant- 34 minutes, 24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists- B

Durant just had a ‘Durant’ game. He played solid, playing in the flow of the game and made plays when he had to. Durant also was very good on the defensive end as he played the ‘four’ spot for a majority of the game, and he was great banging with the big boys on the inside.

Russell Westbrook- 30 minutes, 19 points, 10 assists, 8 rebounds- A-

Westbrook had a very good game energy wise, and in playoff games like this, that is huge. Westbrook set the tone early with his energy on the offensive and defensive end, and I think the Thunder just fed off of that for the rest of the contest. Westbrook was of course great at attacking the basket and finishing, but he also played a very well rounded offensive game as he finished with 10 assists.

Serge Ibaka- 27 minutes, 17 points 7 rebounds, 3 blocks- A

Serge played really well last night. He was a monster around the rim with three amazing blocks, and he had one on James Harden that electrified the crowd. Ibaka was solid on the offensive end as well finishing with 17 points on only 7/11 shooting. He had a couple of good offensive rebounds and he knocked down a big three point shot in that decisive third quarter.

Kevin Martin- 26 minutes, 16 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block- C+

I don’t think Martin had a very good game at all. He struggled to shoot the ball on offense as he missed 10 of 15 shots, and was his usual self on defense. The Thunder are going to need Martin to play much better offensively if they want to advance deep into the playoffs. Martin is huge in terms of taking pressure off of KD and Westbrook, and against better teams he will have to show up.

Kendrick Perkins- 19 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals- C+

Perkins was pretty much a non factor in this Thunder win. Perk is more suited to be playing against bigger teams like the Lakers or the Spurs. He is always a non factor offensively, but he wasn’t effective on offense or defense in this win. I don’t blame him at all, because the Rockets are just the type of team that doesn’t require Perk to have a big game.

Thabo Sefolosha- 24 minutes, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists- B

Thabo was solid on defense as he usually is, and he hit a couple of shots on offense. This is pretty much what the Thunder want him to do, and he did it just fine in this win.

Nick Collison- 19 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists- B-

I don’t know the exact word to describe the type of player Collison is, but he is maybe the most underrated part of the Thunder team. He plays great defense, he is a total team player on offense, and he is sort of the gel of this team. Eight points, five boards and four assists perfectly fits Collisons whole player profile. Very solid, and very important.

Reggie Jackson- 23 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists- B-

Jackson was very good in this game, finishing with a solid 9 points and 4 assists. No big mistakes for Jackson, and that is important for him in his first playoff appearance.

Derek Fisher- 12 minutes, 9 points, 1 assists- A

Fisher hit three big three pointers in this game, and that is why he is here in OKC. He is here to hit big postseason shots and he started perfectly in game one of this series.

Scott Brooks- B+

No big lineup blunders in this one, Brooks took his starters out and put his bench in at the right time. His players took care of this game for the most part. Hard to give Brooks a bad grade when his team wins by 29 points.

Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets squared off for the first game of their series in the 2013 NBA Playoffs on Sunday evening, and this time around, experienced trumped youth: The Thunder beat the Rockets 120-91 in front of their home crowd, thanks to a tremendous first half effort.

The win was the largest margin of victory for the franchise since moving to Oklahoma City.

For the Thunder, Kevin Durant led with 24 points, six rebounds and four assists, and Russell Westbrook helped out with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists. Serge Ibaka also had a big night, nailing seven of 11 shots for 17 points. From the bench, Kevin Martin also had a big night, with 16 points.

James Harden led the Rockets with 20 points and rebounds, and was the only starter for Houston that showed up against Oklahoma City.

The Thunder started the game extremely hot, going on an early 6-0 run and leading by as many as 11 in the first quarter. Houston on the other hand could not have been any colder; they shot poorly, making just 1 of 10 shots from the floor, and their first field goal did not come until nearly the halfway mark, when James Harden laid one in. It looked as if the Rockets would mail this one in, but a scoring boost late in the first quarter gave them the burst they needed to be competitive.

Fueled by a 13-2 run to close the first quarter and start the second, Houston climbed back into it. The Thunder were still finding and making their shots, but so were the Rockets, so much so that they knotted it up with OKC at 40 in the middle of the quarter. Ibaka gave OKC a bit of an edge when he slammed down a monster dunk, but it was voided when Houston scored a basket of its own on the subsequent possession. Speaking of Ibaka, he had three tremendous blocks in the first half, the last of which allowed for a big-time transition play for the Thunder: Martin fed Kendrick Perkins the ball on the fast break, and Perkins jammed it in the hoop furiously to extend OKC’s lead to 50-44.

It was Westbrook who stood out the most in the first half through, relentlessly attacking the basket and feeding passes to open teammates.

The final two minutes of the half were brutal for Houston, who found themselves slipping further and further away from Oklahoma City. They closed the half on the bad end of a 20-7 run–which gave the Thunder a 60-47 lead–and headed into the locker room looking for a solution to OKC’s dominant play.

Oklahoma City’s 60 points in the first half were the most first-half points by this squad in team history.

The second half told a story similar to that of the first: The Thunder dominated Houston all over the court, and the Rockets were powerless to stop them. OKC outscored Houston 29-19 in the third quarter, including a pair of three balls from Ibaka and the most interesting lob OKC has done in a long time: Perkins stole the ball and strode down the court on a fast break before dishing it to Ibaka for the jam. Houston on the other hand couldn’t get anything going, missing eight shots in a row to close the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Durant started it off by showing Houston he wasn’t letting off the gas yet, dunking over a few Rockets defenders in the opening seconds. Then Russell Westbrook drove basket to basket in 3.2 seconds on OKC’s next possession for a layup, and the rout continued on. The exclamation point of the Game One blowout came when Derek Fisher pulled up from behind the right side of the arc and sailed a tre ball into the net, putting the Thunder up 102-69. OKC pulled its started with around five minutes to go in the half, and coasted to victory from then on.

Oklahoma City did just everything better than Houston on Sunday night: The Thunder had seven blocks to Houston’s zero; shot over 53-percent to the Rocket’s abismal 36-percent, and out-rebounded them 45-37.

Houston will have to find a way to stop OKC, or this series will be over sooner than they would like. Fortunately for them, they have three days to figure it out.

With the win, Oklahoma City takes a 1-0 lead in their first game of the playoffs. Game Two of the Oklahoma City/Houston series is set for Wed., Apr. 24. at Chesapeake Arena.

Feb 20, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) attempts a jump shot during the fourth quarter as Houston Rockets small forward Chandler Parsons (25) defends at Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Thunder 122-119. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The playoffs are finally here. If you watched the Oklahoma City Thunder a lot this year, you could tell they just couldn’t wait for the playoffs to start and the games to start meaning a lot more.

The Thunder had one of the best seasons in NBA history in a lot of respects. They won 60 games and their winning margin was among one of the best ever. All of this despite trading James Harden to the Houston Rockets right before the start of the regular season.

Who are the Thunder seeing in the first round? The Beard and the Houston Rockets of course.

The Thunder took the season series vs. Houston 2-1. Two of the games were very memorable.

The Thunder first saw Harden return to Chesapeake Energy Arena on Nov. 28. The welcome was not friendly. The Thunder dominated from the tip and won 120-98. Harden went 3-for-16 from the field and had his shot blocked seven times.

OKC made easy work of the Rockets the next time they played on Dec. 29 in Houston beating them 124-94. Harden didn’t struggle as much this time but the Thunder were still way too much for the Rockets to handle.

The final meeting of the season came on Feb. 20 in Houston and Harden would have the best game of his career. He scored a career-high 46 points on 14-of-19 shooting from the field, 7-of-8 shooting from three and 11-for-12 from the line. He led the Rockets back from behind in the fourth and made every big shot down the stretch.

The big question is: which Harden will we see in this series? Probably closer to the first time he visited OKC.

The Thunder are going to be up for this series as much as anything. They aren’t going to allow Harden to come back to OKC and put on a show.

Between Thabo Sefolosha, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant the Thunder should have no problem containing Harden, who averaged 25.9 points, 5.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game this season.

The Rockets had a great season winning 45 games. They end up as the eight-seed but were very close to being the sixth. They are a better than average eight-seed that has the worst possible matchup in the first round.

Houston won games because they got up and down the court more than their opponent. They found out how to get a lot of open threes and they made a good deal of them. Defensively, they were one of the weaker teams in the league.

In the playoffs, the game will slow down and Houston’s advantage in transition that they enjoyed in the regular season will disappear. Even if some of these games are played at a high pace, the Thunder are more than happy to do so.

Durant averaged 26.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game vs. the Rockets in the regular season. Westbrook averaged 23.3 points, 8.3 assists and 7.7 rebounds per game. Serge Ibaka averaged 16.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game.

The Thunder stars will get theirs in this series. Houston isn’t slowing anyone down. When that’s the case, the Thunder don’t lose.

The best case scenario for the Rockets is Harden going off in a game or two. If he doesn’t, the Rockets might not win a game.

Game 1 will tip tonight at 8:30 CST and air nationally on ESPN.

Nov 28, 2012; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) shoots a technical free throw against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Oklahoma City won 120-98. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

James Harden met with reporters Sunday afternoon to talk about the Houston Rockets’ first round matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Read the full Q&A with The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry here.

Harden called the matchup with the Thunder “surreal.” He said it felt weird but then did say that ultimately, it’s still just basketball.

It must be very strange for Harden indeed. He made a huge decision for his career turning down the contract the Thunder offered him and going to Houston and now there’s no place to hide from the reality of that decision.

The pressure is on Harden more than ever. It might not get any tougher than Game 1 in front of a rowdy Chesapeake Energy Arena.

I predict that Harden will struggle in this situation. It will be more like his first game in OKC this season where he went 3-for-16 and had his shot blocked seven times than when he dropped a career-high 46 on the Thunder in Houston a few months later.

The Thunder are going to do everything in their power to make Harden’s first playoff game in a non-Thunder uniform a nightmare. OKC has the tools to succeed at this.

It will be interesting to see how the Thunder crowd reacts to Harden. There will probably be some booing but maybe not the entire crowd.

Harden will need to play the best game of his life to make it out alive tonight. Chances are, he’ll walk off the court after Game 1 with his head down.

Nov 28, 2012; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) and Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) look at the scoreboard during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Oklahoma City won 120-98. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

For as good as James Harden is, he is very predictable. You know what’s coming from him.

He can hurt you off the dribble in the pick-and-roll either driving to the rim or finding the open teammate. He can pull-up for a three-pointer and has developed a nice midrange game as well. When Harden is attacking the rim, it’s always the Eurostep that he will be employing to finish.

It is one of Harden’s greatest strengths that his repertoire is systematical. He picks a defense apart one step at a time. It has led to him being one of the most consistent players in the league and one that can at times explode for gigantic games.

This is what made Harden so perfect as a sixth man for the Thunder and their third wheel. Once NBA teams were finished deciding how they would try and defend Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Harden became basically an afterthought or at least someone they couldn’t afford to focus as much on.

So Harden dominated in that role. He took defenses by surprise more than anything. He entered the game fresh when the other team’s starters were already tired. Opposing benches were no match for Harden. It was the perfect role for him.

Harden has blossomed as “the man” in Houston. But we have seen evidence of team’s getting used to what he brings to the floor. After an amazing February in which Harden averaged 28.7 points, 6.8 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game and shot 52.9 percent from the field, he shot just 38.9 percent in March and 39.0 percent in April. It was a combination of fatigue from being the best player in Houston all year and teams getting savvy to what Harden does.

The downfall of playing this way is that over time, when a team sees enough film of you and becomes familiar enough with you, they can start to take you away. Even if a team is just very disciplined defensively and does their homework, it makes it easier for them to stop you (that’s why Harden struggled so much against Miami and Chicago last season).

There is no team more familiar with Harden and his antics than the Oklahoma City Thunder. We saw the perfect example of this the first time Harden played against his former team and he went 3-for-16 from the field and had his shot blocked seven times.

The Thunder were totally focused on shutting down Harden that game and they had no problem doing so. It was the kind of focus and attention that Harden will receive in the playoffs. It’s what the Heat had ready for him last year in the NBA Finals. It’s what the Thunder will be more than capable of doing this year in the first round.

Thabo Sefolosha will surely start out on Harden then Westbrook and Durant should get some time checking him. Ronnie Brewer may even get some burn as the Rockets go small and will be sticking Harden. The Thunder have plenty of options basically who can hang with Harden.

It will be very much a team effort as Serge Ibaka will be just a bit more eager than usual to try and block Harden’s shots at the rim and Nick Collison will be a half step quicker sliding over to take a charge.

The Rockets obviously cannot come close to beating the Thunder unless Harden has a monster series. And they probably won’t win a game unless Harden has a monster game (he probably will have one).

Harden is still young and the fact that he is predictable at this point in his career is not a huge issue. But it does mean that getting past the Thunder will be just about impossible for the Rockets.

This series will be a wakeup call for Harden. He may already be an All-Star but it will take more work to reach superstardom.

Feb 20, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) drives to the basket during the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Thunder 122-119. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder closed out the regular season last night with a meaningless loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at home.

The Thunder finished the year with a 60-22 record, which is the most wins they’ve ever had in franchise history.

The Thunder made a strong push to end the season and finished with the best record in the Western Conference.

More interesting than the Thunder game last night was the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets who were battling it out to determine who would be the seventh seed and the eighth.

The Lakers outlasted the Rockets in overtime meaning that Houston will play the Thunder in the first round.

It won’t be the first time James Harden returns to OKC but in a playoff series, it will definitely be interesting.

Here is the schedule for the first round games between the Thunder and Rockets:

Game 1
Sunday, April 21 at 9:30 p.m. EST on TNT

Game 2
Wednesday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. EST on TNT

Game 3
Saturday, April 27 at 9:30 p.m. EST on ESPN

Game 4
Monday, April 29 at 9:30 p.m. EST on TNT

Game 5 (Time TBD)
Wednesday, May 1

Game 6 (Time TBD)
Friday, May 3

Game 7 (Time TBD)
Sunday, May 5

Feb 5, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) warms up before a game against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

This past summer, the Oklahoma City Thunder were apparently shopping James Harden around the league seeing what they could get for him.

One of those teams that the Thunder were looking at dealing with was the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors have a bright, young two-guard in Klay Thompson that would have served as a very solid replacement for Harden.

The deal never went down for a couple of reasons:

1. Harden was going to demand a max contract and the only way the Warriors would have been able to give him one would have been to unload Richard Jefferson or Andris Biedrins to the Thunder as part of the deal as well, something OKC wanted no part of.

2. The Thunder wanted a first-round pick with the deal as well and the Warriors simply did not have one to offer, before 2015. They had sent their 2013 first rounder to Utah and teams are not allowed to trade consecutive first-round picks.

The Warriors did not turn down this potential deal. Not that it was close to getting done but there’s no way Golden State was saying “no” to essentially swapping Thompson for Harden.

If things were a little bit different, would this have been a better deal for the Thunder?

The Thunder got quite the haul from the Houston Rockets for Harden. Acquiring Kevin Martin helped them stay elite now and Jeremy Lamb is a rookie that looks to have tons of potential, although we have yet to see it in the NBA this year.

The first-round picks that the Thunder received from Houston was much more than Golden State would have had to offer. The only real difference is that the Thunder would have gotten Thompson, whose future seems pretty promising as he has proven a lot so far in his short time in the NBA.

Thunder fans shouldn’t feel like they missed out on this deal with the Warriors. You have to also even consider that teaming up Harden with Stephen Curry wouldn’t have exactly been a wise thing to do as that duo would have given the entire Western Conference fits for years.

The only regret the Thunder fans should consider is whether or not they could have kept Harden, even if only for this season. In terms of trading him, the Houston package was about as good as it could have gotten.

Feb 20, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) drives the ball to the basket during the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Thunder 122-119. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

James Harden completely took over down the stretch as the Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-119 last night.

Houston was trailing by 14 points with just over six minutes to go before Harden went off, scoring 14 points in those final six minutes.

The Thunder shot well and got after it on the offensive glass going against a shorthanded Houston team but they turned the ball over 22 times.

The Rockets also made 15 threes in the game and their ball movement on offense was fantastic as they racked up 26 assists.

The Thunder were without Kendrick Perkins for the game who missed it with a sprained right knee.

The Thunder have lost three games in a row for the first time this season now and will look to get back to winning Friday night at home vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Here are the Game Grades:

Kevin Durant – 42 minutes, 16 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists – B

Durant got his second career triple-double but he really didn’t play all that well. He was very passive and had five turnovers including a few costly ones in the fourth quarter. He missed his last six shots as well while Harden was taking over on the other end. Durant didn’t look right either and appeared to be injured in some way, possibly the rib contusion he suffered last week is still bothering him.

Russell Westbrook – 42 minutes, 28 points, 8 assists, 10 rebounds – B+

Westbrook had turnover problems like Durant with seven of his own but that is kind of expected with him. He went 8-of-20 from the field and 9-of-10 from the line and nearly had a triple-double of his own. Jeremy Lin simply couldn’t guard Westbrook so it was easy for him to get in the lane and make things happen.

Serge Ibaka – 31 minutes, 16 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks – B+

Ibaka played a nice game shooting 7-for-11 from the field and five of his rebounds coming on the offensive end. His jumper was going down and he was active for most of the night. He was not the reason the Thunder lost this one.

Kevin Martin – 35 minutes, 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist – B

It felt like Martin played a little better than his numbers say. He went just 2-for-7 from three and 5-for-13 from the field. A slightly more efficient night from him would have gone a long way.

Thabo Sefolosha – 39 minutes, 28 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists – A

Sefolosha’s 28 points were a career-high and he also made 6-of-10 three-pointers. He doesn’t get an A+ because he was mainly checking Harden who also scored a career-high with 46. It wasn’t all on him though and for the most part Sefolosha was really good. He did miss his last few three-point attempts however when the Thunder really needed them but you can’t get on him too much for that.

Hasheem Thabeet – 11 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block – C+

Thabeet started in the place of Perkins and did not play much. He finished inside a few times and of course blocked a shot.

Nick Collison – 17 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist – C

The OKC bigs did not get a lot of rebounds and that has more to do with the fact that Houston shot so well for the game than them getting outworked. Collison should have played more in this game but he fouled out in just 17 minutes. It really may have cost the Thunder the game.

Reggie Jackson – 15 minutes, 6 points, 1 assist, 1 rebound – B

Jackson was solid again scoring a few times and making it look like this is something he is going to be able to do on a regular basis. He did go 0-for-4 from three but that’s not his game as much so we can’t kill him for that.

Perry Jones, III – 8 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block – C+

Jones got a little bit of run in the first half but that was it. He was pretty active and not as passive as he sometimes is.

Feb 20, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) reacts after scoring a basket during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

James Harden scored a career-high 46 points Wednesday night as the Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-119 at the Toyota Center.

Harden went 14-for-19 from the field, 7-for-8 from three and 11-for-12 from the free throw line. He also added eight assists and six rebounds.

This was quite possibly the best game Harden has ever played.

The Thunder led by five entering the fourth quarter and extended that lead to 11 with 8:06 left in the game then Harden took over. He scored 14 points from that point on as the Rockets came back to win.

Kevin Durant had his second career triple-double in the loss with 16 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high 11 assists.

Russell Westbrook and Thabo Sefolosha each scored 28 points. Westbrook also had 10 rebounds and eight assists and Sefolosha went 6-of-10 from three-point land.

Harden had the most help from Jeremy Lin who scored 29 points. The Rockets made 15-of-33 threes on the night.

The Thunder were without their starting center Kendrick Perkins for the game who missed it with a sore right knee. Hasheem Thabeet started in his place and played just 11 minutes.

The Thunder had dominated the Rockets the first two times they played this year winning each time by at least 20 points.

The Thunder have no lost three straight games for the first time this season and fall to 39-14 on the year. They will play the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night in OKC for their next game.

Nov 28, 2012; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) and Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) look at the scoreboard during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Oklahoma City won 120-98. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder will be back from All-Star Break for the first time tonight, on the road vs. the Houston Rockets.

This will be the third meeting between the Thunder and Rockets this season.

The Thunder beat the Rockets at Chesapeake Energy Arena 120-98 back on Nov. 28. That was the first game James Harden returned to OKC in another uniform and he really struggled shooting just 3-for-16 from the field and scoring 17 points.

Kevin Durant had 37 points, Serge Ibaka had 23 and Kevin Martin scored 17 off the bench.

The Thunder won again in Houston 124-94 on Dec. 29. Harden had 25 in that game but again struggled from the field going just 6-for-17.

Russell Westbrook had 28 to lead OKC. Durant had 26 and Martin again scored 17.

The Rockets steal wins against teams who aren’t ready to play their style. They can knock down a down of threes and push the tempo to an uncomfortable pace for a lot of teams.

The Thunder are always up for this game because of Harden. That feeling may be softened tonight since they’ve blown out Houston the first two games.

The Thunder will be without starting center Kendrick Perkins tonight who is out with a knee. Perkins has been the subject of some trade rumors lately so him missing this game seemed suspicious considering the deadline is tomorrow.

The trio of Durant, Westbrook and Harden were reunited on the same team for the first time since the trade at All-Star Weekend a few days ago in Houston. The Western Conference won that game and those three shared the floor together for a few minutes.

The Thunder came into the All-Star Break second in the Western Conference behind the San Antonio Spurs. OKC will be looking to finish the season strong and capture that No. 1 seed.

Tonight is the first step.