Rockets Head to Miami For Matchup with East-Leading Heat
Beasts of the East. South Beach Silver Lining. Necessary Baggage.
Houston battles the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat, as the Rockets look to build on their victory last night over the Grizzlies. Miami is playing superb basketball of late, as the Heat are winners of six of their last seven games. Houston has also lost four of the previous five meetings with Miami, as the Rockets will try and change that trend in South Beach on Monday night.
Usually, as was notably the case with James Harden-led Houston teams, most squads have distractions playing in Miami due the popular nightlife. Luckily for the Rockets, they played the night before in Houston, and fortunately didn’t have the time to revel in South Beach’s popular reputation for a hot-spot for professional athletes in their down-time. It’s still the second of a back-to-back for the Rockets, and the Heat play hard every night, to complement their vast array of talent. Jimmy Butler leads the way, and he appears to be in the lineup tonight despite seemingly missing every-other game this season. Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Duncan Robinson are the other key players Houston needs to focus on if they want to pull off the huge upset tonight.
The Rockets are coming off one of their best games of the season, an impressive comeback win over the West’s second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies. Can Houston carry that necessary baggage that comes with an emotional win, and channel that energy into productive play on the court? In a hostile South Beach environment? Other than their seven-game winning streak earlier this season, the Rockets have struggled immensely putting two wins together. Houston has yet to win the second half of a back-to-back all season. The squad will try and buck that habit, while keeping the trend of playing spoiler in South Beach tonight.
FTX Arena: Miami, Florida
Jersey Colors:
Houston Rockets (16-48): White
Miami Heat (43-22): Red
Tip-Off: 6:30 PM CT
TV: AT&T Sportsnet SW, NBA League Pass