Tuesday evening, the Houston Rockets head to Capital One Arena for a road clash against the Wizards of Washington. The Rockets eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers two nights ago. The Wizards were blown away by the Boston Celtics. Tip-off is at 7:10 p.m. ET. Houston opens as a road favorite.
Rockets crush Cavs
Houston notched its fifth straight victory as Jalen Green had 26 points and 11 rebounds in a 117-103 road victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jabari Smith Jr. added 20 points, Amen Thompson had 18 and Fred VanVleet finished with 13 points and 16 assists.
The Rockets have won seven of their last eight games, finding themselves three games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the final Western Conference play-in spot. “I think the change affected them and forced them to play a lot more 1v1.” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said Associated Press journalists. “We did a good job with all the bodies we had. I loved our defensive efforts early on, and especially in the third quarter, to get that start and really put it away early there. It was a great victory for us. Houston led 70-54 at halftime and entered the fourth quarter with a 25-point lead. It was a rare road win for a Rockets club that pulled away from the Toyota Center 9-24. Houston is behind the Golden State Warriors and Lakers and needs one of them to falter down the stretch to earn a play-in spot.
Wizards crushed at home
Washington fell to a dismal 11-57 en route to an embarrassing 130-104 loss to the Boston Celtics. Jordan Poole scored 31 points for the NBA-worst Wizards, who were without four starters. Rookie Bilal Coulibaly sat out with a bruised right wrist. Boston went 17 for 28 from 3-point range in the first half. The Celtics shot 48% from beyond the arc despite their starters being pulled midway through the third quarter. While his team was on the wrong end of a blowout, Poole played well in his second game replacing Tyus Jones (back).
Not only did he shoot over 50% from the field on Sunday, but Poole only committed one turnover, which is shocking. The efficiency was there, but the Wizards would have benefited more from it earlier in the year before the season was lost. Corey Kispert is scoring 17.8 points in his last four games, hitting 4.0 three-pointers per game at a rate of 53.3 percent. At this point in the year, they only play a spoiler role. The Jordan Poole project didn’t work out well for the Wiz.
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Houston improved its horrible road record en route to a 117-103 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Rockets have won seven of their last eight games, finding themselves three games behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the final Western Conference play-in spot. After a horrible season last year, this has become a turnaround season for the Rockets, and they have a chance to make the playoffs if the Lakers or Warriors fall short down the stretch. They face a depleted Wizards team, missing half of its roster and posting the worst record in the NBA. These games are important and the Rockets will not take the Wiz lightly and will take an easy victory. Take the Rockets to win and cover.
Prediction: Houston Rockets -7.5
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Washington leads the NBA in pace heading into this contest with the Rockets. Jalen Green recorded his sixth double-double of the season in Saturday’s win. The third-year guard has improved his game as of late and is a big reason the Rockets are 7-1 in March. Green is averaging 24.6 points on 49.0 percent shooting (including 37.3 percent from three on 8.4 attempts), 5.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists over 35.5 minutes per game in March. Washington is last in defensive rating, so expect Green to continue his streak of strong plays. The total has been exceeded in seven of Washington’s last ten games. Take over here with confidence.
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