Coming off a loss to Denver on Wednesday, James Harden, Jeremy Lin and the Houston Rockets (22-22) are looking to avoid a losing record Friday night when they visit the surging New Orleans Hornets (14-28) in Louisiana.
The expected name change of New Orleans' NBA franchise from the Hornets to the Pelicans has some fans and critics either applauding or laughing at the franchise's new name.
The Rockets' current losing cycle, having lost eight of their last 10 games, has their players and fans doing neither. And it all started on Jan. 9--with an 88-79 loss to the Hornets at the New Orleans Arena, where the game will take place Friday night.
Prior to that, the Rockets were on a five-game winning streak; since then, the Rockets have lost eight of their last nine games. Meanwhile, the Hornets, who has struggled this season, have won seven of their last 10 games and are starting to rally behind Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson.
Do newly-minted NBA All-Star James Harden and Jeremy Lin have what it takes to turn the tide tonight against a Hornets team with momentum behind them? Or will New Orleans best their Southwest Division rival once again?
Latinos Post breaks down the key match-ups for tonight's game:
Power forward: Anthony Davis, Hornets vs. Patrick Patterson, Rockets
Davis has been hampered with injuries for much of his rookie season, the latest one coming on Monday when he rolled his ankle during a 114-105 win against Sacramento. In three games against Houston this season, he is only averaging 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds, underwhelming numbers for such a promising rookie star.
Patterson, however, has been struggling to get back in form himself after a foot injury, though he did score 10 points on four-of-seven shooting in Wednesday's 105-95 loss to Denver. At 6'9", he'll be at a height disadvantage against the 6'10" Davis, but he will have to step it up on defense. Davis can still be a dangerous offensive player, and without the right pressure, Davis can easily drop 20 points on the Rockets.
Advantage: Hornets
Small forward: Al-Farouq Aminu, Hornets vs. Chandler Parsons, Rockets
The 6'9" Aminu has some scoring pop in him, having scored 14 or more points in three of his last four games. And his rebounding has significantly ticked up, grabbing 10.0 rebounds in the last five games. Parsons has been consistently improving in the last few games, but had an off-night against Denver, scoring only six points on 2-of-8 shooting.
Advantage: Hornets
Center: Robin Lopez, Hornets vs. Omer Asik, Rockets
Lopez has been seeing his minutes fluctuate as of late, and his 8.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in the last five games is far from the 12.8 point December where he had several strong games on offense. Still, his size and quickness mean that Asik, who is grabbing 10.6 rebounds with 9.6 points in his last five games, is going to have a battle on his hands. On offense, Asik has to keep the lane clear for Harden, Lin and others to drive to the basket.
Advantage: Rockets
Shooting Guard: Eric Gordon, Hornets vs. James Harden, Rockets
This will be one matchup to watch.
Gordon, the Hornets' top scorer, has been looking like his old self ever since returning from right knee surgery, scoring 17.3 points in his last nine games and leading the way on offense for New Orleans.
Meanwhile, if there was any doubt of whether Harden was a superstar or not, he silenced those doubts with his first-ever NBA All-Star Game selection on Thursday. His shooting has suffered in the last five games, shooting only 28.9 percent, but he perked up with an 8-of-17 night for 23 points against Denver on Wednesday.
He scored 28.7 points against the Hornets in the last three games; if Harden can set the tone on offense, the Rockets' No.2 ranked league offense could run roughshod.
Advantage: Rockets
Point Guard: Greivis Vasquez, Hornets vs. Jeremy Lin, Rockets
Vasquez has punished the Rockets through their season series, putting up 18.7 points and a whooping 11.3 assists against Houston. That means Lin, whose point production has dropped in the last three games, is going to have to try and keep Vasquez contained, perhaps with help from Harden. For Lin to make a dent on offense, he's going to have to take 10 or more shots.
Advantage: Hornets
Bench
For the Rockets, Carlos Delfino continues to be their best reserve player off the bench, scoring 16 points on 6-for-13 shooting on Monday. Marcus Morris also had a strong game, and could easily be alternated as a starter again after his solid stretch starting for the once-injured Patterson. Meanwhile, Patrick Beverly has been seeing more playing time as of late, and could respond in a big way if he has more time tonight.
Ryan Anderson could easily be a starter, but the Hornets get a boost having their second-best scorer (16.9 points this season) come off the bench. Jason Smith, who has scored 9.0 points in the last 10 games, could see more time at power forward if Davis's ankle becomes an issue Friday. And point guard Brian Roberts serves as a capable backup to Vasquez.
Advantage: Rockets
Game Time, TV Schedule
Game time starts at 8 p.m. EST. Live score is available via TV Companion, here.
Live Streaming
Live Streaming for the Game is can be seen via NBA League Pass. (FREE Trial Tonight)
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