Houston Rockets vs. Orlando Magic: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Spread and More

The Orlando Magic are hosting the Houston for their home opener and the Rockets' first game of the season.

All eyes will continue to be on Dwight Howard as his name has been linked with trade rumors since the offseason began.

He’s the biggest superstar participating in this game full of lesser-known players, and his performance tonight will be something to watch.

Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about this early season matchup.

Where: Amway Center, Orlando, FL

When: Monday, Dec. 26 at 7:00 p.m. EDT

Watch: NBA TV

Listen: KILT AM – Houston, WBDO 580 AM - Orlando

Betting Line: Orlando -5.5

Key Injuries

Orlando

No Major Injuries to Report

Houston

Samuel Dalembert – Probable (Acquired)

Patrick Peterson – OUT (Ankle)

What's At Stake?

The Rockets are opening their season and hoping to pull off an upset victory against the favored Magic to start it off right.

They have a lot of unproven and unknown players, including the recently added Johnny Flynn along with Luis Scola, Kyle Lowry, Kevin Martin and Courtney Lee.

Should they make a statement here, people will definitely know their names soon.

On the flip side, Orlando is trying to earn a big win after dropping their season opener.

They’ll have a packed house to see what may be Dwight Howard’s last home opener in a Magic uniform and are hoping that GM Otis Smith can convince him to stay.

That won’t be easy unless they start winning.

What They're Saying

Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle is reporting that head coach Kevin McHale might be forced to throw Samuel Dalembert out there against Howard on his first day with the team.

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“This is his first time with the team this morning,” McHale said. “It’s probably grossly unfair to throw him out there. We might have to anyway, just because of the guy we’re playing (Dwight Howard) and the fact he (Dalembert) has a comfort level understanding a little bit what Howard wants to do and where we’re going with him.”

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Dwight Howard told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel that it’s going to take some time for his team to gel, and that is why they looked rusty against the OKC Thunder.

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"It’s going to take a while because we’ve been off for a long time,” Howard said.

“For people who really don’t understand the game, it takes a while to get back into the swing of playing. No matter what you’ve done all summer, it’s just a different feeling when you’re out there playing against other people.”

Rockets Player to Watch: Jordan Hill

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The Rockets starting center is a former lottery pick by the New York Knicks but has not panned out the way he was expected to in the pros.

If he has truly improved at all in any way, he’ll have a chance to prove it against the best big man in the game right now, DH12.

Magic Player to Watch: Dwight Howard

Is Dwight content with his team or is he going to sulk through games and refuse to dominate easy matchups like tonight?

That’s the question that every NBA fan and especially Magic supporters want to know.

He looked average and rusty against the Thunder, so look for him to either turn it on tonight or continue this spell of poor play that’s been plaguing him since preseason.

Key Matchup: Center

If the Rockets can contain Howard with Jordan Hill, Samuel Dalembert and their other bigs, they can steal this game.

If Dwight chooses to play up to his abilities, Orlando will walk out with an easy win at home.

Prediction

Orlando 102 – Houston 90