OKC Thunder TIP3: Harden MVP chase, LeBron Rockets rumors, CP3 injury history

It’s a special Christmas Day edition of OKC Thunder TIP3 as guest Eric Spyropoulos serves up hot takes on the Houston Rockets.

The OKC Thunder are among the 10 teams who’ll participate in the NBA Christmas Day  schedule as they host the Houston Rockets.

This is the first meeting between the teams this season and they arrive at the day under very different circumstances. Both squads experienced offseason roster shuffles and upgrades in talent. Pardoning the pun, Houston rocketed out of the gate despite Chris Paul being out with injury, while the OKC Thunder dealt with struggles to find cohesion.

Paul returned close to the quarter mark of the season with Houston holding an 11-4 record and seamlessly transitioned as the Rockets went on a winning streak of 14 consecutive games. Meanwhile, the OKC Thunder continued to struggle through the quarter point going 8-12.

Status entering day:

Cut to present and Chris Paul is unlikely to play given a recent groin injury. For the first time since the end of October the Rockets have lost back to back games. And both losses occurred with James Harden scoring 51 points. Expect to see other opponents employ this practice to let Harden score at will hoping it will result in victory.

As for the OKC Thunder they have won four in a row and 10 of 13. More importantly, the early hurdles tripped over are now being cleared.

Per usual TIP 3 examines each game prior to the tip and asks an authority who can shed light on the opposition. Lending insight on the Houston Rockets is Eric Spyropoulos Houston Rockets columnist at Hoops Habit and Founder, editor-in-chief and podcast host at The 94 Feet.

It would be easy to throw a plethora of questions to Eric, but since he took time from his holiday to respond (which TI is extremely thankful for) I’m keeping it to three.

With that let’s dive into the TIP3 for this evening….