Houston Rockets at Pistons: 2017-18 Game 38: Five things to watch

The 27-10 Houston Rockets hit the road to take on the 20-17 Detroit Pistons, a tough defensive team that has had their fair share of injuries to boot as our home does.

The Houston Rockets will face the Detroit Pistons in their only road match up of the season. Andre Drummond has been hobbling as of late so it’s certainly time for the Houston Rockets to make the most of that opportunity. I talk about that more below.

This team still does a good job on the defensive front so the Houston Rockets have to careful to ensure that their not surrendering any unnecessary turnovers. Despite all of the positives the Pistons have going for them, I still think we’re quite capable of beating them tonight. Not only that but handily. We’ll have to see.

1.) So who’s leading the charge for the Pistons?

Tobias Harris is the leading scorer (17.9 PPG), Andre Drummond is charge of the rebounds (14.9 RPG), steals (1.4 SPG) and blocks (1.2 BPG). Reggie Jackson doles out the dimes (5.5 APG).

2.) Let’s talk about what the Pistons do well.

They’re still a solid defending team. The Pistons are 11th in defensive efficiency, allowing 104.6 points per 100 possessions.

They do a good job of taking care of the basketball. The Pistons are 9th in turnover ratio — tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder — with 13 percent of their possessions ending in a turnover.

They make getting the second chance a priority. The Pistons are 11th in offensive rebound rate (23.1).

3.) Injuries:

James Harden suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain against the Los Angeles Lakers back Dec. 31. He will be re-evaluated in another week but there were partial tears related to the strain so it’s highly doubtful that he’ll back in two weeks. I’d certainly project that he’ll be out several more weeks before he’s cleared to return. They don’t need to rush him back as he’ll be needed most when it’s playoff time.

Nene Hilario suffered a bruised right knee against the Orlando Magic this past Wednesday. He had to leave the game early, sat out against the Golden State Warriors and has already been ruled OUT for tonight. Since Clint Capela is back in the lineup, the team can delay his return a bit to give him more rest.

Luc Mbah a Moute dislocated his shoulder Dec. 13th on a hard spill after a breakaway dunk a contest against the Charlotte Hornets, having to exit the game early and not return. The MRI he had didn’t reveal any significant damage is still currently on track to return within the next couple of weeks. Hopefully sooner than later as we need his presence off the bench. The latest from the club is that he’s out indefinitely so it’s hard to gauge when he’ll be returning back to the lineup.

Andre Drummond has been dealing with a right rib contusion and has missed some time as a

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result. He did play about 28 minutes in last night’s 114-78 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers but it’s clearly obvious that he’s not a full strength as he was only able to muster up 10 points, eight rebound and five assists. I’d expect him to be available tonight but it could be up in the air.

Stanley Johnson has been recovering from a hip injury and has missed a few games as a result. He wasn’t available last night and I’d expect the same for him tonight.

Reggie Jackson suffered a Grade 3 ankle sprain Dec. 26th against the Indiana Pacers which eventually was a 107-83 win. He is expected to be out at least six weeks and the Pistons are eyeing a return for him after the All-Star Break.

Source(s): Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Dana Gauruder of the Detroit Free Press, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com

4.) Matchups to Watch:

Trevor Ariza vs. Tobias Harris
Eric Gordon vs. Avery Bradley
Chris Paul vs. Ish Smith
Clint Capela vs. Andre Drummond

Next: THREE Reasons why there's hate for James Harden

5.) Prediction:

112-97 in a Houston Rockets’ win!

The Rockets hit the road to take on the Pistons at Little Caesar’s Arena.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST.

The game will be televised on AT&T Sportsnet Southwest and broadcast on SportsTalk 790 AM, Sirius, XM/SiriusXM Internet 890and La Ranchera 101.7 FM (KNTE) & 850 AM (KEYH) in Spanish.

Go Rockets.

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