Watch the Golden State Warriors take on the Houston Rockets live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Friday morning (1am)
Friday 16 November 2018 04:58, UK
Last year’s Western Conference finalists meet for the first time in this campaign as the Golden State Warriors visit the Houston Rockets, live on Sky Sports Arena on Friday at 1am.
The Warriors (12-3) lead the Western Conference standings but it has not been plain sailing for the defending champions. They will face the Rockets without Steph Curry who, nursing a groin strain, will travel with the team but not play.
Draymond Green will return after his team-imposed one-game suspension following his verbal altercation with team-mate Kevin Durant in the Warriors' loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. It will be fascinating to see if Green and Durant are able to put the incident behind them.
The Rockets (6-7) have struggled from the outset this season. Injuries to key players James Harden, Chris Paul and Eric Gordon saw them slump to a shocking 1-5 start.
Their recovery to 6-7 hasn't been without problems either. After an awful 98-80 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Rockets announced summer signing Carmelo Anthony would no longer be part of the team. Houston and the veteran star are expected to officially part company in due course.
The former Oklahoma City Thunder team-mates are the primary scorers for their current teams and the prospect of the pair engaging in a head-to-head scoring duel is a mouth-watering prospect.
After battling early-season injuries, 2018 MVP Harden has looked back to his best in recent games, scoring 40 points in Houston's win over the Indiana Pacers and dropping 19 second-half points as the Rockets defeated the Denver Nuggets.
Durant has been at his slick-scoring best from the outset of this campaign, averaging 27.5 points per game at a characteristically-efficient 53.5 per cent field goal percentage. With Curry sidelined, KD - along with Klay Thompson - will carry extra scoring responsibility against the Rockets.
29.9 - That's the Warriors average number of assists per game - the best in the NBA.
Don't think Curry's absence will stop Golden State from sharing the basketball. Durant, Green and Andre Iguodala are all skilled distributors and will ensure the ball continues to move.
That could spell trouble for the Rockets, whose defense, so tenacious against the Warriors in last season's playoffs, has been weakened by the summer departures of veterans Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute.
The third-year guard has filled in at the point when Curry has been out before and proved he can score and distribute.
During a Curry injury absence in March 2018, Cook produced 25, 28 and 30-point games, performances which earned him a two-year deal with the Warriors.
With Curry ruled out for all three games on this Warriors' road trip, Cook will have another chance to impress.
At his best, 'CP3' controls games with his passing skills and court vision. The trouble is the floor general hasn't been anywhere close to his elite best thus far.
Whether that is due to nagging injuries or advancing years, Paul's field goal percentage of 41.9 per cent and 7.5 assists per game are well short of the standards he has set during his 14-year career.
Will another crack at the Warriors inspire his best form?
Sky Sports is the new home of the NBA in the UK with live coverage throughout the week, including selected live games free to all Sky subscribers via Sky Sports Mix.
And www.skysports.com/nba will be your home for news, reports, video and features throughout the season while you can follow us @SkySportsNBA
