LAS VEGAS — Oklahoma City vs. Houston in the NBA Cup semifinals, a showdown between the two best teams in the West.
Not that you would know that if you only watched the nationally televised games.
The NBA Cup could be more of a primer for casual fans who spent their fall and early winter focused on the NFL and college football playoffs. Coming into this season, the Thunder were the reigning No. 1 seed in the West, the betting favorite, and the vast majority of experts’ choice to win the West, but they weren’t in the top 10 in number of nationally televised games. Houston was not in the top 20. With its telecasts this season, the NBA has relied on older stars — and with it, struggling teams.
Thunder and Rockets highlight NBA youth movement
OKC’s Alex Caruso recently retweeted a fan message pointing out that starting Dec. 20, the Thunder were scheduled to go a month without a nationally televised game (they have since been consolidated into two).
“At the end of the day, you want to put the best product on television, and we are one of the best products in the league,” Caruso said. “We have young stars, we have elite young role players. We have guys – people don’t even know what kind of basketball player Cason Wallace is in New York, in Los Angeles, in Chicago and in Miami, because ‘They can’t watch us play on national television…
“We have an excess of talent, and for them to be able to bring this and this event here, I think it’s really cool.”
Thunder star and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander agrees.
“As a kid, you grow up, you watch the Lakers versus Boston on TV. You watch Miami versus Cleveland. You watch marquee games and you watch big games, and you dream of making it there one day,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Being in this position is special. You don’t take it for granted. At the end of the day, you just want to win. But it’s kind of nice to be highlighted and highlighted in a way.”
Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the biggest reasons to tune in — the man who finished second in MVP voting a season ago is averaging 30.2 points, 6.3 assists and 5.4 rebounds per night this season with one of the most unique playing styles in the league. .
“A lot of teams stand back and try to make him beat you with jump shots, especially 3s, and I think he takes the lead and he’s kind of on his front foot and you “You’re kind of in retirement mode,” Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s defense. “So we want to go a little higher, be more physical, I think, show him the crowd a little more and give him some indecision about it. I just don’t want to leave the guys on the island all day. time.”
The challenge with the Thunder slowing down is that it’s not SGA that’s the problem; the team is full of creators.
“Everyone knows how unique they play and how hard it is to beat them…” said Houston strongman Jabari Smith. “I think with them, there’s not necessarily a lot of movement (off the ball), but everyone is so unselfish. Everyone drives, everyone doesn’t drive to shoot, everyone drives to passing and creating for others – and they have people who are good at that. Fast guards who know how to drive, create too, and guards who can make that pass.
If the Thunder – a No. 1 seed a season ago with an MVP candidate – go unnoticed, where does that leave a Houston team that is just starting to get noticed?
Expect great defense
What can Rockets fans expect?
“I would say we are a deep, athletic and physical team. That’s what we’re trying to build,” Ime Udoka said. “(We’ve) been good on the defensive end, defensive-minded, we like to go out there, be aggressive on that end. Unselfish and balanced on offense. Yeah, that’s the reputation we’ve kind of built up for ourselves .”
The other thing fans will get in this game is what so many people say they want more of in the NBA: defense. These are the two best defensive teams in the league. Oklahoma City is a little more physical with Isaiah Hartenstein in the paint, while Houston is teeming with length and athleticism, but the end result is the same: turnovers and contested shots.
Oklahoma City and Houston faced each other less than two weeks ago and it was a hard-fought 119-116 victory for the Rockets. Whatever happens in this game, expect it to be close as neither team’s defense is going to let the other get away.
All this constitutes a spotlight for two teams who deserve it.
“Just the ability to showcase, you know, the team that we have,” Alex Caruso said. “We have a group of guys that are very good basketball players, very competitive and very close. So I think the opportunity for us to come here and show that and showcase our brand of basketball is really good .”
And that’s good for the league – that’s what the NBA Cup should be.
