Move over LeBron James. There’s a new King James making waves in the NBA. Houston’s James Harden has almost single-handedly won games for the Rockets with his high-octane scoring. But does he have what it takes to beat a complete team in the Atlanta Hawks? Read on as we breakdown this intriguing showdown when East (Atlanta) meets West (Houston).
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James Harden scored 33 points as the Houston Rockets beat LeBron James and the Cavaliers 105-103 on Sunday. The win marked the Rockets’ fifth straight win over Eastern Conference teams.
Harden has averaged 25.6 points on 44 percent shooting (37 percent from three) and making 48-of-58 from the charity stripe in Houston’s five-game tear against the East. He may have quite a challenge against Atlanta, which has limited him to 18 points on 31 percent shooting in the first matchup this season.
[sc:NBA240banner ]If Harden struggles again, he can still dish out the assists to his teammates especially for three-pointers. The Rockets sank in 15 threes in the first matchup, two shy of their season high. Patrick Beverley and Trevor Ariza may be likely targets of Harden’s passes. The two combined for seven three-pointers in the first matchup against the Hawks.
Beverley appears to be on point after missing two games due to an illness. He has gone 5-for-12 from downtown over his last two games. Ariza had made 10-of-18 threes across back-to-back games before going 0-for-3 in three-point attempts against Cleveland.
What could seal this game for the Rockets is their rebounding. They have 55.3 rebounds per game over their last three, compared to Atlanta’s 47.7. Houston outrebounded Atlanta 43-37 (15-4 on the offensive board) in the first matchup of the season.
The Atlanta Hawks decided to give Al Horford, Pero Antic, DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Teague a rest, but they still managed to beat the Miami Heat, 93-91, on the road. Paul Millsap stepped up with 22 points, backup point guard Dennis Schröder chipped in 16 points and 10 assists, and Kent Bazemore added 15 points.
Atlanta figures to be more dangerous this time around with their stars returning from their day off. Having Teague back should give the Hawks more of a scoring punch against Houston. He’s averaging 16.3 points and 6.1 assists in February. Carroll’s outside shooting should be a fine addition to Atlanta’s offense. He made 3-of-5 attempts from downtown in the first matchup against the Rockets.
The return of Horford may be Atlanta’s key to victory against a Houston side missing center Dwight Howard. Horford had 14 points matching up against Houston’s big man in the first game this season.
The frontcourt pairing of Horford and Millsap (18.2 points and 8.4 rebounds in his last five games) should help Atlanta exploit Houston’s patchy inside defense which has allowed a combined 100 points in paint over their last two games.
Atlanta has won nine of its last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Hawks sweep their season series with Houston. Take Atlanta to win and cover the spread.
