Durant and Westbrook give the Thunder the best pair of 25-and-under superstars in the league. As Harden’s replacement, Kevin Martin has scored well. His 14.5 points a game is down only slightly from Harden’s 16.8 last year. The Thunder have a great shot blocker and defensive player in Serge Ibaka, and excellent role and bench players.
But there are no guarantees. In the West, the Spurs and Clippers have played elite basketball the entire season. Teams like Memphis and Denver may not have a lot of box office appeal, but they are first-rate teams capable of advancing deep into the playoffs.
And then there are Harden’s Rockets. With Harden, who is fourth in the league at 26.8 points per game, and Jeremy Lin, they have an excellent backcourt. Omer Asik is the second leading rebounder in the league with 11.8 a game. Chandler Parsons has averaged 15.4 points a game in his second year and is a top candidate for Most Improved Player.
The Rockets – who recently made a big trade with the Kings with Patrick Patterson (to Sacramento) and Thomas Robinson (to Houston) as the key players – have a nice core, but not overwhelming talent. Still, in a seven-game series, they are one of the teams the big boys really would rather not see in the first round.
Particularly Oklahoma City. The Thunder, obviously, would be favored in the series. But there would be no more dangerous of a player to meet early than Harden, who has nothing to lose and bragging rights – or payback – to gain.
OKC won the season series 2-1, which included one victory in Houston. But it was the third one that would be worrisome for the Thunder. After shooting only 9-of-31 in the first two games – both losses to OKC – Harden dropped 46 on them and led Houston to a 122-119 victory. That night, the Rockets were playing with only nine players because Patterson, Marcus Morris, Cole Aldridge and Toney Douglas had been traded to the Kings.
After two shaky games against his old teammates, Harden looked supremely confident that night.
There is still more than a month left in the season, and the Rockets’ playoff position could change every game. But it’s getting close enough to playoff time where we can start dreaming. And a first-round matchup of the Thunder and the superstar they decided was expendable would be wonderful theater.
CHECK OUT JAN HUBBARD’S ARCHIVE FROM SHERIDAN HOOPS.COM. NOT A BAD ONE IN THE BUNCH.
Jan Hubbard has written about basketball since 1976 and worked in the NBA league office for eight years between media stints. Follow him on Twitter at @whyhub.