NBA Matchups: March 2

HOU @ WAS | BOS @ MIL | DEN @ UTA | LAC @ GSW

Houston Rockets at Washington Wizards (front end)

Team Totals: Rockets 119.8, Wizards 104.8

Injury Report: Jabari Smith Jr. (O, ankle), Kyshawn George (Q, knee), Anthony Gill (Q, illness), Tristan Vukcevic (Q, thigh)

Rockets projected starters: Reed Sheppard, Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun

Wizards projected starters: Tre Johnson, Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, Tristan Vukcevic

Udoka quotes: Said they got lost on the cross-matches, said the Heat were the tougher team, said they missed a lot of the kick-out threes.

Keefe quotes: Said Will Riley really handled the pressure well, said they liked how Watkins was handling the ball late in the game, said Watkins “can really pass” and he’s really putting in the work.

Stats and Notes: 

*The Rockets are coming off a terrible loss to the Heat on Saturday and won’t have Jabari Smith Jr. for their defense, either. Their offense wasn’t great in February at just 18th, and they were only 20th in halfcourt offense, too. The good news is that they get a Wizards defense that’s ranked 27th, and they gave up the second-most putback plays per miss in February. The Rockets should have a field day on the boards, and the Wizards being on a B2B should also help Houston dominate this spot. The Rockets on defense haven’t been as strong lately at 11th in February due to their transition defense falling off. They are also getting beaten on the boards at 24th in putback points per miss. The Rockets also were average at giving up C&S stuff over the last month and may be worse there without Jabari.

*Reed Sheppard got the start in the last game, and he had the biggest handling role on the team at 5.7 minutes of touch time and 91 touches overall (44 frontcourt touches). He won’t have a tough matchup with likely Bub Carrington or Tre Johnson on him, so Reed should smash this one.

*This isn’t the best spot for Kevin Durant. KD tends to thrive when the Rockets are facing tougher defenses, but the Wizards just give up so much easy stuff. He’ll see Bilal Coulibaly and also has blowout concerns.

*Amen Thompson lost some of his handling to Reed Sheppard, but he still led the team in drives in the last game. The matchup is excellent against a team with terrible rim defense, and they also get wrecked in transition. His upside isn’t as high with Reed next to him, but there’s still a lot to like on Amen.

*Alperen Sengun is in an excellent spot as well. He also lost some of his touches to Sheppard, but the Wizards just have no rim protection right now. It’s not a B2B, and the Rockets are coming off a terrible loss to the Heat. It sets up great for him here.