The tale of the tape in the Houston Rockets’ opening round postseason matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers was one that hinged on health. Especially heading into the series. The Los Angeles Lakers were seemingly at their weakest, as the team was forced to play without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves seemingly for the entirety […]
The Houston Rockets will look to bounce back tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers. In Game 1, Houston was definitely off their game without Kevin Durant. The injury clearly happened late in the week and threw the Rockets off their game. It added immediate pressure to a series in which Houston is favored thanks to […]
There are few more precious NBA jewels than a quality young core. Everyone wants a young core. Winning an NBA championship is the best possible outcome. If you’re not in the running, the next-most exciting position is to have a young core that could be able to climb that mountain in time. Evaluating the Rockets’ […]
about 1 month ago
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The Houston Rockets were without star forward and leading scorer Kevin Durant in Game 1 versus the L.A. Lakers due to a knee bruise he suffered in practice last week. According to Ime Udoka, it was a mobility issue for KD and not a pain one. Whether that’s just the coach covering for his player […]
about 1 month ago
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The score of this one might suggest that the Rockets weren’t in fact spanked, by the Lakers. They were. This was a wire to wire win for LA, and at no point did it seem like the Rockets were going to push past LA, take a lead, and keep it. The Lakers held the Rockets […]
about 1 month ago
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Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Lakers April 18, 2026 Location: crypto.com arena, Los Angeles, CA TV:ABC Radio:KBME Sports Talk 790 / KLTN 102.9 (en español) Online: ABC/ESPN? Time: 7:30 PM CST Probable Starting Lineups Rockets: Reed Sheppard, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun Lakers: Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, Jake Laravia, Lebron James, […]
about 1 month ago
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This is a lose-lose series for the Houston Rockets. If the Rockets win the series, then the narrative will be that the Los Angeles Lakers were hurt and of course the Rockets won. If Houston loses the series, they were frauds all along and will need to make wholesale changes this summer to retool around […]
about 1 month ago
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There’s a whole other article here that’s tempting to write. Several, even. How about “If the Rockets lose to the Lakers, Ime Udoka should be on the hot seat”? That is a position that could easily be justified. Luka Doncic is out for Game 1, and questionable for Game 2. Austin Reaves is questionable for […]
about 1 month ago
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Happy NBA Playoff week! With the first round Rockets-Lakers series tipping off Saturday night, I figured it would be a good time to highlight three things I am looking forward to going into this series, and hopefully many series after! (Disclaimer: the items on this list are in no order, and are my personal hopes!) […]
about 1 month ago
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It’s only natural for most people to not want to fix what they don’t believe is broken. It’s also fairly natural to suspect ulterior motives in any new plan or scheme. While those questions are worth asking, it seems clear to me that if the answer was not to change anything, ever, we’d still be […]
about 1 month ago
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On Saturday April 18th at 7:30 PM CST, the world will be tuning on to watch two of the greatest players of all-time square off in the postseason for the fourth time in the careers of Kevin Durant and LeBron James. All week the talking heads have been discussing the matchup, and the main focus […]
about 1 month ago
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The NBA Playoffs are coming up quickly now that the regular season is over. The Rockets came in fifth, therefore they will play the Los Angeles Lakers, who came in fourth, in a best-of-seven series. The higher-seeded team (Los Angeles) will host the first two games, as usual. After that, the series will go to […]
about 1 month ago
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Alas, the 2026 NBA postseason is upon us. It took a while to get here. About six months, in totality. The regular season was an entertaining one, for sure. Let’s not get that mistaken, however, it became a war of attrition, on many fronts. Some teams limped across the finish line. The Los Angeles Lakers […]
about 1 month ago
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Everyone loves a best-case scenario. Well, folks, Houston Rockets fans (finally) have one. Why finally? It’s been a challenging 2025-26 season. Fred VanVleet was down from the onset. Steven Adams didn’t take too long to follow. Without a pair of players whom the Rockets saw as integral to their game plan, there were times when […]
about 1 month ago
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“They say they want you successful, but then they make it stressful, you start keeping pace, they start switching up the tempo.” – Mos Def Can’t print the name of the song. Realistically, the comparison is arguably offensive. The Mighty Mos Def is talking about racial inequality in America. This article is going to be […]
about 1 month ago
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Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Rockets fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. This week’s question asked about the teams in Houston’s playoff tier — the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and […]
about 1 month ago
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It’s going to be tough to write 300+ words about Sunday night’s season finale between the playoff bound Houston Rockets and the obviously tanking Memphis Grizzlies. I may have to rely on a few random famous Ron Burgundy warm up quotes such as, “How now brown cow.” With the Rockets being locked in as the […]
about 1 month ago
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Houston Rockets vs Memphis Grizzlies April 12, 2026 Location: Toyota Center – Houston, TX TV: Space City Home Network Radio:KBME Sports Talk 790 / KLTN 102.9 (en español) Online: Rockets App , SCHN+ Time: 7:30 PM CST Probable Starting Lineups Rockets: Reed Sheppard, Josh Okogie, Aaron Holiday, Tari Eason, Clint Capela Grizzlies: Ryan Rupert, Lucas Williamson, Jahmai […]
about 1 month ago
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What do the Lakers want? That’s not a question I like asking, but as the final day of the NBA 2025-26 regular season gets underway, it’s a question we must ask. Here are the playoff scenarios, and what might happen. First: The Nuggets have a record of 53-28. The Lakers have a record of 52-29. […]
about 1 month ago
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Before we start, I want to thank everyone who has even read one of these this season. They’ve always been a fun way to talk about basketball and the Houston Rockets specifically. A huge round of appreciation for Xiane and Holly, who each grabbed a couple of previews back in January while I was abroad […]
about 1 month ago
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The Houston Rockets defeated the Philadelphia Seventy Sixers 114-104 on Thursday night at Toyota Center in Houston. However, after a near collapse in the fourth quarter, Houston needed offensive production, and they found it from none other than guard Aaron Holiday. In his 14 minutes of action, Aaron Holiday was 3-of-5 and scored seven vital […]
about 1 month ago
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Defense was optional in the Rockets’ Friday night matchup against the shorthanded Minnesota Timberwolves. Despite shooting 60.9 percent from the field and a career high 41 points from Amen Thompson, the Rockets were outscored by 33 points from the three-point line, only making 4-of-18 from distance, while allowing the Timberwolves to shoot 15-of-30. The Rockets […]
about 1 month ago
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Houston Rockets vs Minesota Timberwolves April 10, 2026 Location: Toyota Center – Houston, TX TV: Space City Home Network Radio:KBME Sports Talk 790 / KLTN 102.9 (en español) Online: Rockets App , SCHN+, Amazon Time:8:30 PM CST Probable Starting Lineups Rockets: Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Josh Okogie, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun Timberwolves: A. Edwards, D. Divencenzo, […]
about 1 month ago
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Houston Rockets vs Minnesota Timberwolves April 10, 2026 Location: Toyota Center – Houston, TX TV: Space City Home Network Radio:KBME Sports Talk 790 / KLTN 102.9 (en español) Online: Rockets App , SCHN+, Amazon Time: 8:30pm CST Probable Starting Lineups Rockets: Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, […]
about 1 month ago
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Remember when we thought this game was going to matter for the tiebreaker? In sports, a few weeks can be a long time. Since these teams met and the Houston Rockets blew a double digit lead in overtime, Houston is 8-0 and looks (at times) to be a much different (read: better) team. The Minnesota […]
about 1 month ago
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