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

1. Russell Westbrook

There’s no getting around the fact that for the Oklahoma City Thunder to have any chance to win, Russell Westbrook has to be nearly perfect in every single facet of the game. And yes, Mr. Triple-Double needs to put up as many of those as he possibly can for the Thunder to compete in this series. Westbrook played in 81 games this season and Oklahoma City went 46-35 in those games. Okay, so what does that tell you? Not much to be honest. However, in the 42 games in which Brodie put up a triple-double (that’s still just an amazingly incredible number), the Thunder went 33-9. The only problem with that is that two of those nine losses came against the Rockets so as I mentioned a little earlier, the supporting cast does need to step it up.

But that doesn’t mean that Westbrook still can’t lead this team to victory. In the four games against Houston this year, he put up averages of 36.3 points, 9.3 assists and 9.0 rebounds per game but he actually may need to do even better than that if he wants to advance to the second round. That may not be an easy task. Patrick Beverley, who will likely be booed mercilessly when the series moves to Chesapeake Arena given the fact he knocked Westbrook out of the playoffs with a knee injury a few years ago, seems to get under Westbrook’s skin more than just about anybody and will likely be given the challenge of containing the two-time scoring champion.

Beverley tends to be pretty physical on the defensive end and Westbrook will have to maintain his cool and not let his nemesis get in his head. And it’s imperative that Westbrook stays out of foul trouble. As I said, the Thunder go as he goes and he’s likely going to log a lot of minutes.

Next: A breakdown of Russell Westbrook's historic season

This should be one heck of a first-round matchup. Keep track of this and every single series of the 2017 NBA Playoffs right here at FanSided.