Schedule offers playoff preview
Harden-Westbrook is the hook, but Rockets can gain much more
P layoff seedings. • MVP implications. • Rockets vs. Thunder. • James Harden vs. Russell Westbrook. • Sunday afternoon at Toyota Center will be fun. • It will be more than a good show, though. This game and the next few for the Rockets are the last chances they’ll have to fine-tune before the playoffs.
As the regular season winds down, the competition between teams like these two — both headed to the postseason — heats up.
Everyone is thinking about playoff positioning, about being ready, about taking advantage of games that provide a playoff-type atmosphere.
And everyone is talking about Harden and Westbrook — two players battling for the MVP title.
There’s the rivalry between the teams as well.
They’ve had a few thrilling games; they’ve met in the playoffs.
And, of course, there was the Pat Beverley/Westbrook situation Thunder fans have never forgotten. The Rockets are hyped up. “Mr. Triple-Double is coming to town,” Beverley said of Westbrook, while coach Mike D’Antoni joked about figuring out how to leave Westbrook in the locker room.
The Rockets will be short-handed — forward Ryan Anderson is out with an ankle injury.
A game like this, at a time like this is good for the home team.
The end of March is tough for the Rockets, who picked up their 50th win of the season Friday. After hosting OKC, they’ll welcome Golden State on Tuesday. Then they are at Portland and Golden State in back-to-back games Thursday and Friday.
An electric atmosphere
The last four games in March provide good tests. They can all help prepare the Rockets for the postseason.
“Anytime you get that playoff atmosphere, that playoff feel, it’s good,” Beverley said. “Those are the games that really get you ready down the stretch.”
The end of the regular-season stretch is just around the corner and the Rockets look like a team on the brink of a playoff run.
It’s a run that could start with Oklahoma City, which is the No. 6 seed. The Rockets are virtually locked in the No. 3 in the Western Conference.
Sunday’s game could be a preview of what’s to come in April. The Rockets have played well against Oklahoma City this season, winning two of three games.
The Rockets have won eight of the last 11 times they have met.
But Westbrook rises to every occasion against the Rockets. Against the Rockets this season, he is averaging 35.3 points on 51.1 percent shooting.
Harden hasn’t been as impressive in scoring — he has shot 29 percent per outing against the Thunder this year.
But he has averaged 12.3 assists in those three games and made a major impact in leading the Rockets to doubledigit leads in all three games and victories in two.
Harden is going to have to do what he has done and more to lead the Rockets to another win over the Thunder, and he knows it.
“This is a team we could potentially play in the first round,” he said. “All the details need to be on point.”
This is the time to perfect those details — all of the little things that will help the Rockets in the tough Western Conference during the postseason.
They’ll have a chance to adjust with a starter being out injured, a chance to improve rebounding, a chance to execute defensively against one of the NBA’s top players.
Westbrook on Sunday, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson on Tuesday (then again Friday) are the kinds of players who can challenge the Rockets to make all the adjustments they’ll need before the playoffs begin.
The headlines for Sunday’s game are big and bold — surrounding the MVP battle between Harden and Westbrook mainly — but the Rockets can use it for much more than another stop on Harden’s campaign trail.
They can use it and the rest of the games this week to test everything. They can use it to prepare. Harden vs. Westbrook is thrilling, sure.
Learning experiences
Sunday has all the makings of a game that is sure to please the audience.
But beyond that, it’s a game that will speak volumes about where the Rockets stand for the playoffs.
These next few games are glimpses of what’s to come. Playoff-caliber teams, a lot on the line. The Rockets would be wise to use each as a learning experience.
Because the big test — the NBA postseason — will be here before they know it.