The Rockets look to win the season series against the Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers thought they knew the assignment.
This was supposed to be a “Let’s see what we have now” year. Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe had some nice moments last season, Scoot Henderson could take an offseason to reassess his jumper and get away from the rigors of a rookie season, Donovan Clingan would get a chance to play a lot of minutes, and maybe DeAndre Ayton would play consistently good basketball for the first time his career.
That’s…sort of what’s happened. Sharpe and Simons lead the team in scoring, and it’s a pretty balanced attack. Jerami Grant comes next, and while he’s shooting well from deep, he’s not shooting well from shallow. He’s shooting 38% from both sides of the arc. Deni Avdija has probably been Portland’s best player, and he’s having a down year compared to last year in Washington. Ayton’s still doing Ayton things, and Robert Williams can never stay healthy.
All in all, it’s sort of a redo of last season in Portland. They currently have the sixth-best odds in the lottery, but Brooklyn is gaining ground quickly and are much more dedicated to the tank.
If I had told you in preseason that Houston would at one point have a 1-3 record against Portland and Sacramento, you’d probably think the season was a bust. Sometimes, sports are just weird. If Houston wins tonight, they will match last year’s total road wins number (14). Wild.
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
9pm CT
How To Watch
Space City Home Network and Playback
Injury Report
Rockets
Fred VanVleet: GTD
Tari Eason: GTD
Jabari Smith Jr.: OUT
Jock Landale: GTD
Blazers
Donovan Clingan: OUT
Matisse Thybulle: OUT
Deni Avdija: GTD
Jerami Grant: GTD
The Line (as of this post)
N/A
Check here for updates
Looking ahead because we can
Monday afternoon in Houston against the Detroit Pistons
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