NBA Playoffs 2017: 5 keys to Rockets vs. Thunder matchup

3. The bench

I’ve already mentioned how important it is for some of the starters not named Russell Westbrook or James Harden to contribute to help their team win, but the benches may be just as important, especially for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Houston Rockets have the clear edge in this category as their second squad scores more points than any other team in these playoffs. Outside of Kanter, the Thunder just don’t have guys like Eric Gordon and Lou Williams to come in and keep the offense rolling, especially when Russell Westbrook needs to take a break. However, Williams hasn’t had the consistency since coming over from the Los Angeles Lakers and has hit only 38.5 percent of his shots and 31.5 percent from beyond the arc since joining the Rockets. As for Gordon, his percentages have dipped over the last couple of months as well.

The Thunder simply have to do their best to keep up when Westbrook sits or they’re going to have zero chance to win this series. The problem is that when Westbrook sits down, they just seem lost out there without him. There’s no real floor leader when Brodie’s on the bench and the offense just doesn’t flow. Kanter can’t be the only one to score points for the second unit so guys like Doug McDermott, Semaj Christon and Alex Abrines are really going to have to bring everything they’ve got to the table for the Thunder to advance to the second round.