Cleveland's surging offense and stifling defense challenge Houston's win streak. Can the Rockets overcome Eason's absence and secure a crucial road victory?
The Houston Rockets (9–3) will face off with the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road Wednesday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Cleveland spent the first couple weeks of the season juggling injuries, but now that most of their core is back on the floor, the chemistry is finally catching up. Quietly, this is one of Houston’s toughest tests since that wake-up-call loss to the Spurs on November 7, especially with Tari Eason sidelined for the next 4–6 weeks.
The Cavaliers come in at 10-5 after one of their cleanest wins yet on Monday, taking down the Milwaukee Bucks 118-106. Cleveland shot the lights out, hitting 55.7-percent from the field and 42.9-percent from deep, per the NBA , and they held Giannis Antetokounmpo to just 14 points while forcing him into four turnovers. Donovan Mitchell stole the show, dropping 37 in 36 minutes and controlling the entire game.
Cleveland won the rebounding battle overall, but there’s a big matchup gap: they pulled down just four offensive rebounds against Milwaukee. Houston, on the other hand, has been averaging 16.4 offensive boards per game- around 40-percent of their own misses, per the NBA. If the Cavaliers don’t put bodies on the Rockets early, second-chance points could decide this one.
Houston enters on a four-game win streak after Sunday’s insane 117-113 overtime win against the Magic. The Rockets trailed most of the night, struggling to find looks, but Kevin Durant and Alperen Şengün took over late to push it across the finish line. Houston showed real composure and grit to secure the win, but it wasn’t pretty without Tari Eason.
Eason will remain on the injury report tomorrow night with a strained oblique, leaving Houston without one of their most impactful second-unit disruptors. His pace, energy, and extra-possession creation will be noticeably missed in a matchup where rebounding and physicality are everything.
This matchup finally gives us a real read on who the Rockets are right now. Houston has looked great against easier matchups, but Cleveland is big, physical, and has been tested. If the Rockets come with early energy, keep the turnovers down, and push the pace, they can absolutely control the tempo.
But if they can’t fill the Eason gap with Amen Thompson’s breakaways and second-chance creation, or Josh Okogie’s ball pressure- or bad turnover habits creep back in- Cleveland could take this one. It’s a true toss-up, and the kind of game that tells us what Houston’s 9-3 record really means.