The Houston Rockets look to stay hot against the Detroit Pistons

The Houston Rockets are winners of four straight and seven of their last nine games. Can they keep it going against a tough defensive team in the Pistons?

The Houston Rockets have turned the ship around after starting the year 1-5. They are now over .500 for the first time this season and have a record of 7-6.

They start a two-game stretch against the Pistons tonight, one before and after Thanksgiving. I would be very thankful for a sweep of the season series, starting with this first one in Houston.

The Pistons are a tough team so far this year, not giving in and hardly allowing themselves to be blown out by the opposition. They currently have the 8th ranked defense in the league, anchored by All-Star center Andre Drummond.

Offensively, they pretty much play through their other All-Star, Blake Griffin. Blake is enjoying a fantastic season so far, averaging a career high in points with 24.3 per game, including a 50-point outburst in the third game of the year.

Let’s look at the potential starting lineups:

Starting 5s

Rockets

Chris Paul/James Harden/James Ennis/P.J. Tucker/Clint Capela

Pistons

Reggie Jackson/Reggie Bullock/Glenn Robinson III/Blake Griffin/Andre Drummond

What to watch for

The big thing to watch for in this game is the rebounding battle. Drummond and Griffin combine for 26.6 rebounds per game, which will be tough to handle for the smaller Rockets. Clint Capela will have to step up big time on the glass, along with P.J. Tucker. That will be a huge deciding factor in this one.

The Rockets have upped their defense from near the bottom of the league all the way up to No. 14. The Pistons are a well-below average offensive team, so the improving defense of the Rockets should be able to hold them tonight.

A reunion is happening tonight in Houston. James Ennis will be squaring off against his former team from last season, the Pistons. I’m sure this is the biggest reunion game happening tonight, that’s for sure.

Reggie Jackson is a guy that can go off on random nights. Chris Paul and others will really need to play good defense on him and not allow him to do that.

Which Eric Gordon will we see tonight? Hopefully, he comes out firing and knocking down shots. We haven’t seen that too often this year, and it’s time for him to regain his form and be the shot-creating bench powerhouse that he normally is with Houston.

Be sure to tune into AT&T SportsNet SW tonight at 7:00 for the game!