Published on: Mar 26, 2022 10:05 pm IST|Updated on: Mar 26, 2022 10:05 pm IST
POR vs HOU Dream11: NBA is marching towards the Playoffs and the Conference play has room for only ten out of 15 teams to advance ahead for the Play-in tournament and the number of teams remaining after Tenth April will only dwindle. It implies that for teams that want to sneak into the Play-in tournament this has become a virtual knockout window as the Playoffs come near. However, for many other teams, the season is already dusted, and two of those squads in Portland Trail Blazers and the Houston Rockets will meet here.
This has been a damning season for the Trail Blazers and Damian Lillard has been out for the most parts and wisely has been ruled out of the season. Plenty of injuries have haunted the team and there is a little doubt that they are heading to the lottery.
Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets are pretty much moving to the lottery and this seems to be the strategy from the beginning. The next draft will probably feature a young player around whom they’d like to craft the team around and the team does need someone who can change the fortunes of the Franchise at this point post the James Harden era.
Host: Portland Trail Blazers Visitors: Houston Rockets Match Timing: 27 March, @ 07:30 AM Venue: Moda Center
The Trail Blazers lost 106:126 and continued to struggle with injuries leading to them fielding a virtually third-string squad
The Rockets gave another firm battering to the Trail Blazers and had a terrific scoring balance with Green blasting off for five triples. Christian Wood did a great all-around job while Dennis Schroeder and Kevin Porter Jr. did a great job as the two Point Guards. On the other hand, while Eubanks and Watford had strong games, the team’s defensive vulnerabilities hurt them again. As they face the Rockets again, will they be able to salvage anything here?
The season is pretty much over for these two games but there have been some exciting young talent for the Rockets, if you look at Green, Sengun, and Porter Jr., they can develop something special. They will need a strong defensive player to cover up the ground and let us see if they go into a long-styled rebuild or acquire players to immediately bolster the squad. Surely the Grizzlies example can be followed.
The Trail Blazers have been way too hurt and at this point, you can’t even blame the management or the coaching staff with the short-handed squad. They have seen the growth of Little and Simons, perhaps the only decent development while acquiring Hart gives them some decent all-around depth. So, how will the Trail Blazers approach the offseason at this point?
Houston Rockets (15th in West) | Portland Trail Blazers (12th in West) Games: 74 | 73 Wins: 19 | 27 Defeats: 55 | 46
Portland Trailblazers Team News
Trailblazers Expected Starting Five Middle: PF: Trendon Watford | PF: Justise Winslow | C: Drew Eubanks Guard: PG: Brandon Williams/ Anfernee Simons | SG: CJ Elleby/ Josh Hart
BENCH: Ben McLemore, Keon Johnson, Kris Dunn, Elijah Hughes, Keljin Blevins, Greg Brown III.
Houston Rockets Team News
Rockets Expected Starting Five
Wing: SF: Jae’Sean Tate Middle: C: Christian Wood Guards: SG: Eric Gordon | SG: Jalen Green | PG: Kevin Porter Jr.
BENCH: Kenyon Martin Jr., Dennis Schroeder, Garrison Mathews, Dawid Nwaba, Alperen Sengun, Armoni Brooks, Josh Christopher, Daishen Nix.
(stats from these players’ last game)
Christian Wood(HOU) Points: 10 Rebounds: 11 Assists: 05 Blocks: 01 Steals: 01 Chrstian has led the Rockets in terms of points and rebounds and done a more than decent job at the Center position as expected. He has mostly been in 16-22 points and 7-12 rebounds range. Wood can be selected as a Star/Pro Player in the Dream 11 NBA Fantasy scenario. Expected Fantasy Points Range: 27-39
Josh Hart(POR) Points: 26 Rebounds: 03 Assists: 04 Steals: 02 Hart keeps on missing games and he hasn’t played for some days now. He is a brilliant all-around guard and has mostly been in 20+ points, 5-8 rebounds, and 4-7 assists range. He is QUESTIONABLE for this game. Expected Fantasy Points Range: 30-43
Kevin Porter Jr.(HOU) Points: 13 Rebounds: 02 Assists: 07 Steals: 01 Blocks: 01 Kevin has been the leading playmaker for the Rockets this season and he has also elevated up to his scoring from time to time. The guard has usually been in 11-17 points, 4-8 assists, and 4-5 rebounds range. Expected Fantasy Points Range: 18-30
Anfernee Simons(POR) Points: 38 Rebounds: 03 Assists: 03 Simons has now been out for around a month and when he was playing, he was scorching opponents with his hot shooting. The Guard has mostly been in 20+ points and 4-6 assists range. He is QUESTIONABLE here. Expected Fantasy Points Range: 27-41
Jalen Green(HOU) Points: 23 Rebounds: 03 Assists: 00 Two-guard Jalen has had big games every now and then, capitalizing upon his long-shooting time and time again. Green has mostly been in 17-23 points, 2-4 rebounds, and 3-6 assists range. Expected Fantasy Points Range: 20-32
Drew Eubanks(POR) Points: 18 Rebounds: 05 Assists: 01 Eubanks has scrapped some quality points and rebounds for the Trail Blazers. The Center has mostly been 12-18 points and 5-9 rebounds range. Expected Fantasy Points Range: 20-30
PG: D Schroeder, J Green SG: K Porter(PP) SF: B McLemore PF: J Tate C: D Eubanks, C Wood(SP), T Watford (lineup may be updated)
Would you wanna catch Christain Wood going up against the weakened Trail Blazers squad here? In not the best news for the NBA fans in India, this match can’t be seen on streaming platforms JIO TV and Voot. Therefore, the best you can catch all the games is by getting on the NBA League Pass. If you purchase the annual subscription, you can get access to all live games, and apart from that you also can acquire the full game replay if you are not able to watch the live stream. To know the scores, stats, and news, go to the official website of the NBA.