The Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors are two of the best offensive teams in the western conference and the matchup on Friday night will be going down at ORACLE Arena on ESPN starting up at 10:30 pm and streaming online and has Dwight Howard and company taking on Stephen Curry in California.
The Rockets have been one of the best offensive teams in the league while scoring over 107 points per game and the team is ranked first in points per contest and first in rebounding with Howard, who has put in a number of 20-plus rebound games already this season. The Rockets are coming off of a tough loss against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center on Thursday night on TNT and the team now is making its way down the west coast for their road trip, as they will play against the Golden State Warriors before heading to play the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. The Blazers have been the surprise team in the NBA this season and they took down the 15-8 Rockets and now Houston will face the 13-10 Warriors. The Rockets have been allowing over 100 points per game and they are ranked 20th in assists per game and having Jeremy Lin back in the lineup will help that.
Check here for the ESPN coverage of the Houston Rockets and the Warriors.
Howard has made a huge impact on the team and he comes into the game on Friday for the second in a back to back after dropping 32 points and 17 rebounds in the loss to the Blazers and James Harden led the way with seven assists. Harden is leading the team in scoring and he has been playing very well with Howard in the lineup and now the biggest question going forward for the Rockets will be whether they trade Omer Asik or not, as a number of teams have shown interest but the high price tag has been an issue for the Rockets.
The Warriors come into the game after a two point win against the Dallas Mavericks that saw Steph Curry have some heroics and he led the team in scoring with 33 points and ended up in double figures with 10 assists, while Andrew Bogut had one of his best games of the season with 18 rebounds and now the two explosive teams will go at it on Friday night. The Warriors come in ranked in the top 10 in scoring with over 100 points per game, while the defense has been solid behind Mark Jackson, allowing 99 points per contest. The Warriors are ranked eighth in rebounding and the battle between Bogut and Howard should be fun to watch and the team is also 11th in assists per game. The Warriors will next play the Phoenix Suns on the road and that game will be on Sunday.