These Future Team Houston Rockets Deserve a Big Crowd For This NBA Cup Quarterfinal at Toyota — It’s Not Just a Checkpoint for Alperen Sengun & Jalen Green

Preparing in its high-tech new training center, with health and fitness data metric trackers up on the wall, it is fitting that the Houston Rockets are embracing the NBA Cup. The in-season tournament that’s brought real drama and stakes to November and December basketball is something that a team that wants to be the franchise of the future should be all in on.

And these Rockets are, grabbing onto the kind of clear national showcase moment that’s been missing since those James Harden playoff years.

“It’s fun,” Rockets point guard Fred VanVleet says. “It’s especially good for a young team like us that can take any experience in a kind of win-or-go-home type of mentality where everything’s on the line. Good test for us. Good experience for a young group.

“. . . It’s not another regular season game. For guys that haven’t been to the playoffs, I mean some of these guys have never played on TNT or whatever.”

The Rockets will be on TNT with an A Crew in this NBA Cup quarterfinal vs. their regular nemesis Golden State Warriors at 8:30 pm Wednesday night at Toyota Center. Win and the Rockets will move onto Las Vegas for the final four of the NBA Cup and a semifinal matchup with Oklahoma City. Which would be the brightest stage yet for Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green and Co.

“These are meaningful games that have something else — that have a different meaning to them,” second year Rockets coach Ime Udoka says. “You’re playing for something. Obviously with our record wise and where we’re at right now, there’s much more to achieve and so all these things are things we set forth.

“It’s good to see them have some rewards for the way we’re playing.”

The Rockets’ biggest game in years means plenty. Even if some sports traditionalists and the NBA’s version of no fun league finger wagers still balk at the NBA Cup. You’ll learn something more about Sengun and Green in this quarterfinal game, a game with real pressure and national attention. It’s far from a definitive final exam, but it’s certainly a checkpoint.

Everyone will learn something about Rockets fans too. These Rockets deserve a big crowd for this NBA Cup quarterfinal game. The Toyota Center should have real buzz. It’s going to be a rare legitimately cold day in Houston. No other big events are going on. You might be able to see Donald Trump’s first choice to be the new U.S. Ambassador to Italy sitting in the front row. A later after 8:30 pm tip time is not midnight. There are no real excuses for Rockets fans with the disposable income for tickets not to show. It’s even a marquee opponent, with Steph Curry and Draymond Green on the other side. Though that shouldn’t matter in a stage like this.

These Rockets, with guys like Tari Eason and Amen Thompson coming off the bench to change games, are so interesting and different from other teams in the league that even Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo have 16-8 Houston atop their NBA League Pass rankings. (As Simmons and Russillo still harp on their desire to see the Rockets make a trade at the same time — go figure.)

The point is there’s no valid excuse for not embracing this Rockets team any more. And the crowd for this NBA Cup quarterfinal should reflect that. Needs to reflect that.

“Since I come in the NBA, I couldn’t find a win against Golden State,” Alperen Sengun says. “So it’s going to be another competition for me and for the team, you know. . .”

“It’s not another regular season game. For guys that haven’t been to the playoffs, I mean some of these guys have never played on TNT or whatever.” — Rockets guard Fred VanVleet

When Sengun is asked what’s prevented the Rockets from breaking through against the Warriors, the man from Turkey is as straight forward as ever. “I don’t know bro,” he says. “I don’t know. We’ve got to break that. We’ve got to break whatever that is.

“. . . Whenever we’ve played a (in-season) tournament game, it’s had like a playoff feel. They letting us play hard like playoffs.”

The fun’s been back. Now the stakes are too.