OKC Thunder vs. Houston Rockets – a rookie smorgasbord

Rockets projected starting lineup:

Head coach Stephen Silas enters his second season as the bench boss. Prior to the season starting the decision was made to focus on the development of the youngsters which equated to telling John Wall they’ll look for a trade partner for him but he’ll be riding the bench instead of logging minutes with the rest of the Rockets.

Likewise, veteran Eric Gordon is checking in as a reserve instead of starting.

Houston opened the season using the following starting five:

• Kevin Porter jr.
• Jalen Green
• Jae’Sean Tate
• Christian Wood
• Daniel Theis

Rockets Injuries:

As of posting only one player is on the Rockets injured reserve list:

• Danuel House Jr. is listed as out for personal reasons.

OKC Thunder projected starting lineup:

As we predicted the Thunder starting five for the match in Utah featured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, and Derrick Favors.

There’s no reason to expect a change in that group although Daigneault may tweak the playing time of his reserves. Mike Muscala, Gabriel Deck, and Ty Jerome were CD DNP’s (coach’s decision – did not play) so presumably, they’ll get some run in this match.

OKC Thunder injuries:

As of posting, there are no players listed on the injured list. With Vit Krejci participating in the Jazz contest presumably his visa issues were resolved.

History:

All-time the clubs have played each other 226 times with the Thunder possessing the advantage of winning 116 of those matches.  Last season when both clubs were seeking to finish with a bottom three seed it was OKC who took two of the three matches. Perhaps this season the Rockets could return the favor and take these games to help the Thunder goal of that bottom seed.

Game Specifics:

Venue: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas

Tip-off: the game starts at 7:00 p.m. Central Time (8:00 p.m. EST)

Where to watch the game: Bally Sports Oklahoma of NBA League Pass

Radio: WWLS 98.1 FM