The playoff picture is starting to come into focus, beginning in the Western Conference with one of the most intriguing matchups of the round.

As the No. 3 seed, the Houston Rockets will be matched up with the No. 6 seed Oklahoma City Thunder, pinning the top two MVP candidates in James Harden and Russell Westbrook against each other.

The Rockets are currently eight games better than the Thunder this season and own the season series advantage, 3-1. Houston won in the last three meetings but Harden has actually struggled quite a bit against the Thunder this year with averages of just 20.5 points, 12.3 assist and 7.3 rebounds on 34.3 percent shooting from the field and 22.6 percent from the three-point line.

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While there are similarities between the two teams when it comes to the stars they are led by, style of play is more of clash. Both like to push the tempo but the Rockets rely much more on three-point shooting and small ball while one of the greatest strengths of the Thunder has been their physicality, beating teams up inside and dominating the glass.

The Rockets will come in favored without question but at the same time, many may give the Thunder more of a chance than a typical 6-seed has because of the matchup. Westbrook is expected to possibly put up even better averages than the triple-double he is averaging for the season — in the four meetings this season, Westbrook averaged 36.3 points, 9.3 assists and 9.0 rebounds while shooting 44.7 percent from the field. But at the same time some other Thunder players will need to step up if they're going to have a chance.

Houston would also hope Harden finds his touch in this matchup. Andre Roberson has become an elite perimeter defender that does a great job on Harden. Likewise, Westbrook will have to deal with another elite defender in Patrick Beverley for much of the series.

This will be one of the best matchups of the first round. Being where they are, neither team could potentially match up with the Warriors until the conference finals.