Rockets Look For 4 Straight as Rotation Nears Full-Strength
The Rockets returned home to Houston after their most impressive victory of the season over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. They had two days to regroup, rest, and practice before tonight’s game in Oklahoma City, meanwhile the Thunder played last night in Cleveland. So, first things first, the Rockets should win this game even if they don’t play their best, as long as they win the hustle battle (which they should). Secondly, the Thunder are without their best player, superstar point guard Russell Westbrook, who is nursing a sprained ankle. Finally, Eric Gordon is rumored to be returning to action tonight as he is listed as questionable after missing the previous two contests. All of that being said, however, the Thunder are on a roll as a team. They started the season in the dumps, at 0-4, and had people questioning if they needed to reconstruct the team. Heading into tonight, Oklahoma City has won six games in a row, and the Thunder are backed by undoubtedly one of the best home crowds in the league. This will be no easy contest for Houston despite the Thunder not having Westbrook. They still have Paul George, an All-Star, and Steven Adams, one of the most underrated players in the entire NBA. Oklahoma City always plays hard as a team, and are certainly a tough out at home. Houston will need to match their energy and effort in order to silence the crowd early in the game. Everything else should fall into place as the Rockets have been getting better each game this road trip and certainly will enjoy having Eric Gordon back in the lineup if he is able to play, which would make the Rockets the healthiest they’ve been since Opening Night. Carmelo Anthony faces off against his former team from last season and it would be nice to see him have a great game but the Rockets need to focus on playing well as a unit instead of his individual performance. Melo will be hearing the most boos tonight, but the Rockets look to put the Westbrook-less Thunder away early and extend their winning streak to four games.
Chesapeake Energy Arena – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
7 PM CT – TNT