Charlotte Hornets Gameday: at the Houston Rockets
8 p.m., Toyota Center
TV: Fox Sports Southeast Radio: WFNZ-AM 610.
Projected Starters
Hornets | Rockets | |||||
Pos, Player | PPG | RPG | Pos, Player | PPG | RPG | |
G K. Walker | 18.2 | 4.2 | G P. Beverley | 8.5 | 2.6 | |
G N. Batum | 16.5 | 6.5 | G J. Harden | 28.9 | 6.2 | |
F P. Hairston | 5.0 | 2.4 | F T. Ariza | 11.5 | 5.3 | |
F M. Williams | 9.8 | 7.1 | F C. Capela | 8.1 | 7.0 | |
C C. Zeller | 8.0 | 4.7 | C D. Howard | 12.7 | 11.8 | |
Matchup to Watch
James Harden vs. P.J. Hairston: Harden is as hard to guard as any perimeter player in the NBA this side of Stephen Curry.
Observations
▪ Former Charlotte Bobcats assistant J.B. Bickerstaff is serving as Rockets interim coach after Kevin McHale was fired.
▪ The Hornets have had mixed results this season in road games against the Southwest Division. They won convincingly in Memphis and Dallas but were clobbered in San Antonio.
Tap-ins
▪ There has been lots of speculation around the league of late on whether the Rockets might be open to trading Dwight Howard.
▪ The Rockets swept the Hornets last season, 2-0, by an average margin of 14 points.
Did you know?
The Rockets have won nine in a row overall in this series and 10 in a row in Houston.
Rick Bonnell
This story was originally published December 20, 2015 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets Gameday: at the Houston Rockets."