The good news for the Rockets, who have suddenly lost three straight games and six of eight, is that 12 of Houston’s next 17 matchups will be played within the friendly home confines of Toyota Center.
The bad news is that it starts Wednesday night with a difficult matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder, who currently own the No. 2 overall record in the Western Conference standings.
Both the Thunder (Chet Holmgren) and Rockets (Jabari Smith Jr.) are led by top-three overall selections from the first round of the 2022 draft. This is their first head-to-head meeting in a regular-season NBA game, since Holmgren missed all of last season with an injury.
Holmgren, who is still considered a rookie because of that absence, has been impressive — as evidenced by the Rookie of the Month award he collected Monday for his work in October and November.
The BEST OF October/November Western Conference #KiaROTM Chet Holmgren!@Kia pic.twitter.com/Us5CuJUpSX
— NBA (@NBA) December 4, 2023