The Rockets face the Magic at home! The injury list is released: Houston’s 1 starter and 2 substitutes are absent, and the away team Banqueiro will not play.

The Rockets will face the Orlando Magic on the morning of November 17th. Both teams are so-called strong teams, but the Rockets are even better. Now the Rockets have 8 wins and 3 losses after 11 games. They are ranked third in the Western Conference, with a winning rate of 72.7%. They are only 1.5 wins away from the Nuggets, which is second in the Western Conference. However, the Rockets must win this game.

The Magic are not particularly strong against the Rockets. If the Rockets lose again, they will be overtaken by the Los Angeles Lakers, fourth in the Western Conference. The Lakers just defeated the powerful Milwaukee Bucks and won two consecutive games, and their momentum is catching up with the Rockets. The Rockets' lead is now only 0.5 games. If they lose, the Lakers will easily surpass the Rockets and become third in the Western Conference, while the Rockets may fall to fourth or even fifth in the Western Conference.

The Spurs, Suns, and Timberwolves behind them are all eyeing the Rockets' position, and the gap between them is not big. Therefore, when the Rockets face the Magic at home, they can only win, not fail. However, it seems that the Rockets have a higher probability of winning. Although the Magic have won three consecutive victories, their current record is only 7 wins and 6 losses, with a winning rate of 53.8%, ranking 9th in the Eastern Conference. Moreover, in recent games, the Magic have been without Benqueiro, an All-Star power forward, and can only be replaced by Silva.

Although the Magic have been in good form recently, with Wagner Jr., Bane, etc. all able to perform in the game, facing the Houston Rockets, one of the strongest teams in the Western Conference, the Magic still pales in comparison in terms of overall strength. Moreover, the Rockets are playing at home. If they can play with the intensity of the previous games, winning will not be a problem for the Rockets. The overall performance of the Magic this season is not as good as expected, and although the Rockets are missing their core guard VanVleet, on the offensive end, the Rockets have blossomed more. They are now one of the strongest offensive teams in the league, and they are also the best three-point shooting team in the league.

The Rockets are facing off against the Magic, and the injury list for this game has also been released. The Rockets' VanVleet is out for the season and will not play in this game; Finney Smith is still recovering from ankle surgery and will also miss this game; and the Rockets' backup forward Ethan suffered an oblique muscle strain and will be sidelined for 4 to 6 weeks. The next game will also be the first game he misses.

So, the Rockets' starter VanVleet and two substitutes Finney Smith and Ethan are both absent. The absence of three key players has caused a serious decline in the Rockets' overall strength. Fortunately, the Rockets still have many players available on their bench, such as Holiday, Tate, Jeff Green, Davidson, etc. Udoka will not be stretched in terms of formation.

For the Magic, their core player Banqueiro is injured and is not expected to play in this game. Therefore, the Magic are missing their strongest star, and the Rockets are also missing three core players. Both teams have been greatly affected by injuries. However, the Rockets also have Shen Jing, Durant, Amen Thompson, and Sheppard, a young shooter who has performed extremely well recently. I believe the probability of defeating the Magic should be high.