The young and rebuilding Houston Rockets have remained in or near the league’s basement for most of this season, which has led many fans to fixate on the race for 2023 NBA draft positioning. In most situations, the optimal result from an odds perspective is to lose.
But Tuesday’s home matchup versus Brooklyn could bring some draft benefits to the Rockets, regardless of the result. Without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the new-look Nets are only 2.5 games ahead of Miami for the No. 6 spot in the Eastern Conference standings, which is the final spot that automatically qualifies for the playoffs without having to go through the play-in tournament.
Should Brooklyn miss the playoffs and win one of the NBA’s four lottery picks, Houston has the right to swap first-round picks with it in the 2023 draft. It’s a long shot, certainly, since the Rockets have much higher odds of landing a top pick, themselves. But any small boost can’t hurt, and the Rockets are already close to locked in when it comes to maximizing their own top-four odds.
To accomplish that objective, Houston’s first priority is slowing Mikal Bridges, who has taken advantage of an increased role since being dealt from Phoenix to Brooklyn in the Durant trade. In nine games with the Nets, Bridges is averaging 26.1 points (53.6% FG, 50.0% on 3-pointers) and 5.9 rebounds in 34.8 minutes.
When and How to Watch
- Date: Tuesday, March 7
- Time: 7 p.m. Central
- TV Channel: AT&T SportsNet Southwest, NBA League Pass
- Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free in Houston markets)
Probable starting lineups
Houston Rockets (15-49)
- Guard: Kevin Porter Jr.
- Guard: Jalen Green
- Forward: KJ Martin
- Forward: Jabari Smith Jr.
- Center: Alperen Sengun
Brooklyn Nets (36-28)
- Guard: Spencer Dinwiddie
- Guard: Mikal Bridges
- Forward: Cameron Johnson
- Forward: Dorian Finney-Smith
- Center: Nic Claxton
Projected lineups are based on each team’s previous game.
Injury reports
The injury reports are clean except for Brooklyn’s Ben Simmons, who is out with left knee/back soreness. Each team’s two-way players (David Duke Jr. and Dru Smith for the Nets, and Darius Days and Trevor Hudgins with the Rockets) are in the G League and not with their respective NBA parent clubs, owing to those healthy rosters.
