Thomas Campbell – USA Today Sports Images
Though it’s a matchup between the one and eight seeds, the first round series between the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder may be one of the most exciting series in the entire NBA Playoffs. There is going to be offense bursting at the seams in this series, as well as the storyline regarding James Harden facing off against his former team.
Harden’s performance will obviously be a huge factor in how the Rockets fare. He’s the heart of Houston’s offense and is their most capable perimeter defender. Harden is undoubtedly going to need to set the tone on both ends of the floor for Houston and hope that the rest of the team follows suit.
However, another player for Houston that will need to have a big series, mainly on the defensive end of the floor, is Omer Asik, their big center who has had a breakout season. Asik has been dominant on the boards this season, averaging 11.7 per game, and has shown flashes of great defense at times throughout the regular season. His primary focus in this series, though, needs to be his help defense in the post and his defense on the weak-side.
Other than Harden, the perimeter players for the Rockets struggle defensively. Factor in the fast pace that the Rockets like to play at and that hurts the Rockets even more defensively. They are going to have a difficult time containing Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on the perimeter. That means they will need Asik to be there with help in the post.
Asik’s assignment on defense will actually allow him to do this. He will likely be matched up with Kendrick Perkins, who has shown little-to-no effectiveness on offense throughout the season. Asik will obviously not want to leave him wide-open, but Asik will have the luxury of being able to help often on defense.
Oklahoma City has the obvious advantages all over the floor in this series. However, if the Rockets want to remain competitive, they are going to need Asik to be solid defensively by helping aggressively on defense and being quick with his rotations. If he isn’t able to do that, it’s hard to imagine the Rockets having much of a chance, even if Harden has a monster series.
Cody Williams is a Senior NBA Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20 and like his Facebook page.
