It has taken fewer than three weeks for the Houston Rockets to transition from darlings of the Western Conference to experiencing a calamitous collapse that has them tumbling down the standings.
With their 116-105 road loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, the Rockets’ skid reached six games. In that span, Houston fell from holding the second seed in the West to falling behind the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets, and into a tie with — and technically percentage points behind — the Los Angeles Lakers for the fourth seed and homecourt advantage in the first round of the NBA postseason.
Rockets’ Situation:
The Rockets will host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday in desperate need of a win. The positive momentum Houston generated with three consecutive victories over the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics late last month has vanished amid several injuries contributing to their losing streak. The Rockets initially managed to cope with the loss of Jabari Smith Jr. (hand), but the combination of Alperen Sengun (calf) and Fred VanVleet (ankle) also sitting out has proved debilitating.
Sengun missed the first three games of the skid but has averaged 23.3 points and 12.7 rebounds since his return to the starting lineup. Despite his impressive performance, the first-time All-Star has been unable to stop the losing streak. VanVleet missed his fourth consecutive game on Saturday, and the Rockets’ ball security has suffered in his absence. Amen Thompson has committed 15 turnovers while sharing offensive controls in those four games.
Thompson was named Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month for January. However, his workload and that of others have increased due to the rash of injuries.
Raptors’ Situation:
The Raptors opened a three-game road trip with a 121-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday, their fourth loss in five games following a season-best five-game winning streak.
With RJ Barrett (concussion), Jakob Poeltl (hip), and Brandon Ingram (ankle) — acquired from the New Orleans Pelicans at the trade deadline — all unavailable against the Thunder, the Raptors featured four rookies (Jamison Battle, Jonathan Mogbo, Jamal Shead, and Ja’Kobe Walter) and second-year guard Gradey Dick in their 10-man rotation. This leaves the Raptors, now 20 games below .500, focusing heavily on player development in the near term.
Key Players:
- Rockets: Alperen Sengun, Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., Amen Thompson
- Raptors: RJ Barrett (injured), Jakob Poeltl (injured), Brandon Ingram (injured), Gradey Dick, Jamison Battle, Jonathan Mogbo, Jamal Shead, Ja’Kobe Walter
