Houston Rockets @ Atlanta Hawks: Game 6: Sneak Peek Analysis
The time has come and perhaps the newest rivalry the Houston Rockets will have is now upon us.
The time has come and perhaps the newest rivalry the Houston Rockets will have is now upon us.
What am I talking about?
The Houston Rockets will be facing Dwight Howard and the Atlanta Hawks tonight on the road in their house.
As you know, Howard didn’t depart on the best of terms as he decided to take his talents back to ATL, which is his native city.
Although it’s apparent that Howard doesn’t have any ill-will toward his former teammate in James Harden, there’s no doubt that he wanted to have a larger role in the offense.
He wasn’t getting that here and he is now a prominent piece to the Hawks’ schemes.
It doesn’t hurt also that he wanted to cash-in the NBA’s latest windfall of cash as result of humongous television deal that went into effect this season.
Howard signed a three-year, $70.5 million deal in the off season securing himself financially into the next oblivion.
I can’t blame him because the Rockets we’re looking to move in a different direction as it was apparent that both he and Harden weren’t great fits personality-wise.
I’d envision last year’s locker room as Civil War-scene where teammates had to pick sides and that’s certainly not the environment to thrive in.
That could explain last season’s underachieving, nonchalant-type performance.
But the Houston Rockets have a game to play tonight and let’s hope they leave all on the floor tonight against an improved defensive team with the addition of Howard — they have had some great battles thus far and I want to continue seeing them!
So who’s leading the charge for the Hawks?
Paul Millsap is the current leader in scoring (16.8 PPG), Dwight Howard in rebounds (12.0 RPG) and blocks (2.0 BPG), Dennis Schroeder in assists (5.4 APG) and Thabo Sefolosha in steals (2.8 SPG).
Let’s talk about what the Hawks do well.
They’re defensively sound. The Hawks are tied for 2nd in the NBA — along with the Charlotte Hornets — in defensive efficiency, allowing just 94.1 points per 100 possessions.
They’re effective at moving the ball around. The Hawks are tied for 3rd — along with the Milwaukee Bucks — in assist ratio, with 19.2 percent of their possessions ending with an assist.
They crash the boards with ferociousness. The Hawks are 6th in rebound rate, grabbing the boards on 52.7 percent of missed shots.
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Injuries:
Patrick Beverley had successful surgery last Tuesday — it was a minor knee scope to clean up some the damage that had occurred from his injury. He will be OUT tonight and is targeting to return back the hardwood between Nov. 15 and Nov. 21.
Tiago Splitter has been battling a hamstring injury as is estimated to return sometime by the middle of the month. He will be OUT tonight.
Source(s): Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle and Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Four Things to Watch:
- James Harden vs. Kyle Korver
- Eric Gordon vs. Dennis Schroeder
- Trevor Ariza vs. Kent Bazemore
- Clint Capela vs. Dwight Howard
Prediction:
106-100 in a Houston Rockets’ loss.
The Rockets continue their five-game road trip making their third stop with the Hawks at Philips Arena.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CDT.
The game will be televised on ROOT Sports Southwest and broadcast on SportsTalk 790 AM (KBME), Sirius/XM/SiriusXM Internet 890 and La Ranchera 101.7 FM (KNTE) & 850 AM (KEYH) in Spanish.
Go Rockets!