The Rockets organization is full of foodies. The coaching staff has their own Italian dinner circuit in every NBA city. Some of the players, most notably P.J. Tucker, have specific types of food they want to try. Tucker often spends gameday mornings visiting pancake establishments in different cities. He’ll often post a picture and review onto his Instagram story, making him an official unofficial food critic. To him, pancakes are the real deal and waffles are fake.



On March 5, with the Rockets seeking their sixth straight win and a tie for third place in the Western Conference, Tucker had something else to eat. Five hours before he was supposed to take on the task of individually defending Kawhi Leonard in a game against the Raptors, Tucker was eating spicy Thai food at a local Toronto establishment.



With just about 45 minutes remaining until tip-off, Tucker came out onto the court ready to warm up with trainer Irv Roland. There was a large sweat on...