Rockets to Face Ultimate Challenge in Home Game vs. Cavaliers

Houston has the opportunity to make a statement against the league's best team based on record.
Mar 16, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA;  Cleveland Cavaliers forward Georges Niang (20) has his pass intercepted by Houston Rockets forward Jae'Sean Tate (8) in the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Mar 16, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Georges Niang (20) has his pass intercepted by Houston Rockets forward Jae'Sean Tate (8) in the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets have had many tests throughout the regular season. They've had wins against some of the league's top teams, including the Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks, and more. These wins, both on the road and at home, prove the Rockets' status within the top tier of the NBA, despite their youth and inexperience in big games.

Tonight, Houston faces perhaps its biggest of the regular season thus far. For the first time this season, the Rockets will face the Cleveland Cavaliers, who own the best record in the league at 36-6. After starting the season 15-0, the Cavaliers have barely let up, still having gone 11-6 since then.

Cleveland's top-ranked offensive rating (121.1) will combat Houston's third-ranked defensive rating (107.7). While the Rockets have a solid offensive rating, ranked 10th in the league, head coach Ime Udoka has emphasized defense throughout his tenure with the team, and that has been the backbone for the better part of the season.

The game may be more of a scoring battle than we think, though. Since the turn of the year, the Rockets have had the seventh-best offense in the NBA according to rating (118.4). This has come off the scoring surge of star guard Jalen Green, who is averaging 28.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists on 51.2% shooting from the field and 47.2% from three in his last 10 games.

Green will match up against star guard Donovan Mitchell, who is having a bit of a down year statistically. However, that scoring sacrifice has resulted in Cleveland's greater success as a team, supporting the idea that the Cavaliers can hit you from all five positions on the floor.

If the Rockets can pull off the win tonight, it will be their eighth win since the start of 2025 and would be a huge win after falling to the Detroit Pistons on Monday, 107-96. The Rockets need a bounceback game after failing to reach triple-digit scoring at home.

More importantly, a win would prove that Houston can compete with anyone. The Rockets have doubters due to the youth and inexperience of the core, as the majority of the roster has yet to even see the Play-In Tournament, let alone the playoffs. A win would emphasize that the Rockets are title contenders, and would move them up even further in the power rankings.

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Jed Katz
JED KATZ

Jed is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in journalism. He also contributes at several other basketball outlets, including has his own basketball blog and podcast — The Sixth Man Report.