The Houston Rockets play host to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday evening from the Toyota Center.
This is a tale of two teams who have their seasons going in opposite directions, as the Rockets find themselves simply playing for pride, while the Pelicans are fighting for their playoff lives.
The latest injury report Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans
With that said, the Rockets have been able to win three in a row, while New Orleans is the team limping into this one, as losers of back-to-back games.
This will mark the fourth meeting of the season between these two teams and while New Orleans won the first two meetings, Houston won just on Friday night, so it’ll be interesting to see how both teams bounce back.
The Pelicans had to win to keep up with a group of Western Conference teams trying to get into the play-in tournament. However, they blew a 16-point lead in the second half and lost to the Houston Rockets 114-112 on Friday. It was the first of two games in a row against Houston.
The loss put the Pelicans (33-37), who are now 3-8 since the All-Star break, one-half game behind the Los Angeles Lakers for 10th place in the West as of Saturday.
Even though Brandon Ingram had 31 points and six assists and Jonas Valanciunas had 22 points, 17 rebounds, and four blocks, the Pelicans lost.
Brandon Ingram back in the fold is crucial toward their success going forward. The more pressing concern is the defensive end and finding a way to not be exposed as much as they were on Friday night.
Even though New Orleans still has 12 games to play and a chance to keep its season going, every loss at this point feels especially bad. You have to be able to heal emotionally on the spot.
Injuries haven’t been the kindest to this group this season, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see their struggles of late.
Zion Williamson (hamstring) remains the most notable player injured, as he remains out through the end of the month. Additionally, Jose Alvarado (shin) joins him, as a key defensive piece that they continue to navigate life without.
The Rockets are near the bottom of the Western Conference, but they keep working hard and have won three straight games before this one. They’ll be glad to stay at home, especially since they beat the same Pelicans team just a few days ago.
The team’s home record is only 12-24, which is one of the worst in the NBA. However, the fact that they have won three straight games at home, all of which were against likely playoff teams, shows that they have found something that works.
In the NBA, confidence and momentum are the most important things, and the way Houston is playing right now, no one can stop them.
- Alperen Sengun – Active
Alperen Sengun averages 14.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. He is one of the most well-rounded young players in the league, so he can decide how this game goes.
Sengun has played seven games in March and has averaged 13.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks.
