Two of the early top teams in the Western Conference will go head-to-head on Halloween when the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Houston Rockets. The Thunder lost their first game of the season Wednesday night when they dropped a road game against the Mavericks 120-96. It was the team's second game played after the season-ending injury suffered by Jalen Williams. The Thunder won the first game without Williams against the Suns 125-114. The Thunder have other key players out with injuries, including Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace, and Alex Caruso. The Rockets lost their first game of the season Friday night against the Mavericks 116-111. Kevin Durant led the team in scoring with 28 points, but it was not enough to overcome 68 combined points from Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg. Houston will attempt to get back on track with a win on their home floor in their second half of a back-to-back.
With Holmgren being the newest name added to the unfortunately growing list of star NBA players out with injuries, the Thunder will continue to test the depth of their bench. Against Dallas, the lineup they ran without Holmgren was Isaiah Hartenstein as the one big on the floor, and four guards around him. Bennett Stirtz, Josh Dix, and Aday Mara are all likely to continue to receive additional minutes for Oklahoma City. Slowing down a red hot Rockets team that is averaging 121 points per game could be a difficult task for the starting lineup of the Thunder. Kevin Durant, Amen Thompson, and Jabari Smith Jr. are all long wings that will be matching up against guards. With Holmgren out of the lineup, the Thunder lack a rim protector that could deter the Rockets from attacking the paint. I’m looking for the Rockets to score inside, but also win the rebounding battle and create second-chance opportunities. Durant could be in line for another big game. He always seems to elevate his play against his former team, averaging 29.1 points per game against the Thunder in his career. With both teams coming off a loss to the Mavericks, I have the Rockets as the team with the better chance to bounce back with a win on their home floor.
Rockets -2.5 is available at the time of publishing. Playable at -3.5.
