Have the Houston Rockets turned the corner after adding Reed Sheppard to the starting lineup?
Well, it bears mentioning that it took a great bounce to beat the Miami Heat on Saturday night. It also bears mentioning that Houston was only down in that situation because the player that Sheppard replaced in the starting lineup, Tari Eason, made a boneheaded play late. And it’s not his first time.
Anyway, Houston now heads on the road for their second-to-last road trip of the season. Houston will play four
straight on the road, followed by two more back at Toyota Center. Then it’s two more on the road (including Kevin Durant’s only trips to Golden State and Phoenix) and three at home to wrap up the season. There are only two more back-to-backs, and both take place entirely at home. We’re in the home stretch now folks!
In terms of importance, all the games are important now. If Houston wants to finish with a top 4 seed, they basically need to win all the games they are supposed to win. And on paper, they’ll probably be favored in at least ten of their final 12 games. Catching the Lakers seems impossible without the tiebreak (and LA has stopped losing altogether). Denver also holds the tiebreak over Houston, but they still have games against OKC and San Antonio.
Tip-off
7pm CT
How To Watch
Space City Home Network
Injury Report
Rockets
Steven Adams: OUT
Fred VanVleet: OUT
Bulls
Zach Collins: OUT
Noa Essengue: OUT
Jalen Smith: GTD
Jaden Ivey: GTD
Isaac Okoro: GTD
Guerschon Yabusele: GTD
Anfernee Simons: GTD
The Line (as of this post)
N/A
Check here for updates
Looking ahead because we can
Wednesday night on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves
