Game 45: Houston Rockets Vs. Milwaukee Bucks Preview

The problems of the Houston Rockets continue to glare at us after Wednesday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons.

They had to revert to hacking one of the worst free-throw shooters in the NBA in Andre Drummond and it still didn’t work.

Dwight Howard was done for the night so J.B. Bickerstaff was quite busy making lineup adjustments to match up with the Pistons.

That didn’t work either.

But ultimately, this team has to continue to hone in on defense to win games and it’s that simple.

The Pistons had way too many open shots and it certainly explains the reasoning why they were able to pull so quickly.

Any way, the Rockets face the 19-25 Milwaukee Bucks for the first time season.

They have a lot of emerging talent and with all of the injuries that have piled up for the Rockets, this may actually be a close game.

The Beard will likely have the game of his life just to carry the load for this team.

Hopefully, the healthy portion of the supporting cast will be around to step it up.

So who’s leading the charge for the Bucks?

More from House of Houston

Khris Middleton is the leading scorer (17.6 PPG). Greg Monroe is the team’s top board-getter (9.8 RPG). Michael Carter-Williams is the assist man (5.6 APG) and steals king (1.60 SPG). John Henson is the prime shot-blocker (2.00 BPG).

Let’s talk about what the Bucks do well.

They are very good at finding their open man. The Bucks are 5th in the league as far as assist ratio with 17.8 of their possessions ending with an assist.

They go for the second chance on the boards. The Bucks are 10th in the league in offensive rebound rate (24.8).

Injuries:

Dwight Howard sprained his left ankle early into Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons. He didn’t return that night and has already been ruled OUT for tonight.

Patrick Beverley sprained his left ankle late in their blowout loss to the Cavs this past Friday night. It looked painful even from my vantage point while I was in attendance at the game. Nonetheless, he re-aggravated it against the Los Angeles Clippers Monday night, exiting the game and did not return. His status is questionable for tonight.

Jason Terry is dealing with some pain in his right knee and has been ruled as questionable for tonight.

Montrezl Harrell suffered a right shoulder contusion during the Pistons’ game. He has also been ruled as questionable for tonight.

If you’ve been under a rock lately, Donatas Motiejunas‘ back issues have flared up again. Yep, another team member with a back issue! He has planned to sit out until he’s pain-free so no specific timeline has been set. This is such a setback to a guy that’s been working so hard to get back into a rhythm. There was no structural damage to the back itself so he may be back sooner than we think but he may not. We just have to cross our fingers for a speedy recovery. Montrezl Harrell will take his spot on the roster for the time being, he had been leading the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in scoring during his stint there (21.5 PPG).

Sam Dekker had back surgery back in November but the 2015 first-round pick seems to be edging closer to a return. He was seen shooting on the practice court for the first time since heading to the injured list. This is certainly a sign of good things to come.

O.J. Mayo has been suffering from a sore left hamstring for the past cluster of games. His status will likely be OUT for tonight.

Sources: Jenny Dial Creech/Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com, Mark Berman of FOX26 (KRIV) and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Three Things to Watch:

Patrick Beverley?/Ty Lawson vs. Michael Carter-Williams
James Harden vs. Khris Middleton
Trevor Ariza vs. Giannis Antetokounmpo
(Bonus) Clint Capela vs. Greg Monroe

Prediction:

104-99 in a Rockets’ win!

The Rockets are at home to take on the Bucks at Toyota Center.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST.

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

Go Rockets!

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