Houston Rockets vs Golden State Warriors

(16-4)                             (18-2)

Start Time: 10:30 PM EST

TV Channel: Local/League Pass

Preview: Golden State hasn’t lost since November 11^th when they were shut down by San Antonio, and will look for their 19^th win tonight as they face off against a Howard-less Rockets team. The Warriors will look to Andrew Bogut as the man to step up as Houston is without one of the premier big-men in the NBA, Dwight Howard, as he recovers from a knee injury which first kept him out on Nov. 19th. This is going to be a very interesting game as Golden State is spectacular at home with a 7-1 record, but the Rockets are also outstanding while on the road with a record sitting at 8-1. The Rockets usually rely heavily on the defensive end, but with an elite defender wrapped up on the bench, they will most likely look to even it out on both sides of the court. While both teams are among the Top-6 in opponent points per game, this one is going to come down to who can finish off more of their opportunities on the offensive end. Consistency is going to determine who will come out of this game with the victory.

Prediction: I believe that the Golden State Warriors will pull off a close win in this matchup mostly due to two reasons; 1.) James Harden can’t play defense so Klay Thompson will take advantage of this and have a big game 2.) Warriors are coming into this game on a 13-game win streak and are the unquestioned hottest team in the NBA right now which could propel them to the ‘W’ if this were to turn out to be a close one

Points Per Game Leaders:

HOU – James Harden (25.2 PPG) GSW – Stephen Curry (23.1 PPG)

Rebounds Per Game Leaders:

HOU – Dwight Howard (11.3 RPG) GSW – Andrew Bogut (9.3 RPG)

Assists Per Game Leaders:

HOU – James Harden (6.6 APG) GSW – Stephen Curry (7.7 APG)