Rockets put themselves in position to get lucky against contender

The Houston Rockets are one of the best teams in the NBA.

It still feels weird to type that sentence.

Yet, it's irrefutably true. The Rockets are capable of beating any team at any moment. They proved that on Wednesday. A gutsy 109-108 win over the dominant Cavaliers was a signature 2024-25 win for this team.

Even if they needed some luck to get it.

Rockets get lucky against Cavaliers

To begin with, Evan Mobley wasn't available for this contest.

That's a stroke of good fortune in its own right. Mobley can change the course of any game. The Cavaliers are not the same team without Mobley. He's arguably their best player, and even if you prefer someone else, he's undeniably significant to their game plan.

Still, if you said to a friend "Boy, the Rockets got lucky last night", Mobley's absence wouldn't be what they'd assume you were referring to.

Down the stretch, Tari Eason committed a flagrant foul on Darius Garland. Garland was awarded 3 free throws - and he missed two of them. This is a 87.3% free-throw shooter in 2024-25. The odds of Garland whiffing on both of those shots are astronomically low.

Yet, that's what happened: and the Rockets were in a position to capitalize

Rockets both good and lucky in win

It's been said that it's better to be lucky than good. Sure - but it's best to be both.

That's what the Rockets were last night.

Sure, Mobley was absent. The Cavaliers are formidable even in his absence. This was a difficult, well-deserved win.

If Garland hits all his free throws, it likely goes the other day. If he hits two, it goes to overtime, and based on the game's momentum - it probably goes the other way.

Ifs and buts. Hypotheticals. The game went how it went, and the Rockets walked away with a win.

There's a critical difference between these two squads. The Cavaliers have exhausted their resources building this team. They're out of assets. That's perfectly justifiable. They spent well to build a title contender.

The Rockets have options. They have a surplus of draft capital. They have a more intriguing collection of young players than the Cavs.

This isn't intended to be a criticism of Cleveland. They're in an excellent spot. The point is that the Rockets are ahead of schedule. To have the assets and youth that they do and still be able to pull out a win like this one is a luxury few NBA teams are afforded.

The Rockets are one of the best teams in the NBA - and they've got room to grow.