National Basketball Association

Houston Rockets Game 71 of 2015-16 Season - vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Houston Rockets Game 71 of 2015-16 featured the Oklahoma City Thunder in a loss.

Continuing SCS series of all 82 games from last season next up is the Houston Rockets Game 71 of 2015-16 versus the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Houston Rockets added draft picks and signed free agents to improve upon an especially mediocre 41-41 campaign. Big man Dwight Howard left for Atlanta while free agents Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, Nene Hilario and Pablo Prigioni joined Houston in free agency.

Hopes are these additions and the growth of existing assets will translate into a season similar to 2014-15. While fans wait for opening night on October 26th versus the Lakers hopefully this series will appease your cravings.

To that end, this series showcases the Rockets 82 games noting the pregame analysis, post game grades, and relevant video. Furthermore, SCS will highlight significant changes made by their opponents this summer. So, here it is – – enjoy all 82 posts as SCS takes you back over the 2015-16 season.

Game 71 – Oklahoma City Thunder

In the Rockets 71st game of the season they lost to the Thunder for the second time.

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Pregame Analysis:

Post Game Analysis:

The full write-up can be viewed via this link.

ESPN’s box score can be reviewed via this link.

Stat Leaders:

ENTER STATS AND VIDEO

Rockets Games vs Thunder in 2016-17

Draft Picks and Free Agents

Obviously the loss of Kevin Durant changed the landscape of the Association and hit the Thunder faithful hard. With Sam Presti making the draft night deal to bring in Oladipo, Sabonis and Ilyasova the thoughts were Durant was staying. Post K.D. exit Russell Westbrook also surprised NBA fans when he extended his contract 3 years.

During Durant and Westbrook’s tenure in OKC often K.D. was viewed as the good guy while Westbrook took all the heat. Westbrook’s decisions were constantly dissected and coupled with his penchant for playing full out he was deemed incorrigible. Entering free agency most pundits felt Durant would re-sign and Westbrook would bolt for L.A. next summer. Hindsight is 20-20 as the reverse occurred and perhaps for the first time in his career Westbrook will get the positive edit.

Still, losing a top 3 NBA franchise player makes the Thunder and GM Sam Presti’s job more difficult. Don’t be surprised if Presti adds yet another tall front court player to their squad as OKC remain competitive and know the Warriors weakness is dealing with length.

Draft Picks:

Round 1: Domantas Sabonis (11)

Round 2: Daniel Hamilton (56)

Incoming Free Agents:

Exiting Free Agents:

Extended:

Russell Westbrook extended his existing contract by 3 years in a $85 million dollar extension.

Due to the large Houston Rockets fan base, SCS is always looking to add new talent to our writing team. To that end, we’re looking for individuals with a specialized focus. Specifically, the first area is perfect for someone who constantly surfs for breaking news on injuries, trades, insider info. Consequently this individual would select top news items providing timely quick hits to keep SCS readers in the loop.

The other writer would possess an especially strong social media background and would like to interact with Clutch City Fans. Therefore this person will promote SCS team content on facebook and twitter. As a result the successful candidate will make sure to promote the best content coming from H-Town fans. In conclusion, if you’re a budding writer who possesses these qualities vist the SCS link, and fill out an application.