Gameday: Houston Rockets (22-15) Tipoff 7pm

Hopefully the Thunder used the Day off to gather themselves back together after that dreadfully awful performance in Minnesota on Wednesday. They definitely don't have time to be fooling around either as the Houston Rockets come to the Ford Center tonight. The Rockets were on a bit of a skid recently, but managed to end the skid be beating the Celtics on Wednesday. Including that win the Rockets are just 2-4 in their last six games, and that win against the Celts isn't quite looking as good as it would've a month ago, as Boston is also 2-4 in their last six games. Hey! The Thunder are 2-4 in their last 6 games too! But that's probably where the comparisons are going to stop.

The Thunder are going to have to control Yao down low, although, I don't think its even possible with anyone on our roster. I'd expect to see Krstic expand on his minutes again tonight, but hardly expect him to have a huge impact on the game. If Krstic can get on the floor for a decent number of minutes, and knock down a few 18-footers, maybe he can effectively start to pull Yao out of the block, and open up some driving lanes. Of course you still have Artest to deal with too, down low, and we all know he's a beast. The Rockets average about the same number of points per game (+2 PPG) as the Thunder, but give up about 9 less per game defensively, so that's the clear key to the game tonight. The Thunder Defense is going to have be stiff, and force the Rockets into some bad shots, and on the offensive end, can't afford another bad shooting night.