OKC Thunder | Round 1, Game 6 Preview: Houston Rockets

Tip-Off: 8 PM CT

Location: AdventHealth Arena (Orlando, Florida)

Television: TNT, Fox Sports Oklahoma

Radio: WWLS 98.1FM OKC The Sports Animal

Twitter: Follow @TheThunderGuys for live-tweets during the game

The Oklahoma City Thunder dug themselves a hole in the third quarter of Game 5 against the Houston Rockets, and once Dennis Schröder was ejected alongside Houston’s P.J. Tucker, there was no way they were going to dig themselves out. Now OKC is facing elimination in Game 6.

The Thunder had one of their worst games of the 2019-20 season in Game 5, shooting about as poorly as a team can. If OKC wants to stand a chance at forcing a Game 7, they need to start with their offense. The good news is that the fix is simple in some ways.

Really all the Thunder needs to do better is stay aggressive by attacking the paint and stop settling for threes. Naturally, that’s easier said than done, and it’s going to begin with the starters. The first five guys for OKC have been pretty terrible offensively against Houston, and if they get down by double digits early, don’t expect another comeback.

Projected Starters

Thunder

  • PG: Chris Paul
  • SG: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
  • SF: Luguentz Dort
  • PF: Danilo Gallinari
  • C: Steven Adams

Rockets

  • PG: Russell Westbrook
  • SG: James Harden
  • SF: Eric Gordon
  • PF: Robert Covington
  • C: P.J. Tucker

Injuries

Thunder

  • NONE

Rockets

  • Luc Mbah A Moute (left knee effusion) is OUT.

Head-to-Head

  • Since arriving in Oklahoma City in 2008, the Thunder is 21-22 against the Rockets in the regular season (14-8 at home, 7-14 on the road) and 7-9 against the Rockets in the playoffs (5-2 at home, 2-7 on the road).
  • The Thunder has won the season series with the Rockets 6 times, lost it 4 times, and tied 2 times.
  • The Thunder won the regular season series against the Rockets this season 2-1 (1-0 at home, 1-1 on the road).

Game Notes

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