The Houston Rockets travel to Arizona to face the Phoenix Suns at Phoenix Suns Arena on Monday.

The Rockets (14-39) have had a rough season. It all started when James Harden demanded a trade in the second week, and things have not improved since then. The craziest thing about this season is the fact that Houston started with an 11-10 record. That means they have a 3-29 record over their last 32 games in total, easily the worst mark in the NBA. That’s obviously a really discouraging sign, but there are things to be encouraged by. Christian Wood and John Wall have developed a nice duo for the future, while youngsters like Kevin Porter and Jae’Sean Tate have evolved nice roles on this roster. That has them in a good spot for the future, especially when you consider all the draft picks they possess from the Harden trade and the inevitable top pick they’ll get this year.

The Suns (37-15) have pretty much had the exact opposite season from the Rockets. They started the year with an 8-8 record and have gone on to win 29 of their last 36 games since then. That’s obviously one of the best marks in the NBA, and it has Phoenix battling for the top spot in the Western Conference. They currently sit just 2.5 games back of the Utah Jazz, which is a borderline miracle when you see what they’ve been doing this year. The addition of Chris Paul is the thing that’s gotten them to this point, giving this club some much-needed leadership. That pairs wonderfully with the development of guys like Mikal Bridges, Deandre Ayton, and Devin Booker, making this one of the scariest teams in the NBA right now. The next step is to see what they can do in the postseason, but an 8-0 run in last year’s bubble is a good test to see what they can do in a similar environment.

These teams have played twice this season, with Phoenix winning both games. That has actually snapped a rather dominant stretch from the Rockets, winning 20 of their previous 23 games over the Suns in this series.