Houston Rockets: James Harden likely to play against the Hawks

The Houston Rockets should get back their MVP candidate after he missed one of the biggest wins of the season last time out against the Warriors. Can the team take the Hawks serious tonight and be victorious?

The Houston Rockets are coming off a huge win over the rival Golden State Warriors. Without James Harden, the Rockets were able to catch them by surprise a bit and pull off the upset. The contributions from all around the team were extremely exciting to see.

Now, it’s looking that the Beard will be good to go tonight after the one-game absence. He has officially been upgraded from “questionable” to “probable,” so he should be good to go against the Hawks.

James Harden probable to play for Rockets vs. Hawks. Shumpert good to go.

— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) February 25, 2019

The Rockets will also have the assistance of Iman Shumpert back as well from his two-game injury. As Feigen noted on Twitter as well, Houston will be at full-strength for the first time this season. They are still missing Danuel House, though, if you want that to count towards the full-strength narrative (I know I do).

Still, it’s nice to see that everyone who can be on the roster and get minutes will. We’ll get to watch the Rockets have a run against the Hawks tonight as they look to continue to build chemistry.

The Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are currently the No. 12 team in the Eastern Conference, standing with a record of 20-40. They’ve had a rough season, as expected. That doesn’t mean this game will be easy, by any means.

They are 4-6 in their last 10 games, including a win over the Lakers before the All-Star Break. Trae Young has had a great rookie season and, if it weren’t for Luka Doncic, would be the Rookie of the Year in my opinion. Houston can’t afford to take the Hawks lightly, or they will surprise everyone.

The Rockets have already lost to the Cavs and the Pelicans without Anthony Davis, to name a couple of teams. They have the tendency to take games off and underestimate their opponent. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen tonight, as every win matters from here on out.

Harden 30 points

James Harden is still riding his crazy streak of 30+ points in 32 straight games now. Part of me wants that streak to end as it causes him to throw up wild shots at times in the fourth quarter, especially during the Lakers game, when he hasn’t reached it yet. However, I would like it to continue as he’s chasing another 30-point streak.

This season, James Harden has scored 30 or more against every team in the league but the Hawks and the Hornets, two teams the Rockets haven’t played yet. He’ll have two more chances at those teams, but it’d nice to knock one of them off tonight. He can keep it going into the next one too, as they plays the Hornets.

All that matters, though, is that the Rockets take care of business and beat the Hawks tonight. Let’s get it done.