The Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets could both be playing without several of their key stars as they face off on Tuesday night. Both teams are looking to make statements heading into the final weeks of the regular season as they fight for position in their respective conferences. The Hawks are dealing with injuries to several key starters while the Rockets are forced to play the game without leading-scorer James Harden.
Houston is entering a tough portion of their schedule against three of the league's top teams. They started things off with a controversial win over the Cleveland Cavaliers that saw Harden get suspended for one game. Harden was served the suspension after he kicked LeBron James in the groin after the two got into a heated defensive matchup. The absence of Harden will certainly be felt on the roster as he continues to build an MVP-style. Already playing without Dwight Howard, Terrence Jones and Trevor Ariza will be relied upon heavily.
The team is currently 19-8 without Howard, but has struggled against top teams in the league recently. However, they have confidence after the win over the Cavaliers, while in the middle of a five-game win streak. They have won eight of their last 11 against teams with a winning record thanks to players like Jones who is averaging 18.5 points in his last four games on 60.4 percent shooting while Ariza has been dominating from beyond the arc.
The Rockets could take advantage of an ailing Hawks team. Al Horford, DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Teague all sat out in the win over the Miami Heat. Paul Millsap led the way with 22 points while averaging 20.0 points during Atlanta's four-game win streak. Kent Bazemore and Dennis Schroder led the reserves with 15 and 16 points respectively. The Hawks are currently 21-8 against teams above .500 but have not been the scoring threat they were in the first half of the season. The Hawks will look to increase their perimeter shooting against a Rockets team very capable of doing the same.
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