Crucial Friday the 13th matchup pits Rockets against Pelicans. Standings hang in the balance; a win propels Houston up, a loss could send them tumbling.
Following the disheartening loss in Denver on Tuesday, the Rockets were only able to come away with one win in this four game season series. While Houston still remains in 4th place, that’s ultimately due to a slightly higher win percentage based on them playing two less games than the Nuggets.
Both teams sit 11 games behind OKC though, so it’s virtually even with Denver’s 3-1 advantage giving them the tiebreaker after all 82 games are played.
Point being, the standings are very close. Houston can end Friday the 13th on a high note, climbing back up to 3rd in the West —— or they could drop all the way down to 6th with a loss.
Minnesota’s game in the Bay Area tonight can play a big role in that outcome. With a Wolves’ win, they’d be tied with Denver —— meaning Houston would drop to 6th if they can’t secure a win of their own.
Regardless of any other games tonight, handling business against the Pelicans would bring the Rockets back up the 3rd in the West. They’d be tied with the Lakers (41-25), but currently hold the tiebreaker after their Christmas Day victory, covered on Roundtable.
Ime Udoka and his team control their own destiny tonight. As the Pelicans come to town with back to back wins in the books, it might not be the easy win you’d expect based on their 22-45 record. Nearly a third of their wins have come in this 7-3 stretch through their last 10 games.
The Rockets already struggled in their prior matchups against New Orleans this season too, splitting that pair of games.
The December 18th loss was a disappointing one, allowing a 25 point comeback to one of the worst teams in the league. Relive that horror at your own discretion, here on Roundtable.
The revenge game came a month later on January 18th, and Houston was only able to come away with a nine point victory. A win is a win and they all count the same, but it was a bit disappointing to see a relatively close game against a team with only 10 wins at the time.
Much like we’ve seen for a majority of the season, turnovers were a huge issue against the Pelicans. They gave the ball away 20 times in the loss a week before Christmas, and 15 times in the win.
While 15 turnovers is technically below Houston’s average, that's not a good thing when they're tied for the fourth most turnovers this season with 15.5 per game. That’s only a hair above the tanking Wizards and Nets, per TeamRankings.
Something that I expect to be problematic for the remainder of the season, but needs to be cleaned up to guarantee some wins in the upcoming games.