Can anyone stop the Houston Rockets?
Since Jeremy Lin and James Harden have figured things out on the offense, the Rockets (15-12), with the most dominating offense in the league (ranked first in team scoring with 106.0 points per game) have been ripping off four straight wins and have won six of their last 10 games, including impressive wins over the Knicks, the Memphis Grizzlies and Chicago, the latter being a 120-97 win on Christmas Day Tuesday.
However, the Rockets, who have a 4-7 win-loss record on the road, will be facing a tough challenge traveling to Minnesota to take on a Timberwolves team (13-12) who are sporting an 8-3 record at home in the Target Center, and are expected to have All-Star Kevin Love and a returning Ricky Rubio back, setting the stage for a one-on-one showdown between crowd favorites Rubio and Lin.
Latinos Post breaks down the key matchups for tonight's game:
Power Forward: Marcus Morris, Rockets vs. Kevin Love, Timberwolves
Amid Houston's struggling frontcourt, Morris seems to be filling in nicely. In the last 10 games, Morris is posting 10.2 points and 4.1 rebounds. But he's going to need to channel his inner defensive demon if he wants to avoid "feeling the Love" from Minnesota's top player.
Meanwhile, all systems are go for Love, who says he will play tonight after missing Sunday's game against the Knicks with a left eye injury. Love, a two-time NBA All-Star, has been critical for the Timberwolves offense since his return earlier this month, averaging 18.1 points and 12.9 rebounds in the last eight games.
Advantage: Timberwolves
Center: Omer Asik, Rockets vs. Nikola Pekovic, Timberwolves
Asik, coming off a marvelous 20-point, 18-rebound showing Tuesday against Chicago, is evolving into one of the most dangerous centers in the NBA. Defensive minded with the tenacity to rebound, the 26-year-old seven-footer from Turkey is averaging 11.1 points and 10.8 rebounds for December.
But he's matched by the 6'11" Pekovic, who has been a sheer force in the paint for the Wolves in the last 10 games, scoring 18.0 points and grabbing 9.2 rebounds.
Advantage: Even
Small Forward: Chandler Parsons/Greg Smith, Rockets, vs. Andrei Kirilenko, Timberwolves
Just as Parsons, who has been struggling in the last few games, regained his form with a solid 23-point outing against Chicago on Tuesday, he suffered a huge setback, suffering a knee injury that was visibly swelling. While he hasn't been officially ruled out of tonight's game, it is likely that Houston coach Kevin McHale will put Parsons on ice in order to avoid another critical injury to the Rockets frontcourt.
That leaves Smith, who had two solid double-digit scoring nights against Philadelphia (13 points) and Memphis (10 points) last week, in to face the 6'9" Kirilenko, who is having a very steady performance at the three-slot for Minnesota with 13.6 points and 5.9 rebounds for December.
Advantage: Timberwolves
Shooting guard: James Harden, Rockets vs. Alex Schved, Timberwolves
Even if Minnesota's starting point guard Malcolm Lee wasn't out, probably for the season, with a knee injury, and reserve Brandon Roy wasn't also on the injured list, this match-up would still favor the Rockets. Harden, the fourth-best scorer in the NBA (25.7 points per game) is on a tear right now, averaging 29.6 points in the last 10 games with 5.4 assists and 2.2 steals. The three-year veteran and last season's Sixth Man of the Year practically unstoppable right now as he makes his case to start in the NBA All-Star Game.
Meanwhile, the Russian-born Schved, 24, has taken a sliver of an opportunity with more playing time and emerged as a solid shooting, averaging 10.9 points and 5.6 assists in the last 10 games. He has the size at 6'6" and some skills to boot, but against Harden, at this point in time, this is asking a lot of Scved.
Advantage: Rockets
Point guard: Jeremy Lin, Rockets, vs. Ricky Rubio, Timberwolves
It's a showdown that's sure to entertain and wow fans, as two of the most sensational point guards in recent years meet one-on-one for only the second time in their careers.
Lin, coming off another impressive showing with 20 points and 11 assists in a 120-97 win over the Bulls on Christmas Night, has been hitting the right groove at the right time for the surging Rockets. In the past four games, Lin is averaging 18.7 points with 9.0 assists, looking more and more like the player that Houston envisioned getting alongside Harden.
The Timberwolves, meanwhile, are just glad to have Rubio back after he finished rehabbing his ACL in his left knee, which he tore in March against the Los Angeles Lakers. But so far, Rubio has been slow to start his comeback in the first four games of his return, averaging only 3.3 points and 4.5 assists, well below the 10.0 points and 7.9 assists he dished out when he was runner-up in Rookie of the Year honors last season.
The bottom line? Right now, Lin's hot and Rubio's not. And with Rubio just coming off the mend and possibly a little tepid on defense, if Lin plays as aggressively as he has in the last few games, this matchup could be the deciding factor for the game.
Advantage: Rockets
Live Score and Live Streaming
Game time starts at 8 p.m. EST.
For live streaming scores of tonight's game, click here.
To watch the game live, click on NBA's League Pass.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
