Houston Rockets vs Oklahoma City Thunder Dream11 Prediction : Dream 11 Fantasy Tips for HOU vs OKC as The SportsRush helps you form the best possible Dream11 Team.
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For much of the season, it looked like Houston Rockets were a team in trouble and Oklahoma City Thunder were the best the Western Conference had to offer to the Golden State Warriors in a possible Western Conference finals match-up but no more. Houston are arguably once again the toughest test the Warriors will face in their path to the 3 peat this season having locked up the third seed while the Thunder are languishing in 6th with a very real chance of falling to 8th and facing the Warriors not in the Conference finals but instead in the first round. Oh Western Conference, you make this long season watchable right till the end.
The Rockets are level with the Denver Nuggets in the wins column and hold the tie break with a 3-1 season series win over them. Nuggets face Jazz next game before closing out the season against the Timberwolves. The Utah Jazz is the hottest team in the league with a 9-2 record in the last 11 games and that game is not a guaranteed win for the Nuggets, so Houston can still realistically achieve a 2nd place and home court advantage against Nuggets or whoever else they face. The Thunder have a 47-33 record only half a game over Clippers and Spurs who both have a 47-34 record with one game to go.
The Thunder have two games against the Rockets and Bucks, ironically allowing Paul George to go up against both MVP candidates who he was looking to challenge mid-way through the season before characteristically falling off as the season moved towards the end. So Thunder need 2 wins to avoid finishing 8th and facing Warriors as they do not hold season series wins against either the Spurs or the Clippers.
Rockets and Thunders Form –
OKC Thunder come to the game on the back of 3 consecutive wins after recording 2 consecutive losses before that. Their past 10 games have a 5-5 record and while Russell Westbrook seems to be absolutely balling, Paul George has fallen off the pace in the recent times, in what might be attributed to the after effects of the shoulder injury he suffered in the season. Thunder will rely on Westbrook and George to once again carry them in this game with Steven Adams not expected to be a huge factor given that he is well matched up against Clint Capela who functions for the Rockets in the same way Adams does for the Thunder.
Rockets have won their last 6 games and 8 out of their last 10 games and are on the longest active win streak heeding to the playoffs. Coach Mike D’Antoni will likely be back against the Thunder after missing the last few games with intestinal virus. The Rockets and Thunder are possible opponents in the 1st or second round of the playoffs and neither team will want to lose the psychological advantage tomorrow so expect a tight affair with both teams going hard at it.
Dream 11 Tips: Houston Rockets vs Oklahoma City Thunder
Point Guards: James Harden (25.5 Cr) Russell Westbrook (24 Cr) Chris paul (15.5 Cr)
James Harden is a 30 point machine, which alone gives him enough fire power to be on any team, but add to that his steals (career high 2.0 stl per game) and passing (6.2 assists per game) and rebounding (5.2 rebounds per game) and you have a points machine and there is no case for dropping him unless the Rockets decide to sit him for the game, which they have given no indication they are inclined to do.
Russell Westbrook would not be on this list if shooting efficiency mattered on Dream 11, but rejoice because it doesn’t and it doesn’t matter if Westbrook bricks 30 shots in the game, he will get his 20 points to go with at least 10 assists and 10 rebounds. He is averaging a triple double for the season for the third season in a row and that is a huge point provider on the game, so go ahead and hamstring your team with half the purse string spent on 2 players.
Chris Paul is at his best when he is playing like a child scorned by having his toys snatched and OKC along with GSW seem to bring that out of him. He averages 20 points and 9 assists against the top teams in the West this season and consistently provides over 35 points on dream 11 due to his points, assists and steals. Both teams are top heavy and it makes sense to splurge on top players and Paul takes precedence over George given current form and the 6.5 Cr you save for picking CP3 over PG13.
Shooting Guard: Terrence Ferguson (5.5 Cr)
Austin Rivers has been in better form in the recent times but Terrence Ferguson makes the numbers work without losing too much edge in point scoring. Ferguson can easily get you 20 points and being the only real SG on the Thunder team earns him a lot more minutes to get more points than it does with Austin Rivers. Eric Gordon is an alternative, but you will have to sacrifice one of the three point guards to get him on your team.
Small Forward: Gerald Green (6.5 Cr)
Gerald Green is the best option at SF behind Paul George and George is way out of our price range after picking the 3 point guards. Green isn’t the best point scorer as he doesn’t affect the game in statistical ways that matter a lot, but there is no other option that even has the opportunity to do the same in his place.
Power Forwards: Jerami Grant (12 Cr) Isaiah Hartenstein (3.5 Cr)
Jerami Grant is the do it all player that is very close to a Pascal Siakam with a lower ceiling. He can get rebounds, points blocks and averages close to 30 points in his last 5 dream 11 encounters. At 12 Cr he is a bargain for his all round skills that guarantee an impact in the game.
Isaiah Hartenstein is the patsy pick who will hardly get a look in, but becomes a cost saving measure in a game that is so top heavy. His value comes in the points exchange that you get from having CP3 in your team instead of a combination of Nene and Eric Gordon who will at best combine to give the points total that CP3 alone provides.
Center: Nerlens Noel (7.5 Cr)
Noel is the cheapest available center but he is athletic and plays well against the likes of Capela who use athleticism to get to the rim and can not shoot from outside. Noel is a great shot blocker and gets his rebounds to provide enough value and given that he doesn’t share his minutes very often with Westbrook is an added bonus because it means he doesn’t lose his rebounds very often.
Star Player: Harden or Westbrook your call. I would go with Westbrook because his assists and rebounds are valuable and he gets them irrespective of the opponent but Harden relies more on his scoring and Westbrook and PG13 do a good job of defending him in their match-ups.
