Firing on both ends
The 10-3 Houston Rockets are on a roll, and they have now put together seven straight wins. What’s surprising is that, contrary to the norm, defense has been playing a big role in this Mike D’Antoni team’s success. In the streak, they are compiling an average winning margin of 13 points while also holding their opponents to just 41.6% shooting.
The offense, of course, isn’t getting left behind. They are posting 116.1 points and 16.6 threes during the span with James Harden punishing defenses with his superb scoring. The Beard is mid-season form, averaging a whopping 40.3 points and 6.6 threes in his last seven, which includes three consecutive 40-plus point games.
With the current Blazers known to struggle against elite swingmen, Harden is poised to continue his hot run, and it shouldn’t be earth-shattering news should he drop 50 points.
The Blazers
The 5-8 Portland Trail Blazers finally stopped some of the bleeding this past Sunday. They collected a 121-116 road win over the San Antonio Spurs in only their second victory in seven games.
It was a win that should bump the team’s confidence, but they must stay focused and know that they are still ways away from taking themselves out of a deep hole.
With their hopes for the newly-signed Carmelo Anthony still hanging in the balance – since he’s still not expected to make his team debut yet – Damian Lillard would have to continue to do the heavy lifting. He’s logging in 29.5 points, 6.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game on the season, all of which are team-highs.
A small bit of good news for Lillard is the resurgence from his backcourt partner, CJ McCollum, who’s finally rising from the mediocrity grave. McCollum is scoring 24.5 points and shooting over 49% in his last four games, and will be fresh off a 32-points performance, his second-highest output this season.
PREDICTION:
The Rockets get the win and Harden maintains his hot streak.
Watchout for the Russell Westbrook-Damian Lillard match-up. There’s clearly no love lost there – Russ is out for revenge for last year’s playoff ousting, and Dame always brings his A-game whenever he’s opposite Russ.
