Houston Rockets At Toronto Raptors: Game 39: Sneak Peek Analysis
The Houston Rockets had perhaps one of their ugliest performances Friday night but still won their game.
The Houston Rockets had perhaps one of their ugliest performances Friday night but still won their game.
Brick-after-brick, missed shot after missed shot, this team struggled to keep pace with the Orlando Magic as they looked like they wanted to win the basketball game.
But as resilient as this team is, they banded together and took care of that main objective and won their 7th game in a row to boot.
The Rockets will take on the 24-12 Toronto Raptors tonight, a team that’s just as dangerous as we are offensively and are good at not turning over the basketball.
They also have a plethora of shooters on board so the Rockets have their work cut out for them tonight.
So who’s leading the charge for the Raptors?
DeMar DeRozan leads the team in scoring (27.6 PPG), Jonas Valanciunas is the top board-getter (9.5 RPG) and Kyle Lowry is in charge of the dimes (7.2 APG) and steals (1.5 SPG). Lucas Nogueira is the top shot-blocker (1.8 BPG).
Let’s talk about what the Raptors do well.
They’re highly offensive-minded. The Raptors are 2nd in offensive efficiency, averaging 113 points per 100 possessions.
They limit their turnovers immensely. The Raptors are tied for 1st — with the Charlotte Hornets — in turnover ratio, with a measly 10.9 percent of their possessions ending in a turnover.
They’re great shooters too. The Raptors are tied for 4th — along with the Cleveland Cavaliers — in true shooting percentage (56.9) and 8th in effective field goal percentage (52.2).
Next: James Harden To Sign A Super-Max Deal In 2017?
Injuries:
Clint Capela collided into Karl-Anthony Towns Dec. 17th against the T-Wolves. He seemed to be in tremendous pain and could not walk on his own power to locker room.
It’s apparent that he has a minor fracture of his fibula and is expected to be out at least four weeks. Nene will have some big shoes to fill as Capela heals but the Rockets can press on without him.
It would be nice for the Rockets to make a deal for his replacement but I think the depth of our bench could fill his void.
Patrick Beverley has been dealing with some pain in his wrist that sidelined him this past Saturday against the New York Knicks. He returned to action last night against the Oklahoma City Thunder and chipped in 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
This included him snagging four of those rebounds in the last 90 minutes of the game. He was still in a lot of pain after the game and he’ll likely continue to play through it. I’d definitely keep an eye on the progression of his healing.
For the Raptors, Patrick Patterson injured his left knee back in late December and has missed some time as a result. His official status is day-to-day and wasn’t in the lineup last night against the Chicago Bulls. I’d expect the same for tonight as well.
Jared Sullinger hurt his foot in the Raptors’ preseason opener and has been out since. He had foot surgery shortly thereafter; and, as of now, he is participating in four-on-four drills in practice. Of course, he won’t be available tonight but this is just an update on what was expected to be a key component of their roster.
Source(s): Houston Rockets, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Josh Lewenburg of TSN and the Toronto Raptors
Matchups to Watch:
- Patrick Beverley vs. Kyle Lowry
- James Harden vs. DeMar DeRozan
- Nene Hilario/Montrezl Harrell vs. Jonas Valanciunas
- Trevor Ariza vs. DeMarre Carroll
- Ryan Anderson vs. Pascal Siakam
Prediction:
116-112 in a Houston Rockets’ win!
The Rockets have hit the road to take on the Raptors at Air Canada Centre.
Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. CST.
The game will be televised on ROOT Sports Southwest and broadcast on SportsTalk 790 AM (KBME), Sirius/XM/SiriusXM Internet 890 and La Ranchera 101.7 FM (KNTE) & 850 AM (KEYH) in Spanish.
Go Rockets!