3 storylines to watch in Game 7 of Rockets-Thunder showdown

The first-round series between the No. 4 seed Houston Rockets and No. 5 seed Oklahoma City Thunder is going the distance. The winner of Game 7, which tips off Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET, earns a second-round date with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The stakes are undoubtedly higher for the Rockets. The team invested heavily in its small-ball approach, most notably downsizing Clint Capela for Robert Covington at the trade deadline. With head coach Mike D'Antoni only under contract through the end of the season, the league's top small-ball practitioner is likely headed out the door barring a deep playoff run.

A win keeps the good times rolling for the Thunder. Few expected such a competitive team this season after swapping franchise icon Russell Westbrook to the Rockets in exchange for Chris Paul. Paul is a future Hall of Famer, but this was supposed to be a transitional year for OKC. A spirited first-round series already registers as a win for them.

With that backdrop in mind, here are three major storylines to watch in Game 7:

Which Russ shows up?

Owing to a wonky right quad, Westbrook only entered the series in Game 5. He boasts a 12.7 net rating in 51 minutes across two appearances - which is obviously preferable compared to being a net-minus, but it's tough to draw conclusions from such a small sample size.

The eye test yields mixed results. In Game 5, the Rockets were in great shape when Westbrook was relegated to supporting-role status. Yes, he shot just 3-of-13 from the floor in his return, but he found plenty of success as a distributor and dished seven assists in under 24 minutes while James Harden, Eric Gordon, and Covington combined for 73 points.

The story was different in Game 6. While Westbrook bounced back with 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting, he recorded just three dimes to seven turnovers. Some of those miscues came in the game's pivotal final moments.

Until Westbrook gets his legs back under him, the Rockets should employ a "less is more" mantra with the former league MVP. The more the 31-year-old tries to assert himself upon Game 7, the greater the Thunder's chances are of pulling off the upset.

Can OKC out-small-ball the Rockets?

The Thunder have hemorrhaged points with Steven Adams on the floor this series. The hulking center is minus-50 in 176 minutes overall - or, for the analytically minded, minus-14.6 per 100 possessions. Even with Adams averaging 10.2 points and 12 rebounds per game in the playoffs, OKC has been unable to punish the Rockets' lack of size in the frontcourt.

Should the Thunder try to beat the "Pocket Rockets" at their own game by punting the traditional big man from their core lineup? If coach Billy Donovan goes that route, there's one unit in particular that has shown potential.

In 14 minutes together this series, the three-headed point guard monster of Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Dennis Schroder alongside human fire hydrant Luguentz Dort and stretch forward Danilo Gallinari has posted a 34.8 net rating. It's Donovan's fourth-most used lineup in this series and the most frequent lineup not featuring either Adams or backup center Nerlens Noel.

That's probably the extent of the Thunder's viable small-ball units for this series. OKC trotted out Gallinari and Mike Muscala together for nine minutes in Game 1 as part of a super stretchy frontcourt. The 129.5 offensive rating was stellar; the 164.7 defensive rating was abominable.

If Adams can't get it going, Donovan will have to trot out his own small-ball lineups Wednesday.

Rockets have to put the Thunder away early

The Rockets need to treat the Thunder like the villain in a slasher film, which is to say: No matter how toast OKC looks in Game 7, Houston cannot assume they've vanquished their foe until the final buzzer sounds.

The Thunder led the league with 30 clutch wins in the regular season. Even better, Oklahoma City won all three contests against the Rockets when there were less than five minutes left in regulation and the score was within five points. With the chance to close out the series Monday, even the Rockets' six-point lead with 4:19 to play in Game 6 wasn't safe.

Paul continues to be transcendent in clutch situations. The 35-year-old has 18 points in 15 clutch minutes in this series alone, shooting 5-of-10 (including 2-of-4 on threes in Game 6) with two assists to one turnover and a pair of steals.

Harden started the fourth quarter on the bench in two of the Rockets' losses (Games 3 and 6). Houston has also been outscored by 3.7 points per 100 possessions with Harden off the court in this series. That's just the sliver of daylight OKC needs to fight their way back from the brink of doom.

The Rockets can't afford to take their foot off the gas to begin the fourth quarter. Otherwise, they're in danger of not only losing the series, but also the "Clutch City" nickname to Oklahoma City.