West's best meet in NBA Cup semis as Thunder battle Rockets

LAS VEGAS -- Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder may not have been the marquee NBA Cup semifinal the league was hoping for, but it might just be the best window into the future of the Western Conference.

The Thunder are getting used to being the hunted this season after taking the league by storm and earning a No. 1 seed in the Western Conference last season. They may not catch anyone by surprise this year, but they are still the deepest and most dangerous team in the conference -- even without Chet Holmgren, who has been out for more than a month after suffering a fracture near his hip.

For most franchises, the "next man up" mantra tends to be wishful thinking. With a team that is led by a talent like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, it's not even a second thought. With the depth that Oklahoma City has, it becomes an outright expectation.

The Thunder have gone 11-3 with Holmgren on the sideline. They sit at 19-5 overall and are on track to be the No. 1 seed again.

They find themselves in the NBA Cup semifinals as the top seed in the West draw, having gone 3-1 in group play. They beat the Dallas Mavericks 118-104 on Tuesday to advance to Las Vegas.

Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't plan on leaving empty-handed.

"It would mean a lot, this opportunity to win," he said. "You play the game at a high level as a kid. You tie your shoes up and play AAU ball to win the tournament on the weekend. You go to college to try and win the NCAA Tournament. (Or even) the tournament at the beginning of the season, the Maui Invitational or whatever it's called.

"You're always trying to win. That's my mindset. That's my teammates' mindset. We're always trying to win."

Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.2 points, fourth in the league before Friday's games, and 6.3 assists. Jalen Williams has also become a key piece; the third-year forward is averaging 21.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Isaiah Hartenstein has filled Holmgren's role in the starting lineup with 11.6 points and 12.8 rebounds per game after making his Thunder debut on Nov. 20.

The Rockets are in a similar position to last season's Thunder, but their rise is perhaps even more surprising. As much promise as Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun are showing, things got pretty rough for them during their first few seasons in the league. Green especially struggled to find his footing.

Houston's willingness to stay with their young duo appears to be paying off in spades. The Rockets sit at 17-8, trailing only the Thunder in the West, and have won seven of their last 10 games. Green is averaging a team-high 19.2 points per game, while Sengun averages 18.8 points and 10.6 rebounds.

The Rockets earned the West's No. 2 seed in knockout play by going 3-1 during the group stage. They advanced to Las Vegas with a thrilling but controversial 91-90 victory against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, as a loose-ball foul sent Green to the line for the game-winning free throws with 3.5 seconds remaining.

It was a statement performance defensively for the Rockets, who are now among the league's toughest units. Saturday's semifinal is another chance to make a statement against a Thunder defense that many pundits consider the league's best.

"I think we're the top two defenses," Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. "They're very stingy on that end and they do it in a different way. They're one of the best at creating turnovers and drawing (players) into a crowd. They give up some things as well, but they really protect the paint at a high level.

"It's an honor to get here, and we felt we did good in our group to get here. Now we just want to make some more noise while we're here."

--Will Despart, Field Level Media