The Phoenix Suns are 19-61 and have at least a 14% chance of landing the top pick in the NBA draft. That’s a big deal for a team slated to finish as one of the worst in the league. Losing tonight’s game is no big deal for the Suns, and it seems pretty likely with Deandre Ayton, Devin Booker, Tyler Johnson, Kelly Oubre Jr. and T.J. Warren all not playing.
But for the Houston Rockets, they have quite a lot riding on the game if they want to keep the pressure on the No. 2 seeded Denver Nuggets and No. 4 seeded Portland Trail Blazers.
The Rockets are 52-28 with two games left. They have the tiebreaker against Denver but lost the tiebreaker to Portland. If they win one game more than Denver, they’ll side into the two spot and they need to win out to guarantee to keep Portland in the three spot.
We know it’s very confusing, but the moral of the story is that the Rockets need to end this game early tonight to rest the starters and prevent any silly injuries, and then do the same against the Thunder on Tuesday to end the season.
And also, tonight is the Rockets’ last home game! The playoffs are near!
