Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors preview: Big night in H-town

The Houston Rockets prepare to take on the defending champions as the Golden State Warriors visit Toyota Center tonight.

The Houston Rockets (31-12) prepare for an enormous evening as the Golden State Warriors (37-9) make their way to Houston tonight.

While both teams have dealt with injuries, tonight both squads will come in at their strongest and will go at it hard. The Rockets welcomed back star guard James Harden last game and will hope he’s shaken some of the rust off.

Meanwhile, the Warriors are coming into town after spending the previous four games on the road. However, both teams should be rested as neither team has played since Wednesday.

Let’s take a look at the injury report for tonight.

Injury Report

Although it says injury report, the players missing tonight have nothing to do with injury. Trevor Ariza and Gerald Green will be out tonight as part of their two game suspension from the Clippers locker room incident.

As expected, the Warriors look like they’ll be at full strength for tonight’s game.

Projected Starting Lineup

Rockets

James Harden/Chris Paul/Luc Mbah a Moute/Ryan Anderson/Clint Capela

Warriors

Stephen Curry/Klay Thompson/Kevin Durant/Draymond Green/Zaza Pachulia

Game Predictions

While the Rockets will be missing a key component in Trevor Ariza, expect Mbah a Moute to step in and hold down the wing position. Houston is a much more dangerous team when the backcourt is healthy and Eric Gordon sparks the second unit.

Expect nothing less than a high-paced and physical contest at the Toyota Center tonight. This is what the Rockets roster was assembled for. Tonight will be the final time these teams meet in the regular season. The Rockets took the first game on opening night and the Warriors won the first battle in Houston.

The next time these teams would meet is in the playoffs. As the standings currently sit, with the Warriors at No. 1 and the Rockets at No. 2, these teams wouldn’t meet up until the conference finals.

What a show the league is in store for tonight. The top 2 offenses, two teams that can defend, and plenty of star power to be on full display in Houston. My over/under score prediction is over 225 points.

Next: James Harden set to represent Houston in L.A. for the All-Star game

Indeed, expect lots of 3’s and flying offenses tonight. While these two rivals prepare for the final regular season showdown, this could also be a Western Conference Finals preview. Let us know in the comments section what you guys predict will happen! Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for more Rockets!