The Rockets welcome the champs to Toyota Center
After a much-needed win against the Dallas Mavericks, the Houston Rockets face the other NBA Finalist from last season. That’s right, cue the John Cena music because the champs are here.
Ime Udoka gets to go up against his former employer once again and is looking for his first win after Boston swept last season’s series. Both were relatively comfortable wins for the Celtics, which makes sense. Houston and Boston both place a lot of emphasis on defense, and the Celtics have better playmakers and shooters than Houston does (obviously). Depending on your metric of choice, the Celtics are a top 3 offensive team in the NBA and a top 8 defensive team. Over the past 10 games, they’ve been at a top 3 level while their shooting has left them a little. Still, Boston could easily end up as a top 5 team on both sides of the ball, in which case we might want to get another Larry O’Brien Trophy shined up and ready for them.
This is yet another rest advantage game for Houston. After living in the desert for the first two months of the season, the NBA schedule makers have turned on the hose. The Celtics are playing Thursday night in Minnesota and then will fly down to Houston for tonight’s contest. Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis have been ruled out for the Minnesota game, and I will update the injury report below when we know more. My guess is that Brown will play and Porzingis is always a giant question mark.
A win tonight doesn’t redeem the first two losses of this homestand, but it would do wonders for confidence moving forward. Houston concludes this homestand with the Los Angeles Lakers before heading on the road for three games. Houston’s January slate is rough, and February isn’t much better. As we hit the dog days of the NBA season, we’ll see if the young core can handle the increased intensity.
We’ll be in the Playback room tonight, so you should come join to watch the Rockets and talk about the game. Remember, we get a handful of VIP passes that we give out to anyone who wants to watch the game. No League Pass necessary!
Tip-off
7pm CT
How To Watch
Space City Home Network and Playback
Injury Report
Rockets
Tari Eason: GTD
Amen Thompson: OUT
Jabari Smith Jr.: OUT
Celtics
Al Horford: OUT
Jaylen Brown: GTD
Kristaps Porzingis: GTD
The Line (as of this post)
Bos -2.5
Check here for updates
Looking ahead because we can
Sunday night in Houston against the Los Angeles Lakers
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