In what shapes as one of the best first round finals series, James Harden and the Houston Rockets take on Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage of Game 1 at the Toyota Center from 11am (AEST).
The battle between Harden and Westbrook is going to be fascinating to watch for as long as this series goes on, with the two top MVP candidates squaring off.
They have led their respective teams to the positions they find themselves in, with Westbrook pulling off a record for triple-doubles in a single season and Harden not all that far behind.
The Rockets have had more depth than the Thunder though throughout the season and find themselves finishing in third spot out of a tough Western Conference. With some predicting them to just scrape into the playoffs at the start of the season, they have well-exceeded expectations.
Those expectations have gone up a bar with home court advantage now though and the pressure on James Harden to ensure there isn’t an upset is immense.
The way Patrick Beverley, Clint Capela and Trevor Ariza play will determine exactly how many points Houston can put up, but with their defence being the fourth worst in the league, they need a lot.
Westbrook, while carrying the Thunder has had very little in the way of support and if he had an off game, then so did the Thunder.
What the Thunder did have though was a much better defensive presence, especially in the paint where Ersan Ilyasova and Steve Adams, along with Westbrook have helped them become the best rebounding side in the NBA.
Against a side like Houston who put up so many threes, rebounding could prove to be pivotal in the contest and so the Thunder having that advantage is a big one.
When Westbrook is the only player averaging more than 16 points per game though and only four average more than ten – in contrast to the Rockets who have six in that category, you have to wonder if their rebounding will be enough to pull through the contest.
Prediction
At home, the Rockets have been strong all season and it’s hard to see them messing up in the first game of the series. Westbrook will take the Thunder close, but ultimately the Rockets have more depth and will win an entertaining, high-scoring affair.
Rockets by 8.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of Game 1 from 11am (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks for joining me today on The Roar for our live coverage of the NBA Playoffs as the Houston Rockets picked up a big Game 1 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Hopefully you enjoyed the call. I'll be back this afternoon for our live coverage of the 2017 NRL Season from 4pm (AEST) as the Parramatta Eels take on the Wests Tigers. In terms of the NBA - We should be back from Thursday morning with Game 2 of the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers. Bye for now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Current NBA Playoffs picture Western Conference Golden State Warriors 1 - Portland Trail Blazers 0 San Antonio Spurs 1 - Memphis Grizzlies 0 Houston Rockets 1 - Oklahoma City Thunder 0 Los Angeles Clippers 0 - Utah Jazz 1 Eastern Conference Boston Celtics 0 - Chicago Bulls 1 Cleveland Cavaliers 1 - Indiana Pacers 0 Toronto Raptors 0 - Milwaukee Bucks 1 Washington Wizards 1 - Atlanta Hawks 0
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thoughts on the game there Roarers?
Scott Pryde
Expert
FULLTIME Brown with a miss from deep and the Rockets will win it, dribbling out after a miss from the Thunder. A huge win to get this series underway for the Rockets! 31 the final margin and the Thunder have plenty of soul-searching to do before Game 2 on Thursday (AEST). Houston Rockets 118 Oklahoma City Thunder 87
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 0' Sabonis makes both. Rockets - 118 Thunder - 87
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 0' The Thunder with a miss before Williams finds some space and he makes the floater. Into the final half a minute we go and Sabonis draws another foul. Rockets - 118 Thunder - 85
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 1' Harrell makes one. Rockets - 116 Thunder - 85
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 1' Williams misses a three for the Rockets now before Sabonis does the same for the Thunder from the right wing. Brown now with it for Houston and he misses before there is an offensive board and Harrell draws the foul on Sabonis under the bucket. Rockets - 115 Thunder - 85
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 2' Sabonis makes both. Rockets - 115 Thunder - 85
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 2' Harrell with some tough defence on Sabonis and that'll be a foul. Rockets - 115 Thunder - 83
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 2' The Thunder bring it down the floor and Sabonis looks lost as he searches for an option, but eventually finds McDermott who sinks a three. Houston back up the floor and it's Williams to Brown and he answers back with one of his own. Rockets - 115 Thunder - 83
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 2' This has all the hallmarks of an ordinary last couple of minutes. Lou Williams with a turnover and there is a timeout on the floor. Rockets - 112 Thunder - 80
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 3' Sabonis with a steal here before Oladipo goes in and then kicks out before Sabonis misses. Rockets - 112 Thunder - 80
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 3' Gordon with a tough layup in the paint now before Adams hits Kantner on a pass across the lane, but he misses. Tough defence, but it's out off the Thunder. Benches emptying here. Troy Williams joins Lou Williams on the floor alongside Bobby Brown for Houston. Rockets - 112 Thunder - 80
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 4' Harden gets a deflection on the ball here but Westbrook manages to hang on, before drawing the foul from Nene. Westbrook is done for the night by the looks of it. He subs off back to the bench. Looks like Harden is done as well as he heads to the bench. Into garbage time we go. Rockets - 110 Thunder - 80
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 4' The Thunder find an open Roberson behind the arc, but he misses. They have now missed their last eight threes - simply not good enough. Houston through Ariza before Anderson spins into the paint and has a ball poked over the baseline. From the inbound it's Nene and he sinks a shot from just inside the arc. Rockets - 110 Thunder - 80
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 5' Time out Thunder. One last roll of the dice maybe, but it's hard to see a way back for them.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 5' The Thunder with another miss and the crowd are on their feet as Harden knocks down yet another three, this time form the opposite wing. Harden has 37, the Rockets are on an 8-0 run and this one is done and dusted. Rockets - 80 Thunder - 108
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 6' Williams misses a three before they grab a long offensive rebound, find Harden and he rips a three from the wing. Grant with a quick miss from the post now before Harden drives, then slows things up before going around his man, kicking out and then finding Capela who hits the spin shot. Rockets - 105 Thunder - 80
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 7' Grant misses at the strike. Rockets - 100 Thunder - 80