Game 50: Houston Rockets Vs. Washington Wizards Preview
The Houston Rockets looked they were about to hold on and topple over a good team in the Oklahoma City Thunder but they left the referees take them out of their game and their opponent just took the game over.
Dwight Howard was ejected in the 3rd quarter more than likely because of they were tired of him jawing at them in regard to the no-calls that he was getting.
It was a poorly-officiated game but they can’t let them have the power to affect the outcome of the game.
And there was that and now we’ve gone from a three-game win streak last week to a three-game skid against the West’s cream of the crop.
Tonight, they’ll face the 20-24 Washington Wizards who have been giving up 113 points in their last three games and held a players-only meeting after their 117-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets Thursday night.
The Rockets need to feast on this opportunity and get this win on their home court — now’s a better time than ever!
So who’s leading the charge for the Wizards?
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John Wall is the leading scorer (19.5 PPG), assist man (9.8 APG) and steals king (2.10 SPG). Marcin Gortat is the top board-getter (9.9 RPG) and lead shot-blocker (1.30 BPG).
Let’s talk about what the Wizards do well.
They are efficient in terms of moving the ball around. The Wizards are 4th in the NBA in terms of assist ratio, with 18 percent of their possessions ending with an assist.
They love to have the ball in their hands. The Wizards are ranked 5th in the NBA in PACE Factor, averaging 99.8 possessions per game.
They’re quite effective shooters. The Thunder are tied for 9th in the league — with the Portland Trail Blazers in effective field goal percentage (50.6) and 10th in true shooting percentage (54.2).
Injuries:
Donatas Motiejunas is extremely close to returning and he was assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers to play tonight to test his back out in actual game action. With him going down to the Vipers, this certainly means that his return is imminent. He had been traveling with the team on the road so since flying can be hard on the back, the fact that he has had no problems is certainly a good sign that he may be fully-healed. We can only hope for good vibes.
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.
Otto Porter has been playing with a torn labrum in his right hip, he had some tightness in hip this past Thursday against the Denver Nuggets and did not return. His status is likely QUESTIONABLE for tonight.
Kris Humphries has been dealing with a knee issue and has not practiced as of this past Thursday. His status is likely QUESTIONABLE as well.
Sources: Jenny Dial Creech/Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post and Chris Miller of CSN Washington.
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Three Things to Watch:
Prediction:
109-100 in a Rockets’ win!
The Rockets are back at home to take on the Wizards 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!