Can the Rockets Really Hang With the Thunder?

Outside of a 121-119 road loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on November 5, the Oklahoma City Thunder's tightest game came on opening night against the Houston Rockets. On their ring night, they took care of the up-and-coming Rockets, but it took two overtime periods in what ended in a 125-124 score.

Houston nearly took down the Thunder, showing the team is a legitimate title contender. The team has since backed that up, as after starting 0-2, the Rockets have gone 12-2 across nearly five weeks. They currently own the NBA's second-best offensive rating (122) and third-best defensive rating (111.1).

Sitting as the third seed in the Western Conference, Houston is up there in the standings. However, Oklahoma City is miles ahead of the NBA with a 19-1. The Thunder are favored in every game they play for good reason: they simply dominate on both sides of the ball.

OKC owns the league's top defensive rating (103.4), but sits outside of the top three in offense. The team's statistics on that side of the floor don't necessarily reflect the record, but context is important.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging 32.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game, doesn't even need to suit up late in the game for the Thunder. Of the 20 games they've played thus far, he has only appeared in the final 12 minutes nine times for an average of 7.2 minutes.

When he does play in the fourth quarter, it's typically to put the game away before crunch time. Gilgeous-Alexander rarely has to play past the five-minute mark, with the opener versus Houston being one of the few occasions.

The Rockets are considered a title contender right now, but when it comes down to the best basketball team, does anyone really even stack up against Oklahoma City? The Thunder were without Jalen Williams, an All-Star and crucial piece to last season's championship, until November 28's win over the Phoenix Suns. He and the team aren't even at full strength yet, which is scary to think about.

Perhaps in the seven-game series down the line, Houston could give Oklahoma City a run for its money purely based on the result of the season opener. However, the Rockets and the rest of the NBA are simply fighting for second right now, as the Thunder look like the clear favorites to repeat as champions.