The end of an era.

I was excited to watch the Rockets play the Lakers, the best team they've faced so far this season. The Lakers looked really good, and the Rockets didn't.

Orlando came into Houston, 6-2, 3-0 on the road, but missing 6 players. It showed. The game was over about 6 minutes into the 1st quarter.

The Rockets were on the road but Eric Gordon was coming home. The Rockets were missing Christian Wood this game, who was out with a sore left knee, and boy did we need him.

The starting lineup for the Houston Rockets was James Harden, Daniel House Jr., PJ Tucker, Christian Wood, and JOHN WALL! On the Rocket annual New Years Eve game, and the first home game of the season, we saw a mostly-fully activated roster for the first time all seasons.

This was a bad game for the Houston Rockets. The final score was 111 - 124 but it wasn't even that close. The Nuggets finished the game with more points, rebounds, assists, and blocks.

We finally saw this Rockets team hit the court and saw a partial-glimpse of what this team could become. A dominant offense team, with a balanced mix of inside-outside scoring, and a good defensive team, with scrapy players looking to make a name for themselves.