Houston Rockets: 5 must-watch games in December

3. Houston Rockets vs Boston Celtics (Dec. 27)

The Houston Rockets will only play the Boston Celtics twice this season, so each game is one you’ll want to tune in to. These teams split the season series last year, with Boston winning the first matchup 99-98 on Dec. 28, 2017, although Houston was without Chris Paul. In the second matchup, the Rockets had both of their stars and squeezed out a 123-120 victory over Boston. Kyrie Irving played in both matchups despite missing 22 games last season.

However, the Rockets never played the Celtics with Gordon Hayward, as a gruesome ankle injury forced the forward to miss all but a few minutes of last year’s season. Hayward isn’t quite the same All-Star caliber player he was before the injury and the Celtics are now bringing him off the bench. However, Hayward has his best game of the season in a win against Minnesota on Dec. 1, finishing with 30 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.

The Celtics are arguably the deepest team in the NBA. Players like Hayward, Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart come off the bench for Boston but could start on many teams around the league. Both of these teams have gotten off to slower than expected starts, but these two heavyweights will give fans a game to remember on Dec. 27.

Next: No. 2