After a tough loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the Houston Rockets stay on the road to take on the 6-3 Milwaukee Bucks in an early tip-off.
Milwaukee’s offseason has been discussed to death, but they have started out better than expected, mostly due to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s play. He’s averaging 32.3 points, 12.6 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.9 stocks per game. If the season ended today (which would be weird), he’d have a serious argument with Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, and Luka Doncic for MVP.
Milwaukee’s also been bolstered by a player who has played for a good team in the recent past. I’m speaking, of course, of Ryan Rollins, who has been a revelation for the Bucks. After being a rotation player last season, he’s earned his way into the starting lineup and is averaging 16 points per night with good shooting splits. The big question for Milwaukee was their guard play, and Rollins has been the answer. Will he keep it up? We’ll see, but the early returns are great.
The Bucks added Miles Turner in the offseason as well. He hasn’t gotten off to the best start, but you know that means he’s ripe for a get right game tonight. Milwaukee’s other scorers come in the form of Kyle Kuzma, Gary Trent Jr., AJ Green, and Cole Anthony. Bobby Portis can bang down low and up high when he wants.
The Rockets will want to get the bitter taste of the Spurs defeat out of their mouths. They were outworked and outplayed by San Antonio and couldn’t keep the basketball or grab defensive rebounds. The turnovers are going to be a problem for much of the season, but Houston has now had a week to figure out how to handle defensive schemes that throw double teams at Kevin Durant every time he touches the ball. Have they done their homework? We’ll find out.
Dorian Finney-Smith: OUT (ankle)
The Line (as of this post)
Looking ahead because we can
Wednesday night in Houston against the Washington Wizards