The Rockets look to bounce back against the star-studded Phoenix Suns
The Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns just played each other six days ago, and they will no play each other in back-to-back games in Arizona.
These games cap off yet another rough road trip for the Rockets, who have either been bitten by the schedule (the Nets game coming on a back-to-back) or by opponent quality (at Boston, Philadelphia, and New York in a 3-game swing), or both (at Clippers, Lakers, and Warriors in a span of four nights).
This one is definitely an “opponent quality” road trip. Starting in Oklahoma City, the Rockets mostly held their own for most of the night, but could not find that final gear to turn the game truly competitive against the Thunder. The Suns are similarly talented, and know who they are. There’s no questioning the identity of Phoenix, at least from the outside. This team revolves around Kevin Durant and Devin Booker creating for themselves and precise shooters. There’s no secret sauce, except for the part where they have two superstars.
I’m not sure what to expect out of the Rockets in these two games. I wondered if the Thunder game being on TNT would give the players a bit more juice to show off their skills to a national audience. And at times, that definitely showed. But for the most part, the Rockets are still a shot creator, a defensive big, and a couple of shooters away from being in the conversation with teams like Phoenix and OKC. Some of those players could already be on the roster, but right now it’s tough to see.
Tip-off
8pm CT
How To Watch
Space City Home Network
Injury Report
Rockets
Tari Eason-OUT (leg)
Suns
Bradley Beal-QUESTIONABLE (hamstring)
Eric Gordon-DTD (groin)
Jusuf Nurkic-DTD (ankle)
The Line (as of this post)
N/A
Looking ahead because we can
Saturday night on the road in Phoenix once again