The basketball gods did, giving NBA enthusiasts the opportunity to see an exciting first-round series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets.
More importantly, it’s a chance to see Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook fight their old groups and we know they’re going to do it with a chip on their shoulders.
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The 2020 NBA Playoffs will begin on August 17, but the full schedule has yet been released.
Result: Thunder 2-1
Best Game: January 20, 2020 – Thunder 112, Rockets 107
Best performance: James Harden (28 October 2019) – points, seven assists
We didn’t have to wait long to see Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook take on their old teams, however, former MVP James Harden stole the screen in the first of the three games this season between those two teams. Harden lost 40 points of the season in the win. Although he fired badly from the field, the Beard lived on the firing line 22 shots loose that night.
The Thunder spoiled Russell Westbrook’s return to Oklahoma City for a Game 2 victory.
OKC returned from a 17-year drop in the third game to win the series of the season.
Each match was played with a playoff-like intensity and with non-public vendettas to settle, the bubble series will be no different.
This is without a doubt the biggest situation in the series and the biggest situation in the playoffs. The Rockets brought the cause in one of the ultimate unorthodox offensive tactics we’ve ever seen, but the good luck of that tactic is based on Russell Westbrook’s fitness.
Westbrook has been sidelined by quad tension since Houston’s August 4 loss to the Trail Blazers. At least the beginning of this series will be lost and his return will have the way he reacts to treatment.
There’s no turning back now, Houston’s in the microball. If they’re going to start temporarily in opposition to the Thunder, it will actually give Westbrook more time to recover, but if they fall 2-0 early, there will possibly be tension to rush the former MVP.
Russell Westbrook
His injury on a quad motorcycle will keep him out of the playoff starts, but if he can return and be the Houston player just before closing, the Rockets could possibly return to the name discussion.
Without Westbrook, Houston will have a way.
James Harden
James Harden has done everything you’d expect from a Hall of Famer, but it’s time to start winning and winning big in the playoffs.
Harden’s normal seasons have been historic, but his playoffs leave a lot to be desired. Now that Westbrook is out of the game at least for the start of the playoffs, the charge falls directly on Harden’s shoulders.
Can he live up to it or will he be a failure in the playoffs?
Chris Paul
Not that you have a chance to get revenge in the sport. Chris Paul is very lucky. The Rockets blinded Paul to an industry last summer by sending him to OKC.
It was a demonstration year for CP3 that had many doubts and returned not only to All-Star prestige but to the All-NBA.
It’s no longer about numbers or statistics, it’s about who gets 4 wins first. If Paul can do that before the Rockets, he’ll have the last word.
Carlan Gay: rockets in seven
Scott Rafferty: rockets in six
Gilbert McGregor: rockets in seven
Alex Novick: Thunder in six
The reviews on this page necessarily reflect the prospects of the NBA or its clubs.