Whew! What a night of Houston Rockets greatness that occurred Thursday!
A night that turned the clock back to the 1990s coupled with a halftime ceremony commemorating 20 years since the Rockets earned their back-to-back championships.
It culminated withJames Hardenmaking history by scoring 50 points against the Denver Nuggets, being the first Rocket to do sinceHakeem Olajuwonin 1996.
It was just fantastic as I had the opportunity to attend such a memorable night.
But the Rockets now must focus on the 36-33 Phoenix Suns in their last meeting of the season. The Rockets currently have a 3-0 lead in the season series.
These two teams last faced each other Feb. 10 where the Rockets put them in hurt locker after the Beard scored 17 of his 40 points in the 4th quarter to defeat them 127-118, their highest team scoring total of the season.
These Suns have a slightly different look in the back court with a few trades they made before the Feb. 19th deadline —Goran Dragicis gone via a trade with the Miami Heat to which he is flourishing in his new role there.
The Suns were able to get another guard to replace him inBrandon Knightvia the Milwaukee Bucks.
But the other characters that were a main part of the cast remain the same.
For the Suns, Knight has already emerged as the leading scorer (17.2 PPG),Alex Lenis the lead board-getter/shot-blocker (6.6 PPG/1.50 BPG),Eric Bledsoeleads the team in assists (6.0 APG) and steals (1.70 SPG).
But let’s talk about what the Suns do well.
They love to have the ball in their hands.The Suns are ranked 3rd in the league as far as PACE averaging 99.0 possessions per game.Note:The Rockets (99.2) and the Golden State Warriors (100.9) are the only teams ranked higher.
They’re efficient shooters.The Suns are ranked 7th in effective field goal percentage — tied with the Rockets — at 50.7 percent.
In terms of injuries, we know thatTerrence Joneswill be out at least a week — likely more than that — after suffering an injury to his lung.
INJURY UPDATE (as of 10:48 a.m. CDT):Jason Terry(hamstring) is probable; Ariza (illness) and Beverley (elbow bursitis) are questionable,Dwight Howard,Kostas Papanikolaouand Jones are out. For the Suns, Len (ankle), Knight (ankle) andMarcus Thornton(toe) are listed as doubtful.
As far as match ups go, the most important to watch would bePatrick Beverleygoing up againstEric Bledsoe— he’s vital cog to the Suns’ machine and has been averaging 16.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 6.2 APG in the last five games.
Also keep your eye on the Morris brothers.Marcus Morris, who has averaged a rising 10.0 PPG and 7.6 RPG in the last five games, will be going up againstTrevor Arizabut Corey Brewer may get the start if Ariza is not ready to go because of an illness.
Markieff Morrisis their strongest inside presence and he’ll likely be going up against a combination ofDonatas Motiejunas,Joey DorseyandJosh Smithdepending on the defensive sets employed.
Although the Suns have some nice pieces to a team that is on the cusp of being good, they just don’t have enough firepower to beat us but this game will be interesting nonetheless.
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Three Things to Watch:
1. Bledsoe vs. Beverley
2. The Morris Brothers vs. Ariza/D-Mo/Dorsey/Smith/Brewer
3. How the Rockets react after not having TJones in the lineup
Prediction:
109-103in aRockets’win!
The Rockets take on thePhoenix Sunstonight atToyota Center.
Tip-off is scheduled for7 p.m. CDT.
The game will be televised onROOT Sports Southwestand broadcast onSportsTalk 790 AM (KBME).
Go Rockets!
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