I hate to be the \u201cI told you so\u201d guy (he said, lying), but this was my last line for the Minnesota preview.<\/p>\n
It all adds up to a crushing loss to an undermanned team on national television tonight. It\u2019s the death knell for this iteration of the Houston Rockets.<\/p>\n
Again, that was before Houston blew a 13-point lead in under three minutes in the biggest OT chokejob since the play-by-play era started. And at first, I figured I was completely done watching this team. I believe \u201c[expletive] basketball\u201d came out of my mouth several times Wednesday night and Thursday morning, but I think I\u2019ve gone through the stages of grief and have accepted\u2026acceptance.<\/p>\n
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Anyone who has watched the 2025-26 Rockets has seen their fair share of blown leads. Off the top of my head, I can think of five games where Houston held what felt like a commanding lead only to lose (at New Orleans, at Sacramento, at New York, at Minnesota). Houston is also 1-7 in overtime games, and I\u2019m not convinced they deserved to beat Orlando in their lone win. They\u2019ve also lost several games where the energy, effort level, and focus were not good enough to beat anyone (at San Antonio twice, at Denver, at Utah, at Portland, at Dallas twice, at the Clippers, at Sacramento the other time, vs. Boston, vs. Charlotte, at Chicago). It\u2019s felt like every one of Houston\u2019s losses has been devastating in one way or another. Either they put forth a pitiful amount of effort or they blow a big lead.<\/p>\n
And yet, the Rockets still have only dropped three straight games once this season. That included the two Portland games in Oregon and the Sacramento game wher Houston got blown out. Houston has bounced back from bad losses but have never used those wins to start a streak of their own. Houston\u2019s longest win streaks this season has been five games, twice. Since the calendar turned to January, their longest streak is three wins.<\/p>\n
You know all of this. You\u2019ve been watching.<\/p>\n
So the question tonight is: how do the Rockets bounce back from a collapse that even the Choke City Rockets didn\u2019t accomplish? The season is, and has been, over already for a few months. But how the Rockets respond tonight against an undermanned tanking Memphis Grizzlies squad is going to be incredibly telling for the future direction of the franchise. If they come out feeling sorry for themselves, the narrative will be that Ime Udoka has lost the locker room, something we haven\u2019t heard yet despite fan outcry. But if Houston comes out and handles the young Grizz, maybe Udoka still has a hold on this team and can get them moving in the right direction. Anything for Houston fans to grab onto heading into a likely 4-0 or 4-1 drubbing in the first round of the playoffs. We\u2019re desperate.<\/p>\n
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Of course, it\u2019s the hope that kills you.<\/p>\n
Tip-off<\/p>\n
7pm CT<\/p>\n
How To Watch<\/p>\n
Space City Home Network<\/p>\n
Injury ReportRockets<\/p>\n
Steven Adams: OUT<\/p>\n
Fred VanVleet: OUT<\/p>\n
Grizzlies<\/p>\n
Ja Morant: OUT<\/p>\n
Zach Edey: OUT<\/p>\n
Jaylen Wells: OUT<\/p>\n
Ty Jerome: OUT<\/p>\n
Jahmai Mashack: GTD<\/p>\n
The Line (as of this post)<\/p>\n
Hou -12.5<\/p>\n