Ball Pressure, Shooting are Two Things to Watch in Rockets vs. Bulls

The Houston Rockets are looking to build off a two-game winning streak as they begin a four-game road trip. They'll begin that stretch tonight against the Chicago Bulls. On the surface, this looks like an easy win for the visitors, but anything can happen, and the Rockets have had instances in which they've played down to the competition.

The Bulls are trending down in the final stretch of the season. They were in the postseason race to start the year, but it was clear they had to fully rebuild. Chicago made an astounding number of trades at the deadline, while Houston ended up with zero.

It's a tale of two different directions, but these paths will cross tonight at 7 p.m. CT. Here are two things to watch:

Ball Pressure

These are two groups that have a major turnover problem. For the Bulls, who are 28-42, that isn't as much of a concern compared to the Rockets, who are fighting for title contention.

Since Chicago made that flurry of trades, the team is 29th in assist-to-turnover ratio, one spot in front of Houston. The Bulls are also 28th in turnover percentage. Anfernee Simons and Jaden Ivey are out tonight, so that leaves a backcourt rotation of Josh Giddey, Collin Sexton and Tre Jones.

Meanwhile, the Rockets have been extremely poor in terms of handling ball pressure. Without a true point guard, they've been taken advantage of by opponents, who constantly throw double teams or high-end defenders at initiators as soon as they cross half-court.

Keep an eye on how each team handles the perimeter defense, because this game could get sloppy if these weaknesses are exposed.

Perimeter Shooting

It's fascinating how much these two teams have in common despite practically having opposite records. The Bulls are a poor shooting team, having traded Kevin Huerter, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu for a more slash-heavy offense.

Since the Feb. 5 deadline, Chicago is shooting 34.7% from deep, which ranks 22nd in the NBA. The Rockets, on the other hand, have dipped since the first half of the season at 35.4%, good for 15th.

But as much as these two have struggled to knock down threes, Houston's struggles have also come with a lack of attempts. The Rockets have shot just 31.6 per game since Feb. 5, which ranks 25th. The Bulls, as bad as they are, have still taken the sixth-most in the league at 41.4.

Perhaps the insertion of Reed Sheppard into the starting lineup will improve perimeter shooting. Chicago loves to take deep shots. If the Bulls get hot, it could be bad news for the Rockets.