The young Houston Rockets have suddenly won five straight home games and three of four overall. The wins came against a trio of veteran-laden teams: Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Phoenix. Can the rebuilding club extend that run when Jimmy Butler leads Miami into Toyota Center on Thursday night?
The case for optimism is Miami will be on the second night of a road back-to-back after winning Wednesday in Oklahoma City. But Butler didn’t play on the front end, so the case for pessimism is that he’ll be fresh, and Houston should get his best shot on Thursday.
This is Houston’s third game of a seven-game homestand, the longest of the season, and the team’s momentum seems to be growing by the game — particularly on defense. After holding opponents below 100 points just twice in their first 25 games of the 2022-23 season, the Rockets have done it in two straight games versus Milwaukee and Phoenix.
On offense, second-year shooting guard Jalen Green continues to do much of the heavy lifting, though rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr. has shown some very promising signs of late, as well.
The expectation is that Jimmy Butler will be back to play in Thursday's game against the Rockets in Houston. Heat is taking a cautious approach with Butler in back-to-backs this month because he recently returned from a knee injury https://t.co/Pe97Mwsw9q
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) December 14, 2022
When and How to Watch
- Date: Thursday, Dec. 15
- Time: 7 p.m. Central
- TV Channel: AT&T SportsNet Southwest, NBA League Pass
- Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free in Houston markets)
Probable starting lineups
Houston Rockets (9-18)
- Guard: Kevin Porter Jr.
- Guard: Jalen Green
- Forward: Eric Gordon
- Forward: Jabari Smith Jr.
- Center: Alperen Sengun
Miami Heat (14-15)
- Guard: Kyle Lowry
- Guard: Tyler Herro
- Forward: Jimmy Butler
- Forward: Caleb Martin
- Center: Bam Adebayo
Projected lineups are mostly based on each team’s last game. The lone exception involves the Heat and Butler, who sat out for maintenance Wednesday on the front end of a back-to-back.
Injury reports
Houston’s injury report lists Jae’Sean Tate (sore right ankle) as out, while Miami won’t issue its official report until a few hours before tipoff, owing to the back-to-back. For their game on Wednesday in Oklahoma City, Miami was without was without Butler (injury management), Gabe Vincent (left knee effusion), and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery) — though Butler is expected to return Thursday.
