Thanks to the wonkiness that is the NBA Cup, the Houston Rockets are making their third trip the Mile High City to take on the Denver Nuggets this season. Things do even out overall, as Houston got the Los Angeles Clippers three times in Houston and just once in Ballmer’s Toilet Emporium (I think Xiane said this once and it made me cackle, so he gets the credit if you like it).
The Nuggets have dealt with their fair share of injuries this season, but they still boast the league’s most efficient offense.
While they don’t jack up a ton of threes, they get to the line a lot and make the highest percentage of threes (39%) in the league. Defensively, they’ve taken a step back this season. They don’t force a lot of turnovers, but when they do they make teams pay. They also rebound well on that side of the ball. Basically, if Houston turns the ball over more than a dozen times (which they will), they won’t have much of a chance. Denver is too good on offense to try to catch them from behind. And when they need buckets, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are two of the best in the league at creating good looks for themselves and teammates.
This game is on national television, which has been a bugaboo for this Rockets squad, and it’s also a back-to-back, another bugaboo. Two bugaboos does not make a bugaright, so the deck is stacked pretty heavily against the good guys in this one. Denver didn’t play yesterday and are coming off a hard-fought loss against their nemesis, the Oklahoma City Thunder. That’s a recipe for a big first quarter from Denver and a sluggish start for Houston (which has been par for the course). I’d be surprised if Houston isn’t down double digits early and having to work out of that hole. I’d love to be proven wrong, but I’ve watched the same team you have all season.
Tip-off
9pm CT
How To Watch
Space City Home Network and ESPN
Injury Report
Rockets
Steven Adams: OUT
Fred VanVleet: OUT
Jae’Sean Tate: OUT
Nuggets
Peyton Watson: OUT
Cameron Johnson: GTD
The Line (as of this post)
DEN -5.5
Check here for updates
Looking ahead because we can
Friday night at home against the New Orleans Pelicans
