The ongoing six-game road trip for Houston (18-17) — the Rockets’ longest in more than a decade — didn’t get off to an ideal start thanks to Monday’s seven-point loss to the Miami Heat.
On Wednesday, the Rockets have an opportunity to make amends when they face the Bulls (17-21) in Chicago. On paper, they need to.
After facing two losing teams, Chicago and Detroit (3-33), the Rockets will wrap up the road trip with a difficult three-game stretch. On the second night of a back-to-back, they head to Boston on Saturday. The Celtics (28-8) own the NBA’s best record.
The Rockets then travel down the East Coast to face the 76ers (23-12) on Monday and the Knicks (21-15) next Wednesday.
Thus, Houston needs to take advantage of an opportunity to improve its record in these matchups against lesser teams. Even so, Wednesday’s game in Chicago could be more challenging than it first appears, since the Bulls enter with seven wins in their last 11 outings.