In what could be a sizable mismatch, the young Houston Rockets (10-23) continue a tough three-game road trip with Tuesday’s visit to Boston, where the host Celtics own the NBA’s best record (24-10).
The good news for the visitors is that the Rockets enter coming off Monday’s feel-good victory in Chicago, led by dynamic performances from young prospects Kevin Porter Jr., Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun. The bad news is they will be asked to repeat that showing against a superior opponent on night two of a back-to-back.
Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the defending Eastern Conference champions are every bit the championship contender that most fans and analysts expected them to be entering the 2022-23 season. They have shown at least a few weaknesses of late, though, as evidenced by five losses in their previous eight games.
Boston’s biggest weakness over that stretch has been its offense, which ranks last in the NBA with an 108.4 offensive rating over those eight games. That’s far below their 117.2 offensive rating, which ranks first in the league, for the season.
When and How to Watch
- Date: Tuesday, Dec. 27
- Time: 6:30 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 (10-23)
- Guard: Kevin Porter Jr.
- Guard: Jalen Green
- Forward: KJ Martin
- Forward: Jabari Smith Jr.
- Center: Alperen Sengun
Boston Celtics (24-10)
- Guard: Marcus Smart
- Guard: Derrick White
- Forward: Jaylen Brown
- Forward: Jayson Tatum
- Center: Al Horford
Projected lineups are based on each team’s previous game, with the exception of Martin starting in place of Gordon, who typically sits out half of all back-to-backs for the Rockets.
Injury reports
Houston will not issue its official injury report report Tuesday’s game until hours before tipoff, owing to the back-to-back. On Monday, it listed Jae’Sean Tate (right ankle soreness) as out. Veteran guard Eric Gordon usually sits out half of all back-to-backs, and he played Monday, so he appears likely to rest in Boston.
The Celtics are listing Danilo Gallinari (left knee ACL repair) as out for Tuesday, but they otherwise appear to be healthy.
