The set-up: James Harden was a former teammate of Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City but now with Harden on the Rockets and Westbrook still on the Thunder (sans Durant), the two guards have established themselves as the early front-runners for league MVP honors. Westbrook leads the league with 16 triple-doubles and is averaging 30.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game. Harden has nine triple-doubles, after closing the month of December with a historic 53-point, 16-rebound and 17-assist performance against the New York Knicks on New Year's Eve. He comes in averaging 28.4 points and career highs in rebounds (8.2) and assists (11.9).

Oklahoma City: Westbrook had 33 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists last night in a 123-112 loss at Charlotte, making just 10 of 31 shots. Also, he received a technical foul for throwing the ball in the direction of Tre Maddox in the first quarter and conking the referee in the side of the head (he said it was an accident and there's little reason not to believe him). OKC's problem is, that the Thunder get scoring from Oladipo (16.2) and the team's two-headed center (Adams and Kanter combine to average 25.8 & 13.9) but not much else. Defense has also been an issue, especially on the road where the Thunder are allowing 108.1 PPG. The loss in Charlotte was OKC's third straight on the road, falling to 8-9 on the season.

Houston: Harden was named Western Conference Player of the Month earlier this week, after leading the Rockets to a 15-2 record in December. Houston opened 2017 with a 101-91 home win over the Wizards on Monday and are now 27-9 (only the Warriors, Spurs and Cavs have better records in the entire NBA) plus also own the NBA's best ATS record at 24-12. Harden is the prime reason why the Rockets have won five straight games and 16 of their last 18 but don't forget about his backcourt partner, Patrick Beverley. He missed the season's first 11 games but since he's returned to the court, Houston has gone 18-4 over the last 25 games (Beverley has missed three games in that span but is expected back here). He's the team's best perimeter defender and next to Harden, he's the team MVP. However, Houston also has excellent balance (unlike OKC), with four others in double digits (note: center Capela is out until late-Jan. with a leg injury).

The pick: These teams have met twice already this season, both times in OKC, with each team owning a three-point win. The Rockets get the Thunder in Houston tonight and while they haven't played since Monday, the Thunder are playing back-to-back games and for the third time in the last four days. Houston is an 8* play.