Oklahoma City Thunder: Ranking playoff matchups in terms of favorability
By Nolan Jensen
#3) Houston Rockets
There might not be a harder team to gauge in the NBA than the Houston Rockets.
Mike D’Antoni, who revolutionized modern offenses with the “Seven seconds or less” Phoenix Suns in the opening decade of the millennium, is going against the grain once more by taking small ball to a whole new stratosphere.
Thus far, the results have been mixed—they’re 2-2 without the deployment of a traditionally sized big, but there should be fear that they figure this thing out. Likewise, if you were to go as small as they are, you can’t go much better than having a frontcourt of P.J. Tucker and Danuel House or Robert Covington.
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If this matchup were to materialize, there are narratives each way you look.
Chris Paul could prove Daryl Morey wrong by sending his former team packing; Russell Westbrook could do the same by eliminating OKC and disprove pundits by shedding the narrative that he can’t win in the playoffs by getting over the hump this spring alongside James Harden.
No one shoots more threes than the Rockets, but the Thunder are seventh in the NBA in opponents three-point percentage (34.5 percent). The Thunder only send their opponents to the line 18.7 times per game—good for second-best in the league—but again, no one shoots more free throws than Houston.
It’s an intriguing proposition and one I’m not necessarily against. Hell, the two teams could steal the first round and provide the most entertainment. This would be an incredible series.