Houston Rockets vs. Milwaukee Bucks game preview

After beating back their personal demons in a win over the San Antonio Spurs, Houston is riding high.

That’s the surefire sign that a letdown game is approaching, and the Milwaukee Bucks are coming to town to make that happen. Houston has won 12 in a row, mostly in blowouts. Meanwhile, the Bucks have dropped two straight, including against the Bulls at home last night.

The expectation tonight should be an ugly contest. Both of these squads played last night, and the Bucks are having to travel from Wisconsin down to Houston overnight.

It’s time to start looking at the blueprint for how to beat this Rockets team, besides the inevitable game where Houston goes ice cold. The teams that will give Houston trouble would have plenty of scorers, at least one great rim defender, and the ability to defend James Harden and Chris Paul with multiple guys.

Obviously the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics have those attributes, but the Bucks check some of those boxes as well. They have long bigs in John Henson and Thon Maker, a cadre of good/great scorers, and they have that Giannis Antetokounmpo guy.

The Greek sensation was a trendy preseason MVP pick, and it’s easy to see why. Averaging 30 points, 10 boards, and sporting a ridiculous 31.35 PER (that’s second to LeBron and ahead of Harden and Paul). He’ll be a load to handle and if he’s got the energy he’ll make life tough on a shortened Rockets wing rotation.

Tip-off is at 7pm CT