There are few more dreaded days on the calendar for an NBA coach than an extended trip to Los Angeles. It doesn't matter how good either team is at that moment in time, because the headache for coaches stems from the nightlife scene. To be clear, there are other NBA cities with great nightlife for players, but none are as famous for delivering “schedule losses” as Los Angeles. So with the Houston Rockets spending their next four days there, NBA lifer Stephen Silas is perfectly aware of what it entails for his young team.

“You say a little something about it, but the ultimate teacher is experience,” said Silas. “Them going through it will hopefully help them for the future. I mentioned the seriousness of this trip that we have coming up for sure.”

This is the first extended trip this young Rockets team will have together as a group. Four days in Los Angeles followed by stops in Phoenix, Denver, and San Francisco add up to nine days on the road before they return to Houston on November 10th.

“Very much the experience of being together for nine days,” said Silas on what he hopes his group will learn on the upcoming trip. “Understanding that we're going into visiting arenas that aren't going to be super friendly to us and playing against very good teams. It is a big part of the growth of our team. Understanding how serious the NBA is and how hard it can be.”

There is something special about this coming trip for the young players on the roster. In the '90s, the Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden were the quintessential landmark NBA arenas. It's where players enjoyed being under the bright lights of playing in a historic arena. While those remain special venues, a new arena could make a pretty strong case for being a landmark: the Staples Center. Since it's opening in 2000, it's seen five NBA championships from the Lakers and hosted legends like LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Anthony Davis, and Pau Gasol.

“I mean the lights are different when you go in there,” said the Rockets head coach. “They have all the banners and what not. So yeah, for their generation, it's probably is [special].”

Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. is probable for tomorrow (ankle) and playing in Staples Center is added motivation for him.

“We played at Staples [Center] against TSU and I was hurt that game so I never played,” said Porter Jr. “In Cleveland, I was hurt in Staples. Last year, I wanted to play in Staples. Everytime my team played [in Staples Center], I was hurt. So I definitely want to play this time around.”

Porter Jr. will test out his ankle during shootaround on Sunday before giving it a go, but all indications are that he should be ready to go.

“Those landmarks like Staples [Center] and Madison Square Garden, you always dream of playing on that floor or even watching a game there,” continued Porter Jr. “So being able to play, have that energy from the fans, and being a key focus on that court is crazy. I definitely look forward to playing in a place like that.”

For Rockets rookie Jalen Green, playing in Los Angeles is the closest thing to playing a game at home.

“LA is close to home, Fresno,” said Green. “Three hours from LA. So it's like right up the street. During pre-draft, that's where I was the whole time. I was based in LA. I kind of made LA like a home. It's going to mean a lot to play at Staples.”

Playing against this Lakers roster specifically is also special if you grew watching the NBA at all over the last decade. The Lakers have a plethora of future Hall of Famers on the team, including LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, and Rajon Rondo. In total, there's a combined 56 All-Star appearances on the team.

“We grew up seeing these players play at a high level and now you look across and you're defending them,” said Porter Jr. “You're guarding them and trying to beat them. It's just a blessing and a realization for me to stay motivated and stay grinding. I'm here, but there are levels to this league. I just want to get to their level, so I gotta keep going.”

It's really difficult to put yourself in the shoes of a rookie going up against a 36-year-old LeBron James. The closest thing that comes to mind is someone from the 1997 NBA rookie class – Tracy McGrady, for example – going up against Michael Jordan in his last season on the Bulls (age 34). It's natural to feel a combination of admiration and being starstruck.

“You kind of look at LeBron as like a superhero,” said Green. “The way he carries himself. He's been in the league for so long. He's still moving the way he moving.”

It will certainly be interesting to see if Houston can steal one of these upcoming games in Los Angeles.