Vitals: Rockets at Thunder

Houston looks for a sweep of the season series Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 11:35 am

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Mar 24, 2010 11:10 AM CDT

Dave Carty
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

Houston Rockets (36-33) at Oklahoma City Thunder (42-27)
Wednesday, March 23, 2010, 7:00 p.m. CST.
Ford Center, Oklahoma City
Game 70 of 82

Anticipated Starting Lineups

	Houston (Away)	Oklahoma City (Home)
PG	Aaron Brooks 19.8 PPG, 2.5 3-PT.	Russell Westbrook 16.4 PPG, 7.9 APG
SG	Kevin Martin 21.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG	Thabo Sefolosha 5.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG
SF	Trevor Ariza 15.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG	Kevin Durant 29.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG
PF	Luis Scola 15.6 PPG, 8.8 RPG	Jeff Green 14.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG
C	Chuck Hayes 4.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG	Nenad Krstic 8.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG

Injuries
Houston: C, Yao Ming (foot, season); F, Shane Battier (knee, out); F, Jordan Hill (ankle, doubtful), F, Jared Jeffries (Achilles, doubtful); C, David Andersen (back, doubtful).
Oklahoma City: G, James Harden (hamstring, out).

Where to find it?
On TV: KSBI
On Radio: Thunder Radio Network

What you need to know?
The Houston Rockets are on the outside looking in, trailing Portland by five games for the final Western Conference playoff slot. It will be an uphill climb for the recently-battered Rockets to thrust past the Blazers or the Thunder, which sits seventh. Only three players have appeared in all 69 games for the Rockets – Chuck Hayes, Luis Scola and Aaron Brooks – and the franchise has had to endure lengthy injuries to Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady in its recent past, so at least Houston knows how to deal with injuries. This will be Houston’s third road game in four nights, so fatigue could be a factor.

With little to no depth at center, Houston will employ a lineup with essentially three forwards, which will allow the Oklahoma City Thunder some beneath-the-basket points. More than anything, the Thunder needs a win to right the ship after losing three of four. Kevin Durant tied a season-high with 45 points in Monday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The Thunder got back to its defense-first philosophy in that contest, but didn’t get the win. Another loss combined with the Rockets win would crank up the anxiety meter a bit more.

Who to watch?
When healthy, Kevin Martin stood out with the Sacramento Kings. Since being traded to Houston, he’s regained some of that form, scoring 13-plus in every game wearing a Rockets uniform. In 14 starts with the team, he’s averaging a whopping 23.92 points.

Up against a small lineup, Serge Ibaka could make a sizeable impact in Wednesday’s game. In March, Ibaka’s minutes, points and rebounds per game have all gone up.