WSOU

The futures of the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder

Date: July 15, 2019

By: Ronny Castaneda

It’s been seven years since the big three of Oklahoma City departed. It all started when the Seattle Supersonics took a promising Kevin Durant second overall in the 2007 draft. The following year the Sonics would bring in an athletic point guard, Russell Westbrook, to team up with Durant.

After a relocation that saw the team land in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma City Thunder then drafted James Harden out of Arizona State to round out their big three in 2009. It only took the group three years to appear in a Finals before they fell to the Miami Heat. With Durant and Harden’s separations from the team, there will always be a question surrounding the potential success of the Thunder had the three players remained with the team.

Harden went on to have consecutive MVP caliber seasons in Houston, while his ex-teammate would do the same. Westbrook would go on to take home the MVP award in 2017. Harden wasted no time as he snagged his own the following year.

This past season saw both stars take dramatic exits in the playoffs. The Rockets saw yet another departure at the hands of Golden State and it seemed as if Harden would never be able to succeed. During the Offseason however, Harden made it clear that he wanted a change.

Looking back at what Harden was talking about, we saw the number of superstars that came in and out of Houston. The Dwight Howard experiment showed signs of immense potential but never materialized. What really got things rolling was the addition of veteran point guard Chris Paul.

In Paul’s tenure, the team had finally made it to the Western Conference Finals, an achievement that had been long awaited since Harden was traded. Although all seemed glamorous the constant narrative of being so close yet so far proved to add some unwanted tension in the locker room. The relationship between Paul and Harden grew bitter, to the point where Harden spoke on changes that needed to be made in the summer.

The Thunder highlighted their plan to rebuild when the team accepted Paul George’s trade request and sent him to the Los Angeles Clippers. In return, Oklahoma City received a haul of first round draft picks. The days following the blockbuster trade included discussions on where to send the final member of the original big three. An early front runner for the former MVP was the Miami Heat, who have been busy this off-season acquiring All-Star Jimmy Butler.

In a surprise move that took the league and social media by storm, Westbrook landed in Houston to team up with his former teammate, Harden. The deal also sent Paul to the Thunder, where his situation seems to be tricky due to his large contract. Paul is not expected to remain with the Thunder during the 2019-2020 season.

Regardless, the Westbrook and Harden experiment is well underway, and the league can only wait to see what the two have in store. However, there is some speculation around the duo.

First would be key to analyze the different type of point guards that both Paul and Westbrook are. Paul is known for being a floor general and a wizard with the basketball. The gravity that Paul possesses as a scorer also allows him to space the floor very well. Westbrook on the other hand is a ball dominant, athletic, scoring guard. Something both guards do very well is getting into the paint.

Paul is known for being able to hit mid-range shots over the out-stretched hands of contesting big men, and should the defense collapse on him, his court vision is enough to find someone on the wing wide open. Westbrook has shown his impressive scoring, but the numbers show that the pure reason behind his scoring were simply due to the high volume of shots he would take throughout every game.

Westbrook has shown his inconsistency to shoot from outside, which led to defenders leaving him open for missed shots. Westbrook is crafty enough to get to the basket at will, but his ball dominance could frustrate teammates if he continues to put up shots at an alarmingly inconsistent rate.

Westbrook’s defense needs to change, as he is known to be a passive defender compared to his offensive intensity. Paul’s age has not been kind to him, but he is able to defend any ball handler and pick their pockets.

Harden is also considered to be a ball-dominant player. His immense scoring ability shows why he is the man in Houston. What both Westbrook and Harden share is the amount of shots each of them takes every game, the only difference is that Harden is tremendously more consistent, as we saw during his month long tear this past season.

This season will provide the fans certain events they have not seen before. A wide-open race in both conferences is something this league needs, in order to bring life back into it. Westbrook and Harden will be hyped up as the one of the star-studded duos that will headline this season.

 Mixing the personalities of someone who worked to be a man of his own franchise (Harden) and someone who is a one man show (Westbrook) could prove to be disastrous. It proved to be why Durant left the Thunder to join a 73-9 Warriors team in 2016.

It is difficult to be able to pose such a threat on offense when an inconsistent ball handler is manning the floor Having two ball dominant players isn’t exactly the perfect mix, but if Harden and Westbrook can flow as equals, the Rockets will contend deep into the season.

Ronny Castaneda can be reached at ronald.castaneda@student.shu.edu.

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