Joel Blank: Are the Astros poised to be the Golden State Warriors of baseball?

Hot Take

The Houston Astros should be dominant for years to come. Courtesy photo

The Warriors are definitely the gold standard for dynasties in professional sports right now, but the Astros certainly have the talent on the field and in front office to eventually be in that conversation. Of course, Houston needs to win another ring this season to have a serious discussion about this, but I wouldn't bet against them.

The Astros are loaded with Carlos Correa, Lance McCullers, and Alex Bregman all under 25 years old. Plus, the minor league system has several high-end players like Kyle Tucker and Forrest Whitley just waiting to get to the big leagues to make a name for themselves. Don't be surprised if the Astros become the Warriors of baseball sooner than later.

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Jalen Green had a big game! Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Jalen Green scored 35 points, Alperen Sengun added 24 points and 13 rebounds and the Houston Rockets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 121-115 on Friday night.

Green finished 12 of 24 from the floor and was 5 of 11 on 3-pointers. Amen Thompson finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for Houston, which shot 50%, including 13 of 26 on 3-pointers.

Jabari Smith Jr had 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench in his first game back after missing 22 games with a broken bone in his left hand.

Anthony Edwards scored 37 points on 13-of-32 shooting, including 4 of 14 on 3-pointers. Edwards scored 25 points in the first half on 8-of-15 shooting, including 3 of 7 on 3-pointers.

Naz Reid had 22 points and eight rebounds, Jaden McDaniels added 21 points and Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 16 points for Minnesota, which shot 45%, including 11 of 39 on 3-pointers.

Takeaways

Timberwolves: Mike Conley returned to the lineup after missing four games with a sprained right index finger, but he was in foul trouble for most of the night and finished with five points in 24 minutes.

Rockets: One area that coach Ime Udoka pointed to before the game where Smith’s return would help was rebounding. Houston outrebounded the Timberwolves 48-35.

Key moment

Tied at 108, Green made a 3-pointer with five minutes remaining to kickstart Houston’s 9-2 run to open up a seven-point lead with 48 seconds left.

Key stat

Edwards was 1 for 6 in the fourth quarter, including 1 of 4 on 3-pointers. He scored 3 points in the quarter as Houston sent double teams at him.

Up next

Minnesota hosts Oklahoma City on Sunday night, while Houston travels to Utah on Saturday night.

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