The Rockets look to extend their winning streak to 5 against the visiting Cavs
Remember how over the past two seasons, this was the “Did the Rockets mess up by not taking Evan Mobley” game? Never mind that Mobley didn’t work out for the Rockets, or that the Rockets didn’t have the guard talent to allow Mobley to thrive. If Mobley had a good game or Jalen Green had a poor one, it was PROOF that Rafael Stone had screwed up.
We always think that the top picks will be the ones duking it out. Cade Cunningham vs. Green. Mobley vs. Scottie Barnes. Jalen Suggs vs. Josh Giddey.
Except, a funny thing happened. The best player in the 2021 NBA Draft wasn’t taken in the top 3 picks. Or the top 10. He lasted all the way to 16. And the team famed for its genius draft evaluation traded that pick away to a new GM trying to prove himself.
Of course, Alperen Sengun won’t be playing tonight. Neither will Evan Mobley, who’s recovering from an ankle injury of his own. The Cavs are in third place in the Eastern Conference, just one down in the win column compared to the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s a testament to J.B. Bickerstaff, who finally seems to have an outright hold of a head coaching job after two interim stints (one with Houston and another with Memphis that turned into a full-time job for a single season).
Tip-off
4:00pm CT
How To Watch
Space City Home Network
Injury Report
Rockets
Alperen Sengun-OUT (ankle, knee)
Cam Whitmore-OUT (knee)
Cavaliers
Dean Wade-GTD
Max Strus-GTD
Evan Mobley-OUT
The Line (as of this post)
Looking ahead because we can
Tuesday night in DC against the Wizards