SportSpyder - The Latest Houston Rockets News

22 February 2025

• [Sports Illustrated] - Houston Rockets Could Become Major Player This Offseason
  The Houston Rockets are hoping to make some noise in their first season back in the postseason picture. However, the Rockets will have a better chance to be tru
• [CBS Sports] - Rockets vs. Jazz odds, score prediction, time: 2025 NBA picks, Feb. 22 predictions from proven model
  SportsLine's model just revealed its NBA picks for the Utah Jazz vs. Houston Rockets on Saturday night
• [Last Word on Sports] - Is The Rockets’ Starting Lineup Situation Any Clearer?
  The Houston Rockets have seemingly made a decision on how to handle their long-impending starting lineup conundrum. On against the Minnesota Timberwolves, they elected to have career starter make his injury return . But the Rockets still have yet another starter on his way back from injury. Is it any clearer yet how the Rockets' starting lineup will close the season? Is The Rockets' Starting Lineup Situation Any Clearer? Why The Rockets' Starting Lineup Is In Flux The Rockets have had a conundrum awaiting them for some time. It's a good kind of problem to have. They have too many starter-quality forwards. The problem, such as it is, came to the forefront during Smith's injury. His spot in the lineup was filled by the versatile . Thompson proceeded to establish himself as one of . Though the Rockets' record eroded during Smith's absence, the injury that really chipped away at it was to starting point guard . The hope was for the Rockets to return from the All-Star break in full health. With Smith and VanVleet available, Rockets fans would have gotten the first unobstructed look at the teams' starting lineup to close the season. As it turned out, VanVleet was not available as quickly as the team had hoped. The Rockets played their first game back from the All-Star break who steers the ship. So it was telling that head coach still opted to bring Smith off the bench. Smith's New Role Somewhat bizarrely, Smith came off the bench but still played 38 minutes. That has Udoka's egalitarian basketball manifesto written all over it though. When players play well, Udoka keeps them on the floor, when players do not play well, he does not. There are exceptions of course. Udoka has no qualms with shoving VanVleet out there for forty minutes during a poor shooting performance because of how much he values his leadership and decision-making. Initially, one might suppose that Smith coming off the bench could be specific to his return. But with 38 minutes played in the first game, there's not much ramping up going on. Instead, it would seem that Smith was being introduced to his future role. The flow of the game merely tossed some extra minutes his way. So what is that role? Smith played as the primary backup to starting center and All-Star in this game. appeared as a more traditional option in that spot for only four and a half minutes and was an unusual -10 in them. In some matchups, where the bigger body of Adams would hold more value, things would be different. Even in this game though, Smith spent the majority of his minutes alongside an established center, so he's more of a stretch-big than a stretch-five. The logic may simply be that offensively-starved bench lineups need Smith's shooting even more than the starters do. A Seventh Possible Starter? There's also the player who wound up starting in Smith and VanVleet's place to consider. That was . Eason has proven himself to be an for Houston all season long. Whether was a question fans were asking back in November while Smith endured his opening shooting slump. Since then, Smith is up 36.6% from three on the season though, a valuable number in a team with such limited shooting. So with Eason being reintroduced as a seventh available option to start, the starting lineup question only mutates instead of resolves. Who will go to the bench when VanVleet comes back? The most likely answer is still Eason. VanVleet himself is a popular choice among some fans though. It's understandable for a fanbase to want to see the youngsters handed more responsibility. Can Thompson ever be a point guard? Can the enigmatic leave fans feeling ecstatic more often than anemic? The team has undoubtedly grown during VanVleet's absence, with Green, in particular, being excellent against Minnesota. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvnCTKVWfyw But the chances of VanVleet sliding to a bench role this season seem exceedingly slim. Whether he or Eason will be available for Saturday night's second of a back-to-back against the Utah Jazz remains to be seen. Beyond that, the veteran and culture-setter is another potential option as a sixth man. Benching Brooks would be out of character for Udoka though. He notably elevated a similar player in during his lone Boston Celtics season. The Last Word Fans were hoping to have the starting lineup question laid to rest for this season. Until everybody's healthy on the same night though, it will unavoidably continue to prowl. The Rockets have a favorable remaining schedule, a fresh win in their pocket, and a real chance at securing a top-four playoff seed. Whatever the Rockets starting lineup winds up being to close the season, the fans can feel good about it. Photo credit: © Troy Taormina-Imagn Images The post appeared first on .
• [Sports Illustrated] - Jabari and Jalen Raise the Rockets’ Ceiling
  Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. are helping raise the Houston Rockets' ceiling this season. The team's starting lineup is full of floor raisers, players who ca
• [Sports Illustrated] - Timberwolves Ended First Half With Unbelievable Sequence But Just Missed the Buzzer
  The Wolves were so close to pulling off the play of the year against the Rockets on Friday night.
• [Chron] - Houston Rockets Stax
  ... . . . . AVG 3-Pnt. Player G MIN FGM-FGA PCT FGM-FGA FTM-FTA PCT PTS AVG Ja.Green 56 33.3 424-994 .427 161-457 193-231 .835 1202 ..
• [USA Today: For The Win] - Rockets vs. Jazz: How to watch online, live stream info, game time, TV channel | February 22
  Alperen Sengun and the Houston Rockets (35-21) will visit the Utah Jazz (13-42) at Delta Center on Saturday, February 22. Game time is (...)
• [SB Nation: The Dream Shake] - Houston Rockets vs. Utah Jazz game preview
  Houston looks to start a winning streak tonight
• [Total Pro Sports] - VIDEO: Anthony Edwards Had To Be Restrained After Heated Exchange With Fan During Rockets-Timberwolves Game
  The Minnesota Timberwolves had a sorry outing against the Houston Rockets. In their recent matchup, Timberwolves succumbed to a 115-121 defeat to make things further worse for the team. However, apart from the loss, the Timberwolves also had a significant moment during the game. With the players going in for halftime, Timberwolves’ star Anthony Edwards …
• [SB Nation: The Dream Shake] - SB Nation Reacts results: Two Rockets competing for NBA post-season awards
  Which Rockets are possible award winners?