Last-minute Changes, Reports, and News head of Rockets vs. Jazz

On Wednesday night with the Rockets on their way to an easy win against their rivals Golden State, Marcus Smart got a little bit too handsy. He threw a punch that made contact with Charles Bassey's face, and Smart got a flagrant two and he was thrown out of the game. Yesterday, the NBA handed him a three-game suspension without pay, and it starts tonight against the Utah Jazz. And unfortunately for the Rockets, Smart isn't going to be the only player that we are without. Steven Adams and Clint Capela are both still out, so for just one more night, hopefully, Alperen Sengun will be the only real center in a rotation, and the team walking into Toyota Center is the worst in the entire West, Utah. Who are 1-11 and have lost 10 games in a row. On paper, this should be the easiest game of the season for the Rockets, but that's also what we said against Phoenix, and we all know how that one went. And a team that's hungry for a win, like Utah, can be dangerous at times. So, will the Rockets, without Marcus Smart and without any backup centers, be able to beat the worst team in the conference the way that a championship contender should be able to? While we are losing some scrappiness with Marcus Smart, he plays 21.3 minutes a game and almost all of them are off the bench, he also plays every single one of them like it's a fight. And that fighting spirit is actually what ended up getting him suspended though. Udoka, relaying what Smart told him, said the two got wrapped up and Smart's hurt elbow got bent. Then, Bassey asked what he was going to do. Smart answered with his fist, and Bassey called it fake toughness after the game. But, Houston got the last laugh, as they won 115-108 with all five starters in double figures scoring. But, regardless of what you think of the punch, the bill comes now. Three games, four nights without him. Utah tonight, then Washington and Miami on the road. And the first man in line for those lost minutes is none other than Reed Sheppard. On Wednesday, he scored 13 points in 20 minutes and made three of his six threes. He's been playing 19.4 minutes a game, and with Smart gone, that number should climb tonight. But what Houston is losing is really, really solid defense, as Marcus Smart is still one of the premier perimeter defenders in the NBA, and he has a defensive player of the year award to prove it. So, Tari Eason is definitely going to be getting more of that work, and he needs a better night than Wednesday when he went just 2-for-11 from the field. And of course, the depth behind Alperen Sengun remains a big worry for Houston. Udoka said on Monday that the Rockets are targeting Sunday in Washington and Monday in Miami for Adams and Capella to return. That leaves Oscar Shewu, who played just one minute on Wednesday, as the only other center that Udoka can trust. Sengun is already playing 35 minutes a game, and tonight, there's nobody to help give him a breather. He also picked up four fouls in each of the last two games, so that is scary when there's no one behind you. So, if he picks up some early fouls in this game, Houston is going to have to sacrifice some size by putting them on the bench, and that is exactly where struggling teams can get an edge against you. But of course, Utah's 1-11, they have a lot of holes of their own, and they are a lot bigger than Houston's. Lowry Markkinen, who many consider to be Utah's best player, broke his right hand this week and is out for at least a month. He was scoring 18 points a game, more than anyone on the team except for Keontae George. Jaron Jackson Jr. tore his MCL in October and is out for 6-8 weeks, and Jusuf Nurkic hasn't even played a game all season. As a team, the Jazz scores 106.6 points per game, the second fewest in the NBA, only ahead of the Hornets. Put that next to the 118.1 they're giving up, and they're getting outscored by 11.5 points a game, the fourth worst margin in the entire NBA. And on the other end of that, Houston is only giving up 106.5 points a game, the fourth fewest in the whole NBA. From three, the Jazz are also making 32.7% of their shots. But don't expect any tired legs from Utah, as their last game was also on Wednesday, so no back-to-back for them. And most of the scoring that Utah does have, which isn't a lot, comes from their young guards. George leads the team right now with 20.4 points a game, and he runs the offense too. He sat out Tuesday against Miami with a sprained right ankle, came back on Wednesday against Orlando, and only went 3-for-13 from the field. So the real one to watch in this game for Rockets fans is going to be Darren Peterson, the 19-year-old rookie out of Kansas. In his last two games, he's notched 25 and then 22 points. The 25 came against Miami on 10 of 19 shooting with George out of the lineup. Ace Bailey adds 13.3 points a game, and after him, nobody left on this roster averages even nine. But despite their bad record, this team does not fold early on. On Wednesday, the Jazz led Orlando 34-29 after the first quarter. Then, Orlando won the fourth 38-21, and Utah lost the game by 15. That's really Utah's entire season summed up into one game, young enough to hang around, but not proven enough to actually close out games. Utah's last win came on October 23rd, 120-119 over the Pelicans. That was three weeks ago. So, how is it even possible that a team like this can even beat Houston? Well, it's going to be the exact same way that three teams have before. The Rockets lost at Dallas, at home to Minnesota, and at Phoenix. In all three of those games, they lost the first quarter. Dallas led 27-20 after 12 minutes. Minnesota led 33-30. And Phoenix led 35-23. In their nine wins, they've lost the first quarter just once. Obviously, a slow start doesn't immediately mean you've lost the game, but it puts the Rockets into chase mode, and for some reason this roster just isn't constructed to be chasing games. In Dallas, they grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and still lost, because they made just 7 of their 29 threes trying to play catch-up the whole time, and Phoenix was definitely the worst of it. The Suns shot 16 of 21 in the first quarter, and led by as many as 19. Houston closed the half on a 22-3 run and tied the game late. Then, Devin Booker scored 7 straight and Kevin Durant missed a 3 in the final seconds. The Rockets spent that entire game climbing out of the first quarter and eventually they just ran out of time. But when this team actually starts on time, they are able to completely bury these bad teams. Milwaukee is also 1-11 and in October, Houston went into Milwaukee and won by 32. They only led that game by two after the first quarter, and they won the second 34-14, and the Bucks never got it back to being close. Utah has lost 10 straight because they can't keep up for 48 minutes, so the Rockets are going to need to start fast and bury them early so we give them no chance to compete. And there's going to be three things to decide whether that happens or not. The first is going to be the start, and Houston will get a good one by running. This season, the Rockets are scoring 1.4 points per possession in transition. That's the best in the entire NBA. Utah also turns the ball over 17 times a game, and every one is a chance for Amen Thompson to get out on the break. Thompson went 8 for 11 for 19 points on Wednesday. The second key is going to be Alperen Sengun, and where he scores and how long he stays on the court. In his last eight games against the Jazz, he's averaging 25.6 points, about 4.5 more than his 21 he's scoring this season. Teams are also scoring 45.8 points in the paint a game against this Jazz team. With Jaren Jackson and Jusuf Nurkic both out, it's Jackson Hayes and Mo Bamba trying to stop him. So when Utah sends help at Sengun, Kevin Durant is going to be the guy that makes them pay. In his last eight games against the Jazz, Durant averaged 7.4 assists, about double the 3.6 he's had this season. Of course, the catch is going to be fouls here because if Sengun starts to pick some up early, that can mean he hits the bench and that is going to spell trouble for the Rockets. The third key is going to be defending Utah's young guards on the perimeter without one of our best perimeter defenders in Marcus Smart. Before Wednesday's game, Udoka was asked if he had a plan for Stephen Curry, and his answer was simple. Two words. Amen Thompson. Tonight, that job is a lot easier than Steph Curry, but Darien Peterson and Keontae George are still a problem, but Thompson is going to have to put out a show to defend, whichever one has the hot hand. And Fred VanVleet is still on the other half of that. In his last five games against Utah, he's averaging 24 points, about 10 more than his 13.7 this season. He's also coming off an 18-point game against Golden State with four of his seven threes fallen. So if Thompson and Freddie are able to keep those two under wraps, then Utah really has no other third scoring option to help them win this game. And there's one more number that I'm going to be watching tonight, and it revolves around Sengun. Sengun is 10 rebounds from passing Ralph Sampson for 10th on the Rockets' all-time regular season rebounding list. He's averaging 9.4 a game, and with no Adams or Capella to share the glass tonight, it's all his. And on paper, this just looks like another meaningless regular season game against a bad team, but the stakes go way beyond that. The Lakers are 11-2, and the Spurs are 10-2, and the Rockets are tied with Minnesota at 9-3. Minnesota already beat Houston in Houston 117-107, so a tie isn't really a tie just yet. After tonight, the Rockets go on a 4-game road trip, so this is the last home game for 10 whole days. They're 6-1 at home this season too. Last season, they beat Utah 3 times in 4 tries, and the two games in Houston were wins by 20-34. The one loss came in Salt Lake City in December, a 133-125 shootout, the night after Houston had won there by 28. And Utah is going to be without their entire frontcourt in this one, with Markkinen, Nurkic, and Jackson all out. So what do I think? Obviously, Houston's going to take this one, and it's not going to be close at all. If the Rockets can win the first quarter in this one, then it's already wrapped. It's in the books. It's also going to be really exciting to see the opportunity that Reed Sheppard's get as Marcus Smart is going to be out for this game. And Sengun's also on record watch show he should have another great performance. But let me know down in the comments, who's going to lead the Rockets in scoring tonight? Sengun or Durant? Put your take in the comments below. Tip off is 8 30 p.m. Eastern time, so you're not going to want to miss it. Make sure you subscribe here to Rockets Digest. And if you missed it, I believe that Houston may have found their next superstar. And you can find out who that is in this video right here. As always, thank you for watching.