Week Ahead: Houston Opens a Five-Game Stretch in Milwaukee…

By the Rockets Nightly Desk · Tuesday, October 27

Houston brings a 120.4 offensive rating and a 9.7 net rating into a five-game week that starts Wednesday at Milwaukee. Sengun is out with a back injury and targeted to return Oct. 30, so the opener comes without the player who just finished plus-29.

Rockets Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Oct. 26

Sengun set the bar in the 120-110 win over Atlanta: 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting, nine boards, nine assists, six steals and a plus-29 in 37 minutes. The starters scored 87 of the 120 points. A day later he was listed out with a back injury. His target date is Oct. 30, which leaves the offense without its hub for at least one game.

Oct. 28 at Bucks

Each team gets a single rest day after three games in the past week. Milwaukee is 1-3 under Taylor Jenkins, with a 114.5 defensive rating, a minus-5.7 net and a 107.0 pace. That is close to seven possessions faster than Houston's 100.3. Tyler Herro scores 23.5 a night and Jaime Jaquez Jr. scores 17.5. Smart, nursing a left forearm problem, has this game as his target date.

Oct. 30-31

Friday's game at Dallas counts in the Emirates NBA Cup, and Houston beat the Mavericks 128-110 on Oct. 21. Saturday, Oklahoma City comes to Toyota Center on NBA TV. It is the week's only back-to-back, and that makes the Thunder the game that matters most. Houston plays the national-TV game on the second night, and Sengun's target date falls on the night before.

Nov. 2 vs Celtics

Boston visits on Steven Adams's estimated return date. A right calf injury has kept him out. If he is back, Udoka has his center depth again behind Sengun, with Clint Capela as the other big. Durant blocked four shots against Atlanta, but the frontcourt has been thin without Adams.

Nov. 4 vs Timberwolves

Minnesota, 3-1 and sixth in the conference, closes the stretch. Houston holds the top seed and a 2.5-game cushion over 11th. Three straight home dates after the two road games make this the easier half of the week, provided the injured players come back on their target dates.

Next Wednesday, Oct. 28 at Milwaukee: Houston's first game without Sengun this season, with Smart's forearm the other name to watch.

Is Alperen Sengun playing against the Bucks?

No. He is listed out with a back injury, and his target date is Oct. 30 at Dallas.

Do the Rockets have a back-to-back this week?

Yes. They play at Dallas on Friday, Oct. 30, then host Oklahoma City on Saturday, Oct. 31, on NBA TV.

By the Rockets Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.