Game 27: Houston Rockets At Los Angeles Lakers Preview

All is not well in Houston Rockets’ land.

We continue to be eyewitnesses of the Rockets’ struggles and scratching our heads trying to figure out what the hell happened to this team.

There are rumors coming out that Dwight Howard is unhappy and will likely opt-out after the season.

Although he has vehemently shot them down, you have to wonder if he really feels that way as his role as a focal point of the Rockets’ offense seems to get dimmer and dimmer.

These past two losses against the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings were unacceptable and shouldn’t have happened to begin with.

And it’s not going to get easier for the Rockets as the next eight games after this one will be against teams with a .500 record or better.

This past stretch of the schedule was quite favorable for the Rockets and they still couldn’t get the job done.

Inexcusable.

The Rockets will face the 4-21 Lakers tonight who were able to get a quality win 113-95 win over the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday night. This was the result of the return of Jordan Clarkson, their true point guard who seems to have ignited their offense after missing some time with an ankle injury.

D’Angelo Russell had been starting in his stead but now he goes back to the bench in favor of Clarkson.

Kobe finally has somebody to defer to and this may have been the spark they have needed to win some games.

Clarkson had 12 points, six rebounds and three steals in that win Tuesday night.

Patrick Beverley will have his hands full tonight so we’ll see how he stands up to his competition as well.

Here. We. Go.

So who’s leading the charge for the Lakers?

Bryant leads the team in scoring (16.5 PPG) and assists (3.5 APG). Julius Randle is the top board-getter (9.5 RPG) and Roy Hibbert is the team’s chief shot-blocker (1.90 BPG). D’Angelo Russell grabs more steals than anybody else (1.20 SPG).

Let’s talk about what the Lakers do well.

You’d be hard-pressed to find any thing this team does well as they only have three wins on the season but here’s one thing:

They take care of the basketball. The Lakers are tied for 7th in the league in turnover ratio — along with the New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies — with only 13.2 percent of their possessions ending in a turnover.

Injuries:

Sam Dekker had back surgery and is expected to miss about a couple more months.

There are no injuries to report for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Sources: Jenny Dial Creech/Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

Next: Rockets Are In Pursuit Markeiff Morris

Three Things to Watch:

Will the Rockets embarrass themselves in prime time tonight?
Patrick Beverley vs. Clarkson
Trevor Ariza/Corey Brewer vs. Kobe

Prediction:

110-95 in a Rockets’ win!

The Rockets are on the road to take on the Lakers at STAPLES Center.

Tip-off is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CST.

The game will be televised on TNT and broadcast on SportsTalk 790 AM (KBME) and La Ranchera 850 AM (KEYH) in Spanish.

Go Rockets!

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