Month: February 2023

Rockets Aiming to Build Off Previous Win, Host Thunder

Rested and Ready.    Incoming Storm.    Rising Stars.

Fresh off a rare victory, only their 12th of the season, the Rockets return home to host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. OKC is one of the surprise stories of the season. Most people expected them to be alongside Houston in the Wemby Sweepstakes this summer. Although, the Thunder have surpassed expectations, and sit just outside the final Play-In Spot in the Western Conference. Their improvement is due almost completely to Shai Gilegeous-Alexander, commonly known as “SGA”, who is having a breakout Superstar season. If the Thunder had a winning record, and were higher up in the standings, SGA would be the MVP. Take a look a this OKC roster, and it’s shocking they’re at 24-26 on the season. In my opinion, SGA is more valuable to this Thunder team than any single NBA player is to their team in the entire league. The players who will be participating in the NBA’s Jordan Rising Stars at All-Star Break were announced on Tuesday, and this matchup features five members. For Houston, Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, and Jabari Smith Jr. were named to the pool of players. OKC’s Josh Giddey and Jalen Williams were selected as contestants. Wednesday’s catchup features a plethora of some of the league’s longest talent. Along with these young players in the Rising Stars game, at age 24, SGA is one of the best young superstars in the NBA. He’s been playing at an MVP-caliber level all season long for the Thunder.

The Rockets are rested and ready. Well, they should be. Houston has had a nice and long three days off since their victory in Detroit over the weekend. The Thunder are coming off a tough loss at home to the Warriors, and sit only a game behind the Utah Jazz for the final Play-In Spot. Alperen Sengun is returning for the Rockets after missing the previous game in Detroit. Kevin Porter Jr. is still without a timetable for a return from his injury. And Jalen Green also remains out for Wednesday’s matchup with a thigh contusion that he suffered in Thursday’s loss to the Cavaliers. Houston will still be undermanned, but the return of Sengun is a good sign. They get a starter and playmaker back. Sengun is the best passer on the team, and if the Rockets run the offense through him, and use Sengun like an offensive hub, they have a great chance to upset the upstart Thunder on Wednesday night.

Houston actually won the first matchup between these teams, 118-105, at Toyota Center, back on November 26th. The Rockets will try and repeat that result as the teams square off in Houston for the final time, followed by two matchups in the near future in OKC before the All-Star Break to close the season series. The squad has had plenty of time off to get over the “Winner’s Hangover” Houston has suffered all season long. The Rockets have struggled mightily to win twice in a row all season. Can the return of Sengun give Houston the jolt they need to upset the Thunder? The squad has a decent chance in what should be an entertaining game featuring a handful of the game’s rising stars.

 

Toyota Center:  Houston, Texas

 

Jersey Colors:

Oklahoma City Thunder (24-26):  Blue

Houston Rockets (12-38):  Red

 

Tip-Off:  7:00 PM CT

TV:  AT&T Sportsnet SW,  NBA League Pass

Rockets Escape Detroit with Narrow 117-114 Win Over Pistons

Revved Up.    The Lucas Show.    Hustle & Hard Work.

Houston trailed by 3 points entering the final period on Saturday night. After witnessing so many of these close games evolve into blowouts, the Rockets finally broke the trend, and stormed back to win a nail-biter, 117-114, over the Pistons. The win is Houston’s 5th road win of the year, and 12th overall on the season. Coming into Detroit, the Rockets were missing three starters and severely shorthanded. Fortunately, the squad had tremendous performances from Eric Gordon, KJ Martin, and Tari Eason, among others. EG led Houston with 24 points and 7 assists. KJ Martin had some clutch plays in the final minutes to help secure a Rockets victory. K-Mart finished an impressive 15-point, 13-rebound double-double on the evening. Tari Eason also had a double-double, putting together an impressive 16 point, 10-rebound outing. Houston were without arguably their three best players (Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, and Kevin Porter Jr.) due to injuries, but the squad found ways to get the job done in the Motor City. Many from hustle and hard work ethic. It’s simple, but the Rockets played harder than the Pistons, especially down the stretch, the garner this road victory.

Stephen Silas wasn’t in the building for this game, as he was attending a memorial service for his father, Paul Silas. However, Houston had the right man ready to take the coaching reigns. Another John Lucas Production, another Houston Rockets victory. The Rockets are now 2-0 when Lucas is the Acting Head Coach. They played a last-place Detroit team in their latest win, but they were down three starters, and it was on the road. For some reason, Houston seems to play harder under Lucas. The veteran assistant is the ultimate Players’ Coach, and seems to get more accountability out of this Houston roster than Silas. It’s only a small sample display, but the players sure respond when he’s leading the locker room. I have nothing against Silas, but sooner or later, the Rockets have to win more games when he’s leading the team. Maybe this victory spurs Houston to more wins during the final 32 games of the season.

“I would say 98% of this win cam from hustle and hard work,” Lucas said postgame on Saturday night. And he was exactly right. The Rockets were undermanned, but they competed as hard as we’ve seen all season. If Houston can ignore their record, the win is nice, but the Rockets are still comfortably in last place in the West, with a 12-38 record. They’ll be in the Victor Wembanyama Sweepstakes this summer, but they need to finish the season playing with the effort they displayed in Detroit. Houston won’t win many games regardless, but if they play hard, and truly try and improve as a team, they can potentially win a little over 20 games. 20 victories still keeps the Rockets with one of the worst records in the league, something they’ve all but guaranteed. And 20 wins is a stretch. Houston will have to play much better basketball than they did over their first 50 games of the season to reach 20 victories. It’s possible, and it’s a goal the team should shoot for to keep the players motivated as the season winds down. Up next the Rockets return home for a rare three days off before hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Hopefully, Houston will be seeing the return of some starters by then, as OKC is a much tougher beast than the Pistons. With hustle and hard work, the Rockets have a shot to win two in a row.