The Houston Rockets welcome the 1-10 Washington Wizards to the Toyota Center tonight.
The Rockets are coming off a big comeback win over the Milwaukee Bucks in a Sunday matinee. They’ve had two days off. Meanwhile, the Wizards are coming off a heartbreaking loss to the Detroit Pistons. Washington led by 7 with 1:14 left and by 5 with 14 seconds left, but two late triples from Daniss Jenkins sent the game to overtime and eventually a loss for the Wizards.
The Wizards are a bottom-3 team in both offensive and defensive efficiency this season. CJ McCollum got off to a bad start but has since turned things around. He dropped 42 against the Pistons and was clutch throughout. Alex Sarr continues to improve and look the part of the second overall pick in a bad draft. Every advanced stat basically says he’s not only their best player so far this season, but that he’s got the makings of a really good NBA player. The eye test proves that as well. Bilal Coulibaly, Bub Carrington, and Kyshawn George are other recent first round picks on the team. In this most recent draft, they took Tre Johnson out of Texas. He’s averaging 12 points per game on 43% shooting (38% from deep) so far.
The Wizards are sort of reminiscent of the Rockets in Stephen Silas’s last season in charge. They have a lot of youth, but unlike those Silas teams, the Wizards actually do have some veterans to help out. In addition to McCollum, they have Khris Middleton. Both guys are on expiring contracts. There’s a chance one or both could be bought out at some point, but for now it makes sense for them to keep the experience on the team.
Finally, I have to mention that tonight is the Cam Whitmore Revenge Game. He’s averaging 9 points per game off the bench, but dropped 20 against the Pistons and picked up a couple of steals. Cam’s always had the talent to be an NBA player. The question has always been if the effort and drive would catch up to his talent level. I expect him to take 20 shots tonight and stare down Ime Udoka after each make.
Dorian Finney-Smith: OUT (ankle)
The Line (as of this post)
Looking ahead because we can
Friday night in Houston against the Portland Trail Blazers for the Falcon