On Friday, the Houston Rockets played the Dallas Mavericks, one of the two teams most decimated by injuries this season. Tonight, they play the other: the Philadelphia 76ers.
Philly also has a laundry list of injuries. Like, the Mavs, they would probably prefer to end up in the Lottery. Specifically, they would like to get the sixth pick in the Draft, since their first round pick is top-6 protected. At the moment, they are tied with Brooklyn for the fifth-fewest wins. It’s unlikely that the Sixers will move up to top 4 odds, and they probably won’t drop below top 7 odds. So Darly Morey and his front office will be holding their breaths on lottery night, just like Houston did in the years after Morey left.
Speaking of the Rockets, they’ve finally climbed back out of the hole. On January 28, the Rockets barely beat the Atlanta Hawks to move to 18 games above .500. They then lost their next six games. After their current six-game winning streak, Houston has returned to 18 games above .500. A win tonight would give them their most games above .500 since the Bubble. And if they can get to 20 games above .500? Well then it gets fun.
We’ll be in the Playback room tonight, so you should come join to watch the Rockets and talk about the game. Remember, we get a handful of VIP passes that we give out to anyone who wants to watch the game. No League Pass necessary!
Tip-off
7pm CT
How To Watch
Space City Home Network and Playback
Injury Report
Rockets
Reed Sheppard: OUT
Amen Thompson: OUT
76ers
Joel Embiid: OUT
Paul George: OUT
Tyrese Maxey: GTD
Eric Gordon: OUT
Kyle Lowry: GTD
Jared McCain: OUT
Kelly Oubre Jr.: GTD
Andre Drummond: GTD
Lonnie Walker IV: GTD
Adem Bona: GTD
The Line (as of this post)
HOU -15.5
Check here for updates
Looking ahead because we can
Wednesday night in Orlando against the Orlando Magic