3 storylines to watch in Rockets-Thunder besides Harden vs. Westbrook

Very rarely - if ever - do you get the two leading candidates for NBA Most Valuable Player squaring off this early in the postseason.

Yet here we are, with the basketball gods having blessed us all by matching up James Harden and the triple-double machine himself, Russell Westbrook, in what's easily the most compelling and attractive pairing of the opening round.

Now, this series between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder will ultimately be remembered for how those two perform, and rightfully so. However, the end result won't simply be determined by them and them alone.

Oklahoma City's defense vs. Houston's offense

This isn't meant to imply that Westbrook and company can't keep pace with Houston's prolific offense. Three of their four meetings during the regular season had a point differential of three or less, and, in the finale, Oklahoma City managed to drop 125 points at the Toyota Center, albeit in a 137-125 defeat.

In a perfect world, Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni will want this series to turn into a shootout, giving his squad a decisive advantage. Houston possesses the league's No. 2 offense, with the most makes from behind the arc per game at 14.3.

The Thunder (No. 11 defense) have the personnel at nearly every position to cause Houston problems on the defensive end, and can neutralize some of their weapons while pouring it on themselves (Rockets rank 26th in points allowed, 109.5).

Speaking of defensive personnel ...

Andre "The Harden Stopper" Roberson

Shutting down The Beard will fall mainly on the shoulders of Andre Roberson, who's had tremendous success in the past guarding Harden head to head and keeping one of the Association's elite scorers at bay.

Harden's numbers while defended by Roberson (courtesy: NBA Stats)

Only three other teams (Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic, and Golden State Warriors) can say they've held Harden to worse shooting percentages this season than the Thunder (34.3 percent), with a great deal of the credit going to Roberson's elite perimeter D.

Oklahoma City in general gives up 5.1 more points per 100 possessions when Roberson isn't on the floor. He's only contributing 7.9 points per 36 minutes every night, as he places more of an emphasis on being that lockdown defender on the wing who can guard multiple positions as an agile and physical 6-foot-7 forward.

Harden is already extremely prone to turnovers as is (5.8), with that number growing even higher against Roberson. Everything Houston executes on offense is dictated and run through the All-Star guard, meaning the more Roberson throws Harden out of whack, the more vulnerable the Rockets become.

Battle of the benches

Two of the NBA's three leading scorers coming off the bench can be found on the Rockets' roster, with guards Lou Williams and Eric Gordon combining for 31.6 points and 5.1 three-pointers every night.

Their production has Houston's second unit ranked fifth overall in scoring, nine spots ahead of the Thunder's (14th, 35.8 points), which relies heavily on the contributions of center Enes Kanter (14.4 points and 6.7 rebounds).

Both team's rotations are going to be tightened with it being the postseason and all, which is a common occurrence at this time of year. Nonetheless, there are going to be games in this series that will impacted by key reserves, whether it be by knocking down a key bucket or grabbing a pivotal rebound in crunch time.

Schedule

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)