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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Ben DuBose

Suns at Rockets, Feb. 23: Lineups, how to watch, injury reports, uniforms

Rockets Suns Kevin Durant Bradley Beal Houston Devin Booker Frank Vogel Jalen Green Reggie Bullock Tari Eason

Led by Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, the star-studded Phoenix Suns are 14-5 in their last 19 games. The young Houston Rockets don’t have nearly the same star power, but they’re hoping to fix that over the years through internal development.

So, for talented guard and wing prospects Jalen Green, Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore, Friday’s matchup offers an opportunity to match up against some of the elites at their positions.

Due to a quirk in the NBA’s 2023-24 scheduling matrix, it’s also the first of three matchups between the Rockets and Suns in less than a week. The other two will take place next week in Phoenix.

Both the Rockets (24-31) and Suns (33-23) will be on the second night of a back-to-back in different cities. Houston fell on Thursday night in New Orleans, and Phoenix lost at Dallas.

When and How to Watch

Probable starting lineups

Houston Rockets (24-31)

  • Guard: Fred VanVleet
  • Guard: Jalen Green
  • Forward: Dillon Brooks
  • Forward: Jabari Smith Jr.
  • Center: Alperen Sengun

Phoenix Suns (33-23)

  • Guard: Devin Booker
  • Guard: Eric Gordon
  • Forward: Grayson Allen
  • Forward: Kevin Durant
  • Center: Jusuf Nurkic

Injury reports

Neither team is required to issue Friday’s injury report until a few hours before Friday’s tipoff, owing to the back-to-back.

Houston’s injury report for Thursday listed Steven Adams (right knee PCL surgery) and Tari Eason (left lower leg injury management) as out, while Reggie Bullock (lower back pain) was questionable. Nate Hinton and Jermaine Samuels Jr. were in the G League.

Phoenix listed Damion Lee (right meniscus surgery) as out, while Bradley Beal (left hamstring tightness) was questionable.

Beal ultimately did not play, with Frank Vogel expressing doubts as to his availability for Friday. Bullock was upgraded to available.

Feb. 23 uniform choices

  • Rockets: White City Edition
  • Suns: Purple City Edition

(via LockerVision)

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