Getty James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets reacts after a teammate was called for a foul against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of an NBA game on December 25, 2019 in San Francisco, California.
The Houston Rockets are set to make their season debut after having their first game postponed as they head to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers on Saturday.
The game starts at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on NBA TV (nationally), AT&T Sportsnet Southwest (in Rockets markets) and NBC Sports Northwest (in Blazers markets). But if you don’t have cable, here’s how you can watch a live stream of the Rockets vs Blazers online for free:
Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
All Markets: FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of NBA TV, AT&T Sportsnet Southwest (local markets), NBC Sports Northwest (local markets) and 130-plus other TV channels on FuboTV. You’ll need the main channel package and the “Sports Plus” add-on for NBA TV, but both of those can be included in your seven-day free trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch the Rockets vs Blazers live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV also comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the game on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
All Markets: Sling TV
Note: NBC Sports Northwest and AT&T Sportsnet Southwest are not available on Sling TV, but fans in those markets can watch the game on NBA TV
You can watch a live stream of NBA TV and 40-plus other TV channels via Sling TV’s Sling Orange plus Sports Extra bundle or Sling Blue plus Sports Extra bundle. Both come with a free three-day trial, but if you bypass that, you can get $10 off your first month, and get Showtime, Starz and Epix included for free:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch the Rockets vs Blazers live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV comes included with 10 hours of cloud DVR.
Blazers Markets: Hulu With Live TV
Note: NBA TV and AT&T Sportsnet Southwest are not included with Hulu
You can watch a live stream of NBC Sports Northwest (local markets) and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which you can try out for free with a seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch the Rockets vs Blazers live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu with Live TV also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Rockets vs Blazers Preview
There has been plenty of drama for the Rockets lately, which was multiplied on opening night when Houston’s first game was scrapped due to not having the league-required eight available players needed to proceed. That included former MVP James Harden, who was fined $50,000 and was “unavailable due to a violation of the Health and Safety Protocol.”
Harden and the Rockets are expected to be ready to go against Portland. When they do get on the court, it will be the first as a head coach for new Houston skipper Stephen Silas.
“It’s going to mean the world, it really is,” Silas said. “I’m not going to be concentrating on it, obviously. I’m sure it’ll mean a lot to him to watch the game, for me to get my text from my mom after the game talking about the bench needs to play better, my dad saying, ‘good game.’ It’s going to be an awesome feeling.”
But Silas is still dealing with the issue of Harden being disgrunted, reportedly wanting a trade and getting into it with teammates at practice.
“When you have competitive guys, you hope to have competitive practices,” Silas said, via Ben DuBose of USA TODAY. “That’s what we have. That’s what I want. I want competitors on this team.”
Rockets new guard John Wall — who came over in the Russell Westbrook trade with Washington — agreed.
“At the end of the day, we can’t focus on what James does off the court,” Wall said. “All we know is he comes in every day. He works hard. He’s been one of the leaders of our team in this locker room. That’s all we can ask for.”
The Blazers were overwhelmed by Utah in their opener, falling 120-100. It was especially tough for All-Star guard Damian Lillard, who was scoreless in the first half but finished with just 9 points.
“They came out from the jump and they were blitzing and trapping. I wasn’t really expecting that,” Lillard said. “But I just didn’t play a good offensive game.”
The Blazers were a popular pick to make noise in the Western Conference, but coach Terry Stotts knows they have a long way to go if they want to be considered a contender.
“I told the team we have to get better,” Stotts said. “It’s about us right now. Any NBA season, you worry about your opponent, and you prepare for your opponent, but right now we gotta get better.”