Getty James Harden of the Houston Rockets
James Harden and the Houston Rockets will host Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Toyota Center on Wednesday.
The game starts at 8 p.m. ET and will be televised on AT&T Sportsnet Southwest (in Rockets markets) and Fox Sports Oklahoma (in Thunder markets). But if you don’t have cable, here’s how you can watch a live stream of the Thunder vs Rockets online for free, depending on where you live:
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Fans in the Rockets Markets: FuboTV
Fans in the Rockets market can watch AT&T Sportsnet Southwest and 100-plus other TV channels on FuboTV, which you can use for free with a seven-day trial right here:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch the Thunder vs Rockets live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV also comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the game on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
Fans in the Thunder Markets: AT&T TV Now
Note: This option is not free, and, unfortunately, it’s the only streaming service with Fox Sports Oklahoma
Fans in the Thunder market can watch Fox Sports Oklahoma and 140-plus other TV channels on AT&T TV Now’s Premier package. Unfortunately, it costs $183 per month and does NOT come with a free trial:
Once signed up for AT&T TV Now’s Premier package, you can watch the Thunder vs Rockets live on the AT&T TV Now app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet.
If you can’t watch live, AT&T TV Now comes include with cloud DVR storage.
If the Game is Out of Your Market
Amazon Prime’s NBA League Pass Channel
This is ultimately the same as regular NBA League Pass (more info on that below), but this is the preferred option because you can watch games on Amazon’s platforms rather than NBA’s, which has had some streaming issues in the past.
Amazon Prime subscribers (Prime comes with a 30-day free trial) can watch every out-of-market, non-nationally televised NBA game on the Amazon Prime League Pass channel. You can try both Amazon Prime and the League Pass channel at no cost with a free trial right here:
NBA League Pass on Amazon Prime
Once you’re signed up for the Prime League Pass channel, out-of-market viewers can watch the Thunder vs Rockets live or on-demand on the Amazon Video app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Nvidia Shield, Xiaomi, Echo Show or Echo Spot, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, various Smart TV’s, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via the Amazon website.
Again, this is mostly the same as the Amazon Prime option above, with the big different being you’ll watch through NBA’s digital platforms rather than Amazon’s. There are also a few different pricing options when signing up for League Pass through NBA.com (one-team pass, all-team pass or all-team, commercial-free pass). You can find them all right here:
Once signed up for League Pass, out-of-market viewers can watch the Thunder vs Rockets live or on-demand on the NBA app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, Android tablet or other compatible device.
You can also watch on your computer via the NBA website.
Thunder vs Rockets Preview
Despite all the recent drama surrounding his requests to be traded, Harden is expected to take the court Wednesday night. “Right now I’m just focused on being here,” Harden said when asked about the ballyhoo last week. Harden’s performance and status won’t be the only major storyline heading into opening night for the Rockets, however.
John Wall will return for the first time in nearly two years after recovering from major injuries to his left heel and Achilles tendon. The No. 1 pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, Wall is a five-time All-Star who has averaged 19.0 points and 9.2 assists per game in his career. Whether he can return to his previous form will be one of the more interesting things to watch in this game, as well as throughout the season.
“I feel like my game is going to evolve because I’m finally healthy and don’t have those little nagging injuries that I was dealing with over the last six or seven years. People will finally get to see at some point what I was playing through and what I was going through,” Wall said, adding: “To be doing what I was doing on one leg basically lets me know how special I am.”
Gilgeous-Alexander will lead an Oklahoma City Thunder team that will be without one of the key members of last year’s team in Chris Paul, who OKC traded this offseason. The Thunder is smack dab in the middle of a rebuild, but Gilgeous-Alexander isn’t concerned about anything other than his team improving on the court.
“We’re not worried about our expectations or nothing like that, we’re just worried about ourselves,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Every team that I’ve been on so far in my career, that’s been the main goal, and the outcomes take care of themselves, as long as we take care of the little things every day.”
Second-year players like Darius Bazley and Lu Dort should see their roles increased this season, and it will be interesting to see how they progress and adjust to increased roles on the team.
Houston finished with a 44-28 record last year, while OKC went 44-28 overall, but the teams won’t be as evenly matched this season.
Here’s a look at the predicted starting lineups for both teams:
Houston Rockets Predicted Lineup: G John Wall G James Harden F Danuel House F PJ Tucker C Christian Wood
Oklahoma City Thunder Predicted Lineup: G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander G Hamidou Diallo F Luguentz Dort F Darius Bazley C Al Horford