ghysports

By: Gordon Yancey/ghysports

The day is finally here. The Houston Rockets will take on the Thunder, the reigning NBA Champs in Oklahoma City tonight at 6:30 PM Central Time!

Before I get into what I am thinking about the game tonight, I want to cover a few things that have happened recently. The 2022 draft class had a very important day yesterday. Rookies from that class could sign extensions with their teams, but some interesting names did not end up signing extensions. Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason, Indiana Pacers Guard/Forward Bennedict Mathurin, Detroit Pistons Guard Jaden Ivey, and Detroit Pistons Center Jalen Duren are the main names. In my opinion, this was not a smart move for the Rockets. Kevin Durant just took a 30 million dollar decrease in his contract extension to allow for the team to re-sign all of the key players. Tari Eason might not have the most eye popping stats, but he does the little things to help win. I felt like a 4 year 80 Million dollar deal would have been ideal, but I can see how both Tari, and the Rockets would be hesitant. The Rockets might have been hesitant for the fact that since Tari’s rookie season, he has had trouble staying healthy. I can also see why Tari would ask for more money. He is an elite defender and a game disruptor. He can put the ball on the floor and get his own looks, and he contributes to winning. Overall, I am looking forward to seeing if the Rockets will match whatever deal he gets on the open market next offseason.

Tonight’s game against the OKC Thunder will be a true test to see how our team will stand up against the top teams, but unfortunately, both teams have some injuries. The Rockets will still be without the new off-season signing of Dorian Finney-Smith and Fred VanVleet, and the Thunder will be without their all-star guard/forward, Jalen Williams. The Houston Rockets have announced their starting 5 for tonight’s game…

Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams. All of these guys are 6ft11 besides Amen Thompson who is 6ft7. This is officially the tallest starting lineup of all-time. I am glad to see the quadruple big lineup especially since OKC has Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein.

Chaos will most definitely happen tonight, so make sure you don’t miss it.