HOU • Center • #28
Based on the Rockets’ initial injury report for Sunday’s regular-season finale, Sengun and Thompson will be available. However, Houston has already secured the two-seed in the West, so the starters’ playing time may be limited. Jeff Green, Cam Whitmore and Jock Landale started Friday’s loss to the Lakers, and the latter two are safe bets to log rotation minutes off the bench on Sunday.
10 days ago
April 13, 2025 12:40 AM
HOU • Center • #12
1 day ago
On a night when their backcourt struggled mightily, the Rockets received solid contributions from their reserve bigs. Adams led the way with 12 rebounds, while Jabari Smith Jr. didn’t miss a shot and finished with 11 points, six rebounds, one steal, one block and one three-pointer in 25 minutes. Houston also took the approach of pairing Adams and Alperen Sengun when Stephen Curry was not on the court, but this had minimal impact on the action due to Houston’s guards struggling to hit shots. Game 2 is on Wednesday.
HOU • Guard • #5
1 day ago
Sunday’s series opener was brutal for the Rockets’ starting guards. VanVleet and Jalen Green (7/8/2 in 31 minutes) combined to shoot 7-of-34 from the field overall and 2-of-17 from beyond the arc. Neither was an efficient shooter during the regular season, with VanVleet making 37.8 percent of his attempts and Green slightly better at 42.3 percent. That said, neither reached those levels in Game 1, which was a significant reason why Houston lost. VanVleet and Green will look to bounce back in Game 2 on Wednesday.
HOU • Guard-Forward • #9
1 day ago
Having scored 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting in Houston’s April 6 win over the Warriors, Brooks likely entered Sunday’s series opener with ample offensive confidence. While he did have a better night shooting-wise than starting guards Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green, Brooks offered limited offensive value, and the defensive stats weren’t there, either. He and Amen Thompson (8/9/6/1/1 in 33 minutes) will have their hands full in this series, and they’ll need to provide some offense as well. The Rockets will look to even the series at 1-all in Game 2 on Wednesday.
LAC • Center • #40
about 10 hours ago
It has been over a month since Zubac played a game and didn’t record a double-double. Playoff basketball hasn’t changed that. He has averaged 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds through the first two games of this series while trying to slow down Nikola Jokic. Zubac is a finalist for the league’s Most Improved Player award, and even if he doesn’t win it, the strides that he has taken this season will help him get paid. He’s in year one of a three-year, $58.7 million contract, which is a bargain for the Clippers.
DEN • Center • #15
about 10 hours ago
After narrowly missing out on a triple-double in Game 1, Jokic had no problems reaching those marks on Monday. This was the 19th playoff triple-double of his career, which is third in NBA history behind Magic Johnson and LeBron James. As impressive as parts of his stat line were, this wasn’t a flawless night for Jokic. He left four points at the free throw line in a three-point loss, and he turned it over seven times, including once with 37.1 seconds left in the game. Jokic was incredible, but he will need to be even better in Game 3 on Thursday to help Denver take back home-court advantage in this series.
DET • Center • #0
about 12 hours ago
Duren played 25 minutes in Game 1, but with Isaiah Stewart (knee) sidelined for Game 2, Duren’s minutes ballooned to 37, with Paul Reed playing the other 11 minutes at center. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff couldn’t play Duren all 48 minutes, but he isn’t going to rely on Reed unless he absolutely has to. If Stewart remains out for Game 3 on Thursday in Detroit, Duren should once again play the majority of the center minutes for the Pistons.
