Rockets at Thunder
THE STORY: The Oklahoma City Thunder are a young team on the rise,
but not so young that they haven’t been fatigued by the compressed NBA
schedule. The Thunder are enduring one of the more ambitious tests of
NBA scheduling magic. After playing seven games in 10 days to begin the
season, including three sets of back-to-backs, Oklahoma City finally
looked sluggish in losing the final two. The schedule makers took pity
on the Thunder with two straight off days and no travel on Wednesday and
Thursday. Now all they have to do is play on three straight days and
five of the next six. The latest stretch begins Friday, when Oklahoma
City hosts the Houston Rockets. Winless in four games on the road, the
Rockets are trying to salvage a three-game trip. Houston suffered its
worst loss, 117-89 at the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Houston, FS Oklahoma (Oklahoma City)
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (2-4):
First-year coach Kevin McHale had some harsh words for his team
following Wednesday’s loss, saying “We didn’t put up any fight at all
tonight.” That certainly appeared to be true on the defensive end, where
the “Lob City” Clippers shot 57 percent thanks to easy buckets in the
paint. Offensively, Houston is waiting for Kevin Martin to find his
stroke from long range. The career 38 percent 3-point shooter is 1 of 9
from beyond the arc in the last two games.
ABOUT THE THUNDER (5-2):
Oklahoma City looked strong in its first five games, averaging 102
points and winning each contest. But the Thunder slipped to an average
of 90 points in losses to the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail
Blazers on Monday and Tuesday. The biggest drop off came from star Kevin
Durant, who shot nearly 55 percent in the first five games and was
named Western Conference Player of the Week. In the last two, the star
forward has slumped to 38 percent, including an 8-of-26 performance in
Tuesday’s 103-93 home loss to the Blazers.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Durant has averaged 22.9 points on 47.6 percent shooting in 15 career games against the Rockets.
2. Oklahoma City has taken four of the last five meetings, averaging 118.3 points in the wins.
3. Martin shot 9 of 14 from beyond the arc in three games against the Thunder last season.