In isolation, the Houston Rockets’ victory in a pair of meaningless games toward the end of a season in which they have the worst record in the Western Conference has very little to offer.
However, every victory is welcome for a team that has one of the league’s youngest rosters and has struggled to lay the groundwork for the future with those young players.
The Rockets (21-60) set the stage to end the season with a three-game winning streak, which would match a season high if they defeat the host Washington Wizards on Sunday, with their 112-109 road victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.
The Rockets displayed what has been their recent strength against the Hornets. Every one of the five starters scored in twofold figures, paced by the backcourt of Jalen Green and Kevin Doorman Jr., both of whom counted 26 focuses while shooting a joined 16 of 35 generally.
The Rockets have been successful thanks to their egalitarian approach to offense, and their willingness to play together and share the wealth has become clear during the second half of this season.
Alperen Sengun, a second-year center, is one of the Rockets’ building blocks. His scoring prowess and skillful passing often outweigh his methodical approach to rebounding. Sengun, who is averaging 9.0 rebounds per game this season, scored 21 points in Charlotte, including 16 on the defensive end, setting a new career high.
With their 114-108 victory over the visiting Miami Heat on Friday, the Wizards (35-46) ended a four-game losing streak. They would need to beat Houston to win consecutive games for the first time in more than a month.
Despite being without four starters and five rotation players, Washington was able to beat the Heat. This was a good thing for a team that had been hoping to make the playoffs before losing 11 of its 16 games in a row last month effectively ended their bid to play in the tournament.
Even though the Wizards’ core of Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma, and Kristaps Porzingis are seasoned veterans, this stretch has given younger players a chance to play. This season, rookie guard Johnny Davis has only appeared in 27 games for the Wizards, 14 of which have occurred within the last three weeks. In an effort to recover from a disappointing rookie season, he has scored in the double digits in five of his last six games and is averaging 16.4 points per game.
