The Golden State Warriors will be looking to make it three consecutive wins on the road this season when they visit the Toyota Center to face the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
This will be just the second meeting between the two sides this year, with the Warriors rolling past the Rockets 133-110 when they locked horns in Houston back in April.
Match preview
© Imago
The Houston Rockets picked up consecutive victories for the first time this season as they edged out the Dallas Mavericks 108-102 at the American Airlines Center on Thursday night.
Jalen Green maintained his fine start to the season as he dropped 23 points with a game-high 12 assists to complete his first double-double of the campaign and lead Houston to a one-sided victory.
This came off the back of a 36-point scoring night against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, when the 22-year-old fired the Rockets to a 106-101 victory over Gregg Popovich's men at the AT&T Center.
With Friday's victory, Houston now holds a 3-2 record from their opening five matches this season, brushing aside the Memphis Grizzlies, Spurs and most recently the Mavericks while averaging 110.6 points per game.
Next up for Ime Udoka's men is the challenge of taking on a Golden State Warriors side who have won each of their last 13 regular season meetings, stretching back to a 135-105 defeat in February 2020.
© Imago
Having blown out the New Orleans Pelicans 124-106 on Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors off against the Pelicans for the second consecutive night on Thursday as they cruised to a 104-89 victory at the Chase Center.
In the absence of Andrew Wiggins, De'Anthony Melton and floor general Steph Curry for the second consecutive game, offseason acquisition Buddy Hield put on a show once again, knocking down 21 points on 8-of-19 shooting in 29 minutes of action.
Draymond Green turned in a solid shift as he locked down Zion Williamson to just 12 points on 5-20 shooting from the field while finishing with six assists, four rebounds and 14 points, including 3-5 from beyond the arc, to finish as one of six Warriors players on double digits.
With Steve Kerr marking his 10th season in charge of the franchise, the Warriors have picked up four wins from their opening five games, with last Monday's 112-104 home loss against the Los Angeles Clippers being the exception.
This fine start to the campaign has been in keeping with their performances in pre-season, where GSW finished with a perfect 5-0 record, claiming victories over the Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Golden State Warriors have scored 119.8 points per game this season, averaging the third-highest tally in the league, they have also been solid on defence, where they are currently the league's second-best side, allowing just 99.4 points after the opening five matches.
- L
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Imago
Having recently recovered from a knee injury, Steven Adam's load management continued on Sunday as the veteran center was handed 10 minutes against the Dallas Mavericks on Halloween.
While Adams should feature in limited capacity once again, 22-year-old Alperen Sengun, who has averaged 15.2 points per game this season, should start at center once again.
Green has scored 20+ points in each of the five games this season while averaging 27.6 points and 5.4 assists per game so far, and he should carry Houston's offence once again
As for Golden State Warriors, Wiggins missed the game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday due to a back injury and will be considered day-to-day heading into this weekend's clash.
Curry missed the double-header against the Pelicans after coming off with an ankle injury against the Clippers last Monday and remains questionable for the Warriors while Melton is recuperating from a back injury.
Hield has enjoyed a fine start to life with the Warriors, and the 31-year-old, who joined from the Philadelphia 76ers in the offseason, has averaged 21.2 points per game this season while shooting 50% from 3-point range.
Houston Rockets possible starting 5:
Green, VanVleet, Sengun, Brooks, Smith
Golden State Warriors possible starting 5:
Podziemski, Moody, Jackson-Davis, Green, Hield
We say: Golden State Warriors to win by 7+ points
A short-handed Golden State Warriors side brushed aside the New Orleans Pelicans in their last two outings and will be looking to maintain their solid start to the campaign.
Off the back of picking up consecutive wins for the first time this season, the Houston Rockets will head into Sunday's tie to with confidence, but we predict that the Warriors will extend their dominant streak against Udoka's men at the Toyota Center.
Joshua Ojele
