The Houston Rockets return to the Toyota Center on Thursday to host the New Orleans Pelicans in their first game back since being eliminated from the NBA Cup.
The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Rockets 111-96 on Saturday. The Rockets and Thunder have two of the three best records in the Western Conference, so the semifinal matchup might have been a potential playoff preview.
"It's good to have those high-pressure situations," head coach Ime Udoka said. "The pressure of win or go home" is good experience for the young core of the Rockets, who haven't played in those types of games since the NCAA Tournament.
The Rockets have had four days off but will now host a Pelicans team dealing with multiple injuries, with Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, Jose Alvarado, Karlo Matkovic and Daniel Theis all ruled out. "This is a classic trap game with guys missing," Udoka said.
However, the Rockets might be without Tari Eason, Steven Adams and Alperen Sengun, who are all listed as questionable.
Rookie Reed Sheppard could return to the court after not playing any minutes the past two games. "We're not worried about Reed at all," Udoka said. "He's a young guy going through a lot of things right now," but "we want to get him back in the mix."
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