#3  – Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets

This one is an easy sell. The last two MVPs, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, squaring off. Add in the fact that they used to be teammates, and you’ve got a story tailor-made for primetime. Houston and OKC have played some of the more entertaining games of the last few NBA seasons. Who could forget Westbrook’s dunk over Clint Capela that essentially clinched a win for the Thunder in 2016?

These two teams played in the first round of the playoffs in 2017, and there were some fireworks in that series as well. Harden led the Rockets past the Thunder thanks to some well rounded performances, like this 37 point/9 assist effort in Game 1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5pwwVX34SM

The NBA scheduled these two against each other last Christmas, and the game turned out to be one of the better ones on the day. Harden, Westbrook, and Paul George all played well and gave the fans a pretty good show as a Christmas gift.

This year, the action will take place in Houston. There’s an added level of intrigue too, with Carmelo Anthony playing his former Thunder teammates as a member of the Rockets.

Next Up: Game 2