Last home game of the regular season coming up.

The Rockets (20-60, 15th in West) come in with the worst record in the NBA and a high chance to win the number one overall pick and add to their young roster. Meanwhile the Raptors (47-33, 5th in East) will lock up the five seed with another win or Bulls loss. As for first round opponent scoreboard watching, Milwaukee plays in Detroit. A win there would clinch at least the three seed, avoiding a matchup with Toronto. Boston and Philadelphia are both idle.

I’m going to take wild guess and say that Pascal Siakam will be rested. Last night’s triple double masterpiece against the Sixers was the first time Spicy P hasn’t logged at least 40 minutes in five games. Combine that with Nick Nurse himself saying that he doesn’t know if there is much of a difference between the five and six seed leads me to believe there is little sense in Pascal playing a back to back right now. Same story with Fred, whose next game should be Game one of the playoffs. Maybe this could be a Scottie Barnes stat stuffing special to put his final touches on a potential Rookie of the Year campaign?

Player to Watch

All of these stats have come in five straight losses, but both Kevin Porter Jr and Jalen Green are ending the season on a high note.

Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green over their last 5 games:
Kevin Porter Jr
28.0 PPG – 6.6 RPG – 8.4 APG
48.5% FG – 37.5% 3PT – 82.6% FT
Jalen Green
31.2 PPG – 4.4 RPG – 2.8 APG
47.4% FG – 42.6% 3PT – 81.5% FT
Pure Hoopers 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hnE1VJfmpk
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 6, 2022

Green has scored at least 30 points with four threes in all five of those games. He has respectable shooting splits for a rookie guard (42/34/80). Since the all-star break, the number two pick is averaging nearly 22 points on 47.6 percent from the field and 39.5 from three. Green hasn’t been in any serious rookie of the year consideration because of the Rockets record, but he’s just another example of an extremely impressive 2021 class.

Reporter: "What have you learned about yourself this rookie year"
Jalen Green: "That I'm a bucket"
No lies told. @JalenGreen pic.twitter.com/tVVORRCydy
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 4, 2022

Game Info

Tip-Off: 7:30pm EDT | TV: TSN 4/5 | Radio: TSN 1050

Houston Rockets Results, Lineups & Injuries

Previous Results

@ Nets L 118-105

vs Timberwolves L 139-132

vs Kings L 122-117

vs Kings L 121-118

vs Spurs L 123-120

Probable Lineup

PF: J. Tate, K. Martin Jr., U. Garuba

SF: K. Porter Jr., D. Nwaba

C: A. Sengun, B. Fernando

PG: J. Green

SG: G. Mathews, J. Christopher, D. Nix

Injuries

Dennis Schroder, PG – Out moreSchroder (shoulder) has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Eric Gordon, SG – Out moreGordon (groin/rest) has been ruled out for the rest of the season, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Christian Wood, C – Out moreWood (hamstring) has been shut down for the remainder of the season, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports.

John Wall, PG – Out moreWall has recently been working on his conditioning and ramping up his workouts in Miami, but he’s not expected to play for the Rockets at any point this season, Kelly Iko of The Athletic reports.

Toronto Raptors Results, Lineups & Injuries

Previous Results

vs 76ers W 119-114

vs Hawks W 118-108

vs Heat L 114-109

@ Magic W 102-89

vs Timberwolves W 125-102

Probable Lineup

PF: P. Achiuwa, C. Boucher, T. Young,

SF: P. Siakam

C: K. Birch

PG: S. Barnes, M. Flynn

SG: G. Trent Jr., A. Brooks, S. Mykhailiuk

Injuries

Fred VanVleet, SG – Day-To-Day

Yuta Watanabe, SF – Out moreWatanabe (quad) is targeting a Sunday return, Michael Grange of SportsNet reports.

OG Anunoby, SF – Out moreAnunoby (thigh) is targeting a Sunday return, Michael Grange of SportsNet reports.

Betting Lines

hou		tor
+11.5	Spread	-11.5
+550	Money Line	-800
Over/Under 228

My over/under prediction (17-14-1 this season): Houston ranks second worst in defensive rating. That screams smashing the over regardless of who is playing. If Siakam doesn’t suit up, I see a career-high in points for Precious Achiuwa (currently 23). How about some more of this confidence from a man who is shooting over 40 percent from three since the all-star break?