Rockets vs. Thunder: Pregame Primer
vs. 
Houston Rockets (8-8, 4-4 road) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (9-7, 4-3 home)
TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 753)
Stream: Click Here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 6:00 CST
Offensive Rating: Thunder – 104.7 (21st), Rockets – 107.6 (14th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 101.2 (4th), Rockets – 107.3 (19th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.1 (18th), Rockets – 94.4 (9th)
It’s a running theme – with each win, the next game feels bigger. Feels more important. Feels like a loss could be a setback. Especially when it’s at home.
And now at 9-7 and two games over .500 for the first time since 2-0, Oklahoma City has a chance to start a real winning streak and get things really cooking. I said it before the Milwaukee game, but with a five-game homestand, the Thunder could separate themselves from .500 by a decent amount.
Houston is coming in at 8-8 with two straight losses – both at home against the Spurs and Mavs. They’re 4-4 on the road, with tonight’s game being the first of an extended road trip. I’d say the Rockets will come out ready to fire as they sense a chance to get their trip off on the right foot.
THE MATCHUPS
Let me say I love the way the current Rockets play. Completely unselfish, feeding off one another and just gritty. Playing without a true star, it’s a joy to watch. At the same time it can limit them in crucial situations. Kevin Durant will have a tough go as he gets Shane Battier and Trevor Ariza, two high caliber defenders. That’s such a bonus for Houston to be able to basically rotate the two on KD, keeping fresh legs on him.
Ariza is really the Rockets top scoring threat and Thabo gets the call as usual. In the first meeting Ariza went for 21 points on 8-18 shooting and hit 2-5 from deep. Much like Milwaukee, the Rockets are undersized a bit inside with Chuck Hayes playing the five. But Hayes does yeoman’s work pulling down boards, taking charges and basically doing everything the box score doesn’t record.
Luis Scola has always been a tough match for Jeff Green because of his inside-outside ability. No Nenad Krstic tonight (ankle) as Etan Thomas will start in his steed. So that means even more Serge Ibaka and D.J. White, something I’m actually kind of excited about. But that also means OKC is thin in the frontcourt against Hayes, Scola and Carl Landry.
Russell Westbrook went for 33 in the first meeting as he was OKC’s only real offensive threat. Aaron Brooks is quick but much smaller than Russ. Westbrook had his way getting into the lane last time and if he can do that again drawing defenders, the Thunder could have a good night.
Oklahoma City is 1-3 on Sunday night so far this season and this is no easy task. But it could be another good step in the direction of the p-word that we don’t really want to mention at this point.
One thing to consider: No matter what happens tonight, the Thunder is going to be on the plus side of .500 for the month of November. Obviously that’s no excuse to lose, but I don’t think many of us saw that happening considering the grueling schedule to start the season. So truthfully, twas a good November no matter what. Now go make it better.
Tip at 6:00 CST. Go winning streak.
As frustrating as Matt Pinto is normally, he is downright infuriating when we’re playing poor.
An absolutely gorgeous sequence by Westbrook. Swatting Taylor’s layup attempt as well as his manhood and then finishing on the other end with an and-1
@The DON is SO hot right now
Have you noy watched the Rockets at all this year? This is what they do to almost every team they play. Complete team ball. Great ball movement, selflessness.
And I’d hardly call Ariza, Battier, Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry no names at this point.
woooooo, another sexy drive by westbrook
@Joe
Well let me tell you kind sir, he is annoying me for some reason. I say Etan do to him what he did to Scola
@J.G.
I think you misunderstood me. By no means did i mean that the rockets team is bad and full of no names, I was just getting irritated by a particular player: Anderson
I’m familiar with this feeling.
@Anon
Great minds think alike
WTF kinda B.S. shot was that by Ariza?
Great contribution by White in his little stint
I blame it on the Thunder Up chant….
@The DON is SO hot right now
Haha, Anderson annoys me, too.
By the way, anyone complain about the refs yet? Not so keen on this trio. For either team.
I think DJ did just fine in that stint.
@J.G.
I’m having a lot of trouble with these refs at all. KD and Jeff are really getting frustrated with all of the contact they are receiving with no whistle.
D.J. White was one of my favorite college players, I really like seeing him get a shot. He doesn’t have the athleticism of Serge Ibaka but he’s smarter as a basketball player and he’s absolutely money with that jump shot. Once he learns the defense better and gets his legs back (he was much less stiff in college) he could be a great role player a la Udonis Haslem. He saved this bench from a terrible game with all the fouls..
To the people saying D.J. White is only good at jump shooting, he was a great rebounder and defender in college. Remember that this guy spent most of last year recovering from jaw cancer, he still hasn’t really gotten his legs back. He’s got great hands and knows how to defend the post. As the season goes on and he works himself into shape he’ll be quicker and more responsive in general on the court.
Ok looks like KD is heating back up. Naturally this turns me on.
@justin
I dont’ think DJ is a stiff or anything, I would just like to see him be more aggressive with his rebounding and help defense. He doesn’t play big right now. He plays like a small forward. He can still play that way offensively, but he needs to be more powerful and aggressive defensively.
thomas swings those elbows around
precisely
have the thunder ever one a tip ball??? I have not seen it this year.
I really think that will come as he gets into shape. He was a very physical in college, the only thing that’s happened since then is he’s missed over a year of basketball. It will come.
he he won
Time to start getting some defensive rebounds. If they weren’t getting so many second chances, this wouldn’t even be a game.
Tramel sighting!
Games like this illustrate for me why Jeff Green is an inadequate PF. He is getting destroyed in the paint.
we are getting slaughtered inside
what is up with KDs jumper? Is it possible that the energy he is expending on defense has hurt his shot?
It certainly doesn’t help that Collison and Krstic are both out.
If integrity were celebrity, Jim Traber would not have a radio show.
@justin
People said the same thing last time we played Houston. They shoot a ton of bad shots, and have a feisty front court that knows how to adjust to all the crazy shots. Jeff is the one telling everyone to rebound, and I would say he is doing his job well enough.
Even if Collison was in, Jeff Green is a disadvantage on the boards and on defense against most front courts in the NBA.
James Harden is so so so smooth on offense.
@justin
Chuck Hayes has 8 rebounds. Carl Landry has seven. The next leading rebounder in the game is jeff green. Are you really telling me that he is the problem.
@clarkem
Jeff Green is a poor rebounder for his position, that is not debatable. He’s short for his position, has poor length, and is inconsistent in general on the defensive end. Even the supposed advantage we have on the court with him in the game isn’t there so far this year, he’s shooting a poor percentage from everywhere.
Andrea Bargnani is rebounding the ball better than Jeff Green so far this year for crying out loud.
Chuck Hayes loses any advantage over Jeff Green after letting Uncle Jeff throw it down on his face, scream at him, then walk away pumped up.
@clarkem
Jeff Green has six rebounds because the other team has missed 45 shots through three quarters.
OMG they are getting EVERY offensive rebound
I’m not saying Jeff Green is the only problem here, Thomas, Ibaka, and Durant have been putrid also no the defense boards, but Green’s been a problem here consistently all year.
I think Matt Pinto just coined a great nickname for Sefolosha. Thabo-on-the-spot. Or TOTS for short. I like it.
holy mother of god they rebound every single miss of theirs
Wow,can we get some rebounds.
That three sealed the game. I’m not even afraid to call it at this point. Pitiful work on the boards.
I don’t deny that Jeff Green doesn’t rebound like a typical PF but, this team doesn’t have any conventional players at their positions. This is a fully hybrid team and I don’t think that you can judge Jeff for not putting up prototypical numbers when no one on this team does.
I am a Jeff Green apologist because I think he gets a bad wrap for his numbers more than any other player on this team. He has a definite rebounding disadvantage compared to other pf’s but he does things no other pf could.
And for the record Bargnani plays center and gets .2 more rebounds a game than Jeff.
What has happened to KD’s 3-point shooting ability?
Green is getting destroyed
GREAT SHOT BY KD!!!! Goodness gracious great balls of fire that was clutch. We needed that BAD!
20 offensive boards for houston!
If I never hear Matt Pinto say Carl Landry’s name again I’ll die a very happy person.