The Rockets are in the midst of a tough eight-game road trip that began with a loss at Miami Monday night. Like all young teams on the come, this Rockets squad has good nights (beat the Bucks) and bad (trounced by the T Wolves), but this is still a very talented group with playoff aspirations.
It’s why this next 10 days will be so critical. The Rockets are 15-6 at home, the fifth best home record in the NBA, but they are just 3-11 on the road. Absolutely brutal.Coming out of this trip with a few wins is not just important to their record, but to their psyche which seems to take a nose dive when they aren’t in the friendly confines of the Toyota Center.
Facing the next six.
After a heartbreaking overtime loss in Chicago, the Rockets head to Detroit to face the worst team in the NBA (possibly in NBA history?) who is missing their best player in Cade Cunningham, to add insult to injury. They will need to win in Detroit and, hopefully, do it easily because they head to Boston for a back-to-back against the Celtics Saturday before playing the Sixers on Monday at noon for the league’s annual MLK Day celebration, and the Knicks on Wednesday.
The Celtics are 17-0 at home and the Knicks are 11-4, but the Sixers can be vulnerable depending on whether or not former MVP Joel Embiid is healthy. The Rockets have no one inside to match up with him. The key here is to try and get some wins where you can and stay close in the games you are likely to lose. If they don’t win in Detroit, this could wind up an 0-fer road trip.
Sengun named Western Conference player of the week.
Alperen Sengun became the youngest Rocket at 21 to ever win the honor and the first player on the team to get it since James Harden in 2019. Anyone watching the Rockets can see he has been their best and most consistent player and the numbers certainly bare that out. Sengun averaged 24 points, 7 boards and 4 assists last week. The team was 3-1.
For the season, Sengun is averaging 21 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, all career highs. He is also shooting nearly 54 percent from the floor. Only Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic can claim same or similar numbers this year.
Injury updates.
The Rockets have found themselves incredibly fortunate thus far this year having lost only a few players to mostly minor injuries. With at team that is talented, but without a boatload of quality depth, being healthy will be critical to their continued success. Dillon Brooks remains sidelined with an oblique strain. The team remains cautious with Brooks as oblique injuries can have a tendency to linger or even reoccur if they aren’t handled with care.
Tari Eason remains on minute restrictions and is in and out of the lineup with lower leg soreness he has been dealing with for a couple weeks. It doesn’t appear to be serious but it also won’t heal without rest.
Rockets trade possibilities.
Don’t look now, but we are less than a month from the NBA trade deadline and the Rockets should be considered buyers. No one believes they are going to be super aggressive — GM Rafael Stone said as much in an interview in December. But, the team definitely needs length in the front court and shooting. Neither of those needs have to rise to a level of trading away rotation players, however.
The Rockets have expiring contracts and role players that could be interesting in deals for other teams looking to get out of player contracts. One name to consider is former Rocket Clint Capela. Atlanta doesn’t appear to be going anywhere this year and Capela is the kind of rim protecting big man that could fit into this lineup. Another name to consider is Wizards shooter Corey Kispert. He’s a dead-eye shooter and a solid bench role player at just 24 years old.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
