Rockets to play Toronto, Memphis, Boston in NBA restart scrimmages

In primetime slots from Orlando, Houston will play the Raptors on July 24; the Grizzlies on July 26; and the Celtics on July 28.

The NBA on Saturday released the scrimmage schedule for each of the 22 teams that are headed to Florida for the league’s restart later this month.

All NBA teams will play three scrimmages before the 2019-20 regular season resumes on July 30 and July 31. Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the league’s priority in determining each team’s scrimmage opponents was to find a partner from the opposite conference, or an unlikely first-round playoff opponent in the same conference.

For the Houston Rockets, this formula led to schedule dates with Toronto on Thursday, July 24; Memphis on Saturday, July 26; and Boston on Monday, July 28. All three games are set to be played in primetime, though it’s not yet clear if they will be available for fans to watch.

The Rockets are 1-0 in games played against Toronto this season; 2-0 versus Boston; and 2-1 against Memphis.

The Rockets (40-24) can finish anywhere between No. 2 and No. 7 in the Western Conference, and Memphis can realistically only finish at No. 8, should the Grizzlies make the playoffs at all. Thus, there isn’t a path for the Grizzlies and Rockets to meet in the first round.

Since the Raptors and Celtics are each in the East, neither would be eligible to play the Rockets in the playoffs until the NBA Finals.

After those three scrimmages, Houston’s regular-season schedule will then resume on Friday, July 31 versus Dallas.

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