Other than the resurgent Warriors and the Suns, the Rockets and Grizzlies have made it to the NBA headlines given their fine performances these past few days.
After a horrendous start to this season, the Rockets are now winners of seven straight matches while the Grizzlies have moved up considerably in the Western Conference standings despite missing key personnel.
On the other hand, the Pacers and the Blazers haven’t had much positive NBA 2021 results recently and several reports suggest that both teams are considering blowing up their rosters given their low ceilings.
The games keep on coming for the whole Association. And as we continue our NBA coverage, allow SBOTOP to give you the rundown of what’s new through today’s edition of our NBA takeaways.
The Rockets are on a roll
It may be hard to believe but the Rockets currently own the longest active win streak in the NBA, which came right after losing 15 consecutive games to start 2021/22.
The Rockets became the first team in the history of American professional sports to achieve this bizarre feat and their fans are more than happy to take it.
Since going into a full-scale rebuild from the moment they’ve traded away James Harden last year, Houston were tipped to have a bad campaign given their lack of quality on paper.
They are, after all, being led by a low-profile head coach in Stephen Silas and they’re a roster full of misfits – consisting of unproven youngsters and veterans who are serviceable at best.
Especially when second overall pick Jalen Green went down with a hamstring injury few weeks ago, it looked like the Rockets were bound to have another high lottery pick once more.
So what clicked for Houston? To put it succinctly, the aforementioned misfits are the ones responsible for their remarkable ascent.
Christian Wood, Eric Gordon, Jae’Sean Tate, Armoni Brooks, and Garrison Mathews have all been playing beyond themselves while they’ve been getting meaningful contributions from the likes of Alperen Sengun, DJ Augustin, Daniel Theis, Josh Christopher, and KJ Martin.
Fresh from their win over the Nets, the Rockets will look to keep their improbable run going when they’ll face the reigning NBA champions, the Bucks, this Friday.
Despite being only 13th in the Western Conference standings, time is on their side to make a push for a play-in spot.
Grizzlies coping well without their star player
Like the Rockets, the Grizzlies are on a roll despite without their franchise point guard Ja Morant, who was shelved due to a sprained knee last November. With Morant in the lineup, Memphis had a 9-10 win-loss card. But with him out, they are 6-1 so far.
They are doing it through a collective effort as many have stepped up big in Morant’s absence, with MIP candidate Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., Tyus Jones, and De’Anthony Melton being solid on the offencive end.
But the real key to their success is their work on the other side of the ball. In the last seven games, the Grizzlies have conceded 100+ points in just two occasions.
Memphis are now fourth in the Western Conference standings with a 15-11 record and they are coming off of a win against the inconsistent star-laden Lakers team.
Coincindentally, they’ll be facing the Rockets on Sunday in what will be a battle of two upstarts. After that, it’ll be interesting to see on how they’ll wrap up 2021 with games against the Sixers, Suns, Lakers, Warriors, Thunder, Kings (twice), and Blazers (twice).
The Pacers and the Blazers are facing a major dilemma
The Pacers and the Blazers have decent NBA 2021 odds of making it to the playoffs this season, but they aren’t making it past the first round given their respective rosters as currently constructed.
Damian Lillard is sidelined due to an abdominal injury while CJ McCollum is recuperating from a collapsed lung, leaving the likes of Jusuf Nurkic and Norman Powell carrying the load for Portland in the meantime.
Meanwhile, Indiana are stuck at the bottom half despite having an All-Star in Domantas Sabonis. It doesn’t help either that Myles Turner expressed his desire for “bigger opportunities” elsewhere since he feels that he’s being undervalued.
Shams Charania from The Athletic reported that the Pacers are expected to be receptive to trade talks centered around the likes of Domantas Sabonis, Caris LeVert, and Myles Turner.
The Pacers and Blazers have shown reluctance to initiate a roster rebuild in the past due to fan attendance and financial concerns, but they aren’t looking like championship contenders anytime soon and perhaps now is the time for them to flip the page and start over.
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