The Washington Wizards are hosting the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night in an attempt to rebound from a beatdown at the hands of the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
The Wizards are in a free-fall; they’ve dropped 20 of their last 22 games and look like they’ll end the season as one of the worst teams in NBA history. The rebuild is still in the process of beginning, but that does not excuse the lackadaisical basketball Washington has wheeled out all season long.
Houston, meanwhile, is beginning to turn the corner into a new epoch. After several years of Wizardsesque misery following the James Harden trade, the Rockets finally nailed down an identity last offseason and have been competitive all year long.