First Round: Houston Rockets (8) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (1). How will it go?

Midrangej · Apr 18, 2013

sugrlndkid said: ↑

Asik i believe will just not be as effective as he should be because of a lack of a traditional Center...Perkins might be his only counterpart, bc Ibaka is a far more superior athelete...He may be able to match up with Nick Collison or Thabeet, but I really dont see how Asik wins us this match up...
Smith IMHO is going to have a hard time with Ibaka, based on his ability to shoot a midrange jumper...Smith doesnt go out too far from the paint and that could be a weakness the OKC Thunder exploit...This is why i really want TJones on Ibaka...he has the physical size and length to cover the midrange jumper and still be active enough in the post.

The Key matchup will be at the PG and bench scoring...Anytime you get Westbrook to take more shots than Durant...should be a good thing...but you have to make Westbrook a shooter...must at all costs keep him from attack the rim...thats when he is the most dangerous...

Durant is going to get his...and Parsons will have to play the role of Shane Battier...just try to be disruptive and hope you get lucky...

James has to be efficient and trust his teammates more...especially Lin, Beverly and Parsons...He should ask them to create more...and work off screens and shoot spot up jumpers...Harden can do things differently...its the coaching staffs perogative to get that to happen...

Finally, Jeremy Lin...I believe if the Rocket even have a chance at making this game close...is based on the scoring that Lin provides...we need Jeremy to take and make shots...and really be the best playmaker on the floor..he needs to create as much as he can...if Lin can get 16-20ppg with 10 assists...I like our chances at the games being close...if not...these games will resemble the first two we played agianst OKC...

I know we are going to lose this series, but I would rather go down fighting against the best team in the West...playing our best...and it has to be our players playing well, bc our coaching staff isnt gonna get our players to be able to play their best...Mchale just doesnt get it...and its too late to depend on him being able to deliver...
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Lin is going to need to shoot a lot more and home run pass less against this Thunder team, otherwise he's going to be on the bench even sooner then he is now...

rocketsfan4 · Apr 18, 2013

We will get blown out twice, lose two close games (hint: coaching), and hopefully get hot and blow them out twice before they get to four.

cameron.shekari · Apr 18, 2013

Unbelievable fans are here so negative. No matter what, always support ur team, dont talk nonsense lanaguage. Rockets have obviously overachieved. Even though rockets will most likely lose to thunder, Dont become a sore loser and not cheer your rockets.

Commodore · Apr 18, 2013

these might have already been posted

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>OKC-HOU regular season: 80 mins w/ Collison on bench: OKC +1. 64 minutes w/ Collison in game: OKC +48. (per <a href="http://t.co/FEdwClyOLp" title="http://NBA.com">NBA.com</a>)</p>— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/324860688851927040">April 18, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Houston's current starting big duo, Asik/Smith, did not play a single minute together in 3 games vs OKC this season.</p>— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/324863284366934017">April 18, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Holy crap. HOU-OKC averaged 107 possessions in regular-season. HOU averaged 98 per game overall, and that was fastest pace in league.</p>— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZachLowe_NBA/status/324873402710106116">April 18, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Genuine · Apr 18, 2013

If Kevin Durant didn't exist, I'd say we have a good chance in this series!

jimmyv281 · Apr 18, 2013

Is Durant going to bring a sach lunch to houston....just saying I mean Jordan might have thought twice about ordering the pizza in Utah.

meir21 · Apr 19, 2013

NBA Playoffs 2013 Round 1 - OKC Thunder vs Houston Rockets P

[YouTube]6zKsSl6H5o8[/YouTube]

Hey everyone. This is a short preview video for the series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets.
Enjoy

Whoopy · Apr 19, 2013

Most think OKC in 5

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...-2012-13-playoff-previews-170255962--nba.html

Oh well, only hope is that writers usually are not very good at predicting.

JoeBarelyCares · Apr 19, 2013

Winning a game against OKC? I'd take that.

RedEyesKirby · Apr 19, 2013

Most thought we were bottom tier not going into the playoffs post Harden trades as well.

cjtaylorpt · Apr 19, 2013

TheRealist137 · Apr 19, 2013

RedEyesKirby said: ↑

Most thought we were bottom tier not going into the playoffs post Harden trades as well.
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most said that we could challenge for the 8th spot, and we basically did that by finishing 8th.

RedEyesKirby · Apr 19, 2013

TheRealist137 said: ↑

most said that we could challenge for the 8th spot, and we basically did that by finishing 8th.
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And Most also thought LAL would challenge for 1-3 seeds.

Karolik · Apr 19, 2013

5 is already optimistic. 4 should be the most probable given the team's 8th seed and ongoing slump.

daywalker02 · Apr 19, 2013

We are actually close to the 6th seed with our record...
and OKC were closer to the 2nd seed...

so actually the gap is not too big
Probably 1 or 2 games is likely if we play well

SWTsig · Apr 19, 2013

We wont win a game.

JMAD21 · Apr 19, 2013

Thats fair... I think we'll take them to 6, but im optimistic!

jocar · Apr 19, 2013

It's come to this: The Oklahoma City Thunder have to go through James Harden and the Houston Rockets to begin their journey to another NBA Finals appearance.

The Thunder traded Harden to the Rockets before the start of the season, and here he is to face them in the first round of the playoffs.

After losing to the Los Angeles Lakers on the final day of the season, Houston dropped from seventh to eighth place in the Western Conference, leading to this dream matchup between two thrilling basketball teams.

Seeds: Houston Rockets No. 8; Oklahoma City Thunder No. 1

Records: Houston Rockets 45-37; Oklahoma City Thunder 60-22

Season series: Oklahoma City Thunder won 2-1

Playoff schedule: Game 1 Sunday, April 21, 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT); Game 2 Wednesday, April 24, 7 p.m. ET (TNT); Game 3 Saturday, April 27, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN); Game 4 Monday, April 29, TBD; Game 5 Wednesday, May 1, TBD; Game 6 Friday, May 3, TBD; Game 7 Sunday, May 5, TBD

What Everybody's Talking About: Potential Upset

The trade for Harden, along with the acquisitions of Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik and the development of Chandler Parsons, have given the Rockets enough weapons to make them dangerous to any playoff team.

The fact is, Harden makes the Rockets the fast-paced sprinters that they are, and we can take a lesson from the past to learn that extreme teams can be dangerous.

The 2011 Memphis Grizzlies beating the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs and the Golden State Warriors taking down the Dallas Mavericks in 2007 mark the two most recent times a No. 8 seed has overcome a No. 1 seed.

In 2011 it was Memphis' ability to slow down games to a crawl and play dirty, hard-nosed defense, while Golden State's run-and-gun in 2007 put Dallas on its heels for an entire series.

What does that tell us? Extremes are dangerous. If they can hit their shots, the Rockets' run-and-gun style of play could give the Thunder a run for their money.

What Nobody's Talking About: Half-Court Control

When the Rockets signed Asik away from the Chicago Bulls, the general consensus was that his $25 million contract was a bit pricey. After his efforts this season though, that perception has been thrown out the window.

Defensively, he's turned into a monster, and his offense has progressed throughout the season.

One of the most surprising tidbits we've heard about Asik this season is that the Rockets have the top half-court defense in the NBA when the big man is on the floor.

Once the playoffs start, fast-paced offense generally slow down, and half-court offenses reign supreme. Should the Thunder control the tempo, at least the Rockets know they have a center patrolling the paint who knows how to defend the pick-and-roll to a tee.

Don't Forget...

Let me apologize in advance for doing exactly what I criticized future folk for, but I've got to talk a bit more about Harden.

There are definitely some hurt feelings between Harden and the Thunder. It's not that there's necessarily any kind of bad blood between him and his former teammates, but rather that they thought they could do without him seems to have his blood boiling.

In the three games between Houston and Oklahoma City, Harden averaged 29.3 points, four rebounds and 3.3 assists, all while shooting 44 percent from the field and 55 percent from the three-point line.

That's 3.4 points above his season average and an 18-point bump in three-point percentage.

What's more, the highest-scoring game of Harden's career came in a game against the Thunder back in February. His 46 points helped sink the Thunder 122-119.

It's beyond a playoff game for Harden at this point. He has a chance to prove himself against the team that thought he wasn't worth the investment.

Key Matchup: Russell Westbrook vs. James Harden

The Houston Rockets' point guard committee approach has led to Harden being every bit the point guard that Lin is.

While that likely won't match Harden with Westbrook directly (Lin will likely guard Westbrook when the Rockets play defense), it will put them both in a situation in which they handle the ball for long stretches of the game.

They're extremely similar players with very different dispositions, making the two of them likely foils.

While Oklahoma City's playoff fate likely depends on how much Westbrook is willing to defer, Houston's will likely lie in how well Harden does with the huge number of shots the Rockets need him to take.

While they won't be directly opposed, the two will be directly pitted against each other in the public eye, which should be all we need for an interesting series.
Click to expand...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...on-rockets-western-conference-round-1-matchup

LosPollosHermanos · Apr 19, 2013

whoa....bold prediction stating we will win a game.

20+ pt losses away and under 10 losses at home. Thats respectable imo.

cyclorider · Apr 19, 2013

Earlier this season, Patrick Patterson scored 27 points against OKC on Nov. 28.

Don't think we'll see a comparable performance from el busto Thomas Robinson.

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First Round: Houston Rockets (8) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (1). How will it go?

What will happen?

Thunder sweep

Thunder in 5

Thunder in 6

Thunder in 7

Rockets sweep

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First Round: Houston Rockets (8) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (1). How will it go?

What will happen?

Thunder sweep

Thunder in 5

Thunder in 6

Thunder in 7

Rockets sweep

Rockets in 5

Rockets in 6

Rockets in 7

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