The last time the OKC Thunder were on the court with the Houston Rockets it was Game 7 of the playoffs. A final shot decided the victor and it was a bittersweet ending to one of the most enjoyable seasons in franchise history.
The final moments of that match will forever be engrained in our heads as first Billy Donovan sent Danilo Gallinari to the line in spite of his shooting woes (and yes he was the best free-throw shooter but struggled mightily in Game 7).
And more perplexingly with the Point God, Chris Paul available he had Shai Gilgeous-Alexander inbound the ball for the final shot attempt.
That’s not a knock on Shai – but he was a sophomore and considering all the experience CP3 has it didn’t make sense to not put the ball in his hands. Consider the pass Kyle Lowry made in the Raptors – Celtics series to OG Anunoy. It turned out that wasn’t even one of the options on Raptors coach Nick Nurse’s board but Lowry like Paul is a savvy vet with a high IQ.
In this narrator’s humble opinion letting Paul inbound the ball would’ve allowed him to see who was open, or the play could’ve been set up for a pass back which is a frequent inbound play.
Billy Donovan had a great season but in my estimation, those were his worst two decisions of the entire year (not letting CP3 shoot the free throw or inbound the ball) and they just happened to occur consecutively.
As noted above, it was bittersweet, because it signaled the end of the Clutch Time Killers and the last time they would all be on the same hardwood in Thunder jerseys.
To that end, the clubs who’ll meet today are drastically different on both sides of the court (see below).
OKC came back down to earth on the weekend after two feel
good
great wins versus the Blazers and Suns courtesy of a good old fashioned beat down by the Brooklyn Nets and former Thunder teammate (and Rocket) James Harden.
The final tally was 147-125 and that was without Kevin Durant playing! Despite the thumping, there were plenty of positives to take from the loss and in truth, it’s so much easier watching this young squad lose while witnessing the youngsters develop in what seems like a game by game basis. Making the pill easier to swallow is the club will be better served by losing as it will most likely enhance their lottery placement.
As for the Rockets, they’ve won five in a row with the most recent a 126-112 victory versus the New Orleans Pelicans
With that let’s dive into the insights…