Rockets Strive for Nine in a Row, Host Trail Blazers
One Game Back. Staying Present. Easy Street’s End.
The red-hot Houston Rockets welcome the Portland Trial Blazers into town, as they close their three game home-stand on Monday night. Winners of their last eight contests, the Rockets roll into this matchup with the league’s best record (10-1) in March. The eight straight victories is the longest winning streak in the West, second only in the league to the team with the NBA’s best record, the Boston Celtics. Entering tonight’s matchup, Houston now sits only one game behind the Golden State Warriors for the 10th and final Play-In Spot. Twelve games remain including tonight’s matchup. Plenty can happen in the final dozen games. Both the Rockets and Warriors have tough schedules as the season winds down, so it’ll be interesting to see how the race for the last spot unfolds.
For tonight’s matchup, Houston needs to stay present and avoid overlooking this bad Portland team. The Blazers are in the midst of a six game losing streak, but Portland did deal the Rockets their worst loss of the season in the first matchup at Toyota Center between these squads. Expect Ime Udoka to have his team prepared to keep rolling over a very young and inexperienced Portland group. In their previous game, the Blazers became only the second team in the NBA since 1971 to start five rookies. Portland is still heavily injured, missing guys like Jermami Grant and Malcolm Brogdon, who were responsible for dealing Houston the loss in the first meeting. Expect to see more of Scoot Henderson, the third overall pick in this past year’s draft. And plenty of other players you may be seeing for the first time. As long as the Rockets stay poised, and don’t overlook this Blazers team, they should be able to win their ninth straight game on Monday night.
Jabari Smith Jr. will be out for this matchup. He’s serving a one-game due to his involvement in a scuffle with Kris Dunn in the Houston’s previous win over the Jazz. That means more guys will have to step up, as has been the protocol for this Rockets squad this season. Tonight’s match marks the end of a three game home-stand for Houston. This is the last “easy” game the Rockets will have in the regular season. After this tilt, eight of Houston’s eleven remaining games are against teams with winning records. And that doesn’t include to trips to Utah, one of the toughest places to play in the league. If the Rockets want any chance to complete this comeback to sneak into the Play-In, they need to beat this Blazers team. Expect Houston to keep their winning ways intact with a win tonight, before the schedule toughens up for the final eleven games.
Toyota Center: Houston, Texas
Jersey Colors:
Portland Trail Blazers (19-52): Black
Houston Rockets (35-35): Red
Tip-Off: 7:00 PM CT
TV: Space City Home Network, NBA League Pass