When the Detroit Pistons come to town Friday night, the Houston Rockets open their final homestand of the 2022-23 season with a matchup against the only NBA team with a worse record. It’s the first of three straight games at Toyota Center, with subsequent games Sunday versus the Lakers and Tuesday against the Nuggets.
The favorable matchup, however, may present a conundrum. While Houston has secured maximum 2023 draft lottery odds for a top-four pick, finishing with the NBA’s worst record ensures their first-round pick can fall no further than No. 5 overall. If it finishes with the second-worst record, it can drop to No. 6, and so on and so forth.
