Houston Rockets vs. Charlotte Hornets game preview

The Houston Rockets are two losses away from a guaranteed top 6 pick in this summer’s NBA Draft.

However, their final two contests come against fellow lottery teams who are probably more likely to throw in inferior squads as opposed to Houston’s continued intention of giving their core players as much experience as possible. Charlotte is locked into the fourth-best odds in the lottery, but the Rockets can still drop to a tie for third place or third outright depending on how Houston and San Antonio finish. Houston has matched their twenty wins from last season.

I wrote a little bit about the Hornets in my “Who Would Win a Rigged NBA Lottery” preview against the Pistons. Basically, every team wants Victor Wembanyama, but I’m not sure any team needs him the way the Hornets do. Charlotte doesn’t have a super exciting squad, and outside of LaMelo Ball they don’t inspire a lot of confidece moving forward. Wembanyama would change the trajectory of any franchise lucky enough to have him, but the Hornets require a trajectory change more than anyone else. Michael Jordan selling his ownership stake doesn’t help either.

Tip-off is at 6pm CT on AT&T SportsNet Southwest