Game 60: Houston Rockets At Milwaukee Bucks Preview

And finally, we’ve moved on to the next game Houston Rockets’ fans.

After that tail-whipping we saw against the San Antonio Spurs Saturday night, I’m sure the team was glad — as was I — that was over and probably wondering why they’re unable to compete with them.

Yes, the Spurs are an excellent, efficient team but there’s no reason why we can’t make the match up competitive.

Although the Rockets got back into striking distance, it was just too little, too late.

The Rockets will take on the 24-35 Milwaukee Bucks on the road tonight and hopefully they’ll right the ship and bit and get back over .500 by the end of the week.

They do have a lot of rest days built in between the other two games they have this week — the New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday and the Chicago Bulls Saturday — so that should help with the team’s health overall.

I honestly don’t see why the Rockets wouldn’t be able to beat the Bucks but you never know what this team is capable of doing — or not doing per se — so we’ll just take it one game at a time.

So who’s leading the charge for the Bucks?

More from House of Houston

Khris Middleton is the leading scorer (18.0 PPG). Michael Carter-Williams is the steals king (1.50 SPG) and assist man (5.2 APG). Greg Monroe is the top board-getter (9.5 RPG) and John Henson is the dominant shot-blocker (2.00 BPG).

Let’s talk about what the Bucks do well.

They’re pretty darn good at moving the ball around. The Bucks are ranked 7th in the league in assist ratio with 17.6 percent of their possessions ending with an assist.

They’re good at rebounding for a second-chance. The Bucks are ranked 6th in league in offensive rebound rate (25.2).

Injuries:

Sam Dekker has been recalled from the Vipers today to join the team in Milwaukee for tonight’s game. If this is the case, he should be good to go and there’s a chance he might see some minutes if the Rockets put the Bucks away early. He will certainly help with our depth.

Clint Capela has been dealing with a sprained right foot since last Wednesday. He has missed a couple of games and he’ll miss possibly even more as the Rockets plan to take their time in bringing him along. He had fallen out of the starting lineup so this will give even more time to recover and to develop. He did have an MRI and X-rays done to his foot and the results were negative, so delicate treatment will likely be the way the Rockets will go. UPDATE: Capela did make the trip but did not go through shootaround, likely meaning he’ll be OUT tonight.

John Henson has been dealing with a sore lower back for quite some time and has already been ruled OUT for tonight.

Sources: Jenny Dial Creech/Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Next: Rockets Fans: Let's Take It One Game At A Time

Three Things to Watch:

Patrick Beverley vs. O.J. Mayo
Josh Smith vs. Jabari Parker
James Harden vs. Khris Middleton
(Bonus) Trevor Ariza vs. Giannis Anteokounmpo

Prediction:

108-99 in a Rockets’ win!

The Rockets hit the road to take on the Bucks at the BMO Harris Bradley 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!

Home/Houston Rockets