Thunder-Rockets Summary

As the 2013 playoff series unfold, the old box score stats may not tell the whole story. These summaries will look at each series from the perspective of plus/minus. With an adjustment for minutes played, Oden's Knee will identify the players that stood out in each series, for good and bad reasons alike.

Best Plus Minus / MVP: Omer Asik (+17 / Net +52 in 209 minutes). Even high tempo offenses that value spacing and shooting need competent defensive centers to compete. That's what makes Andrew Bogut so valuable in Golden State, and it's why the numbers say Omer Asik was the best player in this series. His value as a defensive player is without question. But despite shooting a jump shot about once every three games, he's a critical part of the spacing of the Houston offense. By setting great ball screens and rolling hard to the hoop, he forces defenses to account for him or give up an attempt at the rim (he finishes 59% of those). Of the two "poison pill" offer sheets Houston used last summer, this one was the far better move in hindsight.

Worst Plus Minus: Jeremy Lin (-64 in 83 minutes). Oh yeah, the other poison pill offer sheet. I'm not going to opine on Jeremy Lin's future based on a series where he got hurt in Game 2. I will say this: Patrick Beverley produced more than he did in this series, and that creates just enough uncertainty to make next season uncomfortable if Linsanity starts slow next year.

Least Valuable Player: Thabo Sefalosha (Net -53 in 192 minutes). Thabo has a very specific job in series like this: stop guys like James Harden. Unfortunately, he's also been practicing against that guy every day for most of the last four years. If the Harden - Ibaka isolations told us anything, I think Harden's prior experience playing against Thunder players made good defenders look worse than they normally look.

Jerome James Award: Derek Fisher. Once Russell Westbrook went down in this series, Reggie Jackson and Derek Fisher were thrust into much larger roles. Thankfully, Derek Fisher was in position to help because he signed with the Mavericks, quit to spend time with his family, then changed his mind and signed with the #1 seed in the Western conference. There's no denying that from Derek's side, this makes a lot of sense. And there's no denying that from the side of a jilted team, it's quitting. So, as the Thunder continue their playoff struggle, please spare me the platitudes about Fish's leadership qualities. He's basically Ray Allen, for better or worse.