Thunder is the rocket's kryptonite. No chance of beating them this year.

To be honest, the last couple of games against OKC, the Rox have been their own worse enemy. The Rox were kicking the Thunder's ass in the first half of the game they played back in January then had a historic collapse in second half. Last night the Rox had good shots, layups, and dunks that they flat out missed along with bad free throw shooting and only lost by 8 points. Thunder are not unbeatable by any stretch of the imagination. I believe they are a better team than the Rox right now but the Rox the last two games did a lot to beat themselves.

 

no matter how you put it OKC has owned the Rockets

 

The beat us pretty bad in the regular season last season, as well, but we made a series of it in the first round last year. I think if we meet in the playoffs this year, it will definitely go to seven games.

 

How many years has that Thunder core been together? How many years has Rockets core been together?

 

Is that why San Antonio beat the Rockets 112-106, 111-98, and 97-90? Because of their core? Oh wait, no SA lost all 3 games.


How many years has the Spurs core been together? How many years has the Rockets core been together?

 

The difference is the Spurs best players are entering the twilight of their careers. OKC is in the prime.

Yes, the Spurs are great... but nobody knows what we're going to see in the play offs. They defy father time every year, but there's always the question in the back of your mind, "Is this the year that it all runs out...."

 

We've got two problems with OKC:

1) Durant, but that's true of everyone.
2) Our lack of good 3 point shooters and their length (especially on defense) gives us fits. If Harden can't get to the rim (which is tough with Sefalosha/Durant on him and Ibaka guarding the paint), the offense doesn't have many go-to options.

We need a shooter and plus defender at the 4.

 

If you are talking about beating them right here and right now I agree to a certain extent based on their defensive scheme last night and the prior games.

The way they were guarding the paint allowed for the Rockets to get quick looks from 3 from the corners and wings, but the Thunder are sooooo incredibly athletic from the perimeter that their guards and wings were incredible at closing out when the ball got kicked out to shooters.

So in theory you'd not only want a good 3 point shooter to space the floor, but someone with a quick release..... which is why Garcia is one of the few shooters the Rockets have that can get a shot off.

So a perfect weapon on offense is someone like Ryan Anderson. On defense though, you not only are not gaining anything with this type of player typically, but you might actually lose something when guarding against the Thunder so there is that.

When guarding the Thunder, you really want to either allow Durant to go off going one-on-one all night, and stay home, or double down and live with an open shot from the weak-side most likely (last night, they were doubling Durant and he still got 40+ & Butler killed the Rockets from the weak side).

Defensively I think I would feel better having a more flexible athletic lineup similar to what Miami has where they switch everything, and do a good job of exploiting turnovers (something the Thunder do give up). You make life difficult for Durant, but you realize he could go crazy on you at any point.

Its tough, because there really isn't a fool proof way to beat the Thunder at their own game other than going with what has worked against them in the past. And that's punishing them for going over big by going small. Miami beat them this way in the finals, and Houston had some success last year in the playoffs even with sub-par talent. Memphis is the only team that really beat them at their own game, and there is no way the Rockets are completely changing their game to go slow it down big boy basketball.

So there is very little chance of beating the Thunder this year, but my suggestion to McHale would be to try and go small as much as possible. On defense... good luck.

 

Being owned in the regular season by OKC. I still see the Rockets improving in the next 17 games though and the next meeting should be interesting to see IF the Rockets can salvage 1 game in the head to head this season. I am sure the TC will be amped for that game, it should be a tough game.

 

Really appreciate your comments.

With Durant, I think you front him or deny the ball as much as possible (without fouling) and close the lane....essentially what we did in the playoffs last year. He will make those mid-range shots at a 50%+ clip, but thats better than letting him get to the rim or shoot semi-contested 3s (which opens the door for everyone else to get going).

Agree with going small, but we don't have to have the horses to do that yet.

I actually think our problems with the Thunder and Grizz are the same...we don't have enough offensive fire power when teams take away our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd options.

Option 1 - Drive and dish
Option 2 - Harden Iso
Option 3 - Howard Post

We need another element in there, and I think it's name is either Love or Aldridge.

 

They're not the Rocket's kryptonite, they're Dwight's.

 

Exactly. Dwight plays anywhere near his season averages, Rox could very well be leading season series 2-1.

 

Will be very interesting if they do meet in the play-offs. Can't say there's no chance, and I wouldn't necessarily think the Rockets are a lock to beat the Spurs in the play-offs, either.

 

You're trying to discredit the comparison by saying the Bulls won because they "always hustle and play at their best"? By that logic, I could discredit OKC's regular season wins over Houston because they're clearly motivated over the Westbrook/Beverley issue.

In reality, it doesn't matter if a team is offensive-minded, defensive-minded or anything else. The point is that regular-season matchups, for any number of reasons, do not always tell the tale of what happens in the postseason.

 

So Durant is going to consistently shoot 54% from the field and 62% from three against Houston while Dwight scores in the single digits on 33% shooting and 16% from the line?

Unless your answer to both of those questions is "yes", then no, last night was not the best shot that the Rockets will have to beat OKC.

 

That's how we were able to beat them last year twice if I recall correctly (reg season, playoffs) using pick and rolls b/c Asik is not a post player. Dwight is not consistent in the post, and if things aren't going his way he whines constantly to the refs, hangs his head down, and plays with no energy. Then you have bench players out hustling him which is embarrassing.

Add to the fact that our PFs are young and inexperienced and can't handle guys like Ibaka, Aldridge, and Griffen, and when your PG gives you minimal offense it's going to be tough to win.

 

Old doesn't matter when spotting up for a 3 (unless you're Jason Kidd).

 

We shall send Patrick Beverly to Derek Fisher's knees then.

 

If you think Westbrook is a top 5 player in the NBA, that's ridiculous.

Regardless though, that issue is beside the point. Discredit the Bulls all you want, but they beat the Heat four straight times, at least two in blowout fashion. All this stuff about the dominance of LeBron/Wade and the Bulls being a cute group of overachievers... that became the perception after the fact. At the time, in mid-May 2011, there were PLENTY of media and fans who believed that the Bulls were a "matchup nightmare" for Miami... simply based on a small handful of games in the first few months after LeBron went to Miami. Similarly, you now have people trying to make sweeping generalizations based on a very small handful of games in the first few months after Dwight went to Houston.

It's a process. The clear issue for Houston against OKC is Dwight's underwhelming performance, and it seems rather unlikely that Dwight will consistently play like an All-NBA player against 28 teams and then morph into Kelvin Cato's twin against Oklahoma City. Over time, I feel confident in saying that it will even out. The Thunder have some very unique defensive characteristics, and the Rockets and Dwight are each going to continue learning how to put themselves in better positions to succeed.

Three games is pretty small in the grand scheme, especially when 2 of the 3 have been on the second night of back-to-backs for Houston and all 3 have been after an off day for Oklahoma City.

(By the way, of the 3 LAC losses, two came in the first 10 days of the season -- when the Rockets weren't a good team against anyone, period -- and the third came on the second night of a back-to-back and fifth game of a 5-game/7-day West Coast road trip. Of the 3 OKC losses, two came on the second night of a back-to-back while OKC was rested. These are bigger factors than most want to accept.)