Denver Nuggets vs. Houston Rockets Game Preview

The Matchup: Houston Rockets (4-4) at Denver Nuggets (4-4)

Location: Pepsi Center

Time: Friday, November 13 at 7 p.m. MT

How to Watch: Altitude

Betting Line (per Bovada): Rockets by 5

Projected Starting Lineups:

Denver – PG Emmanuel Mudiay, SG Gary Harris, SF Danilo Gallinari, PF Kenneth Faried, C J.J. Hickson

Houston – PG Ty Lawson, SG James Harden, SF Marcus Thornton, PF Trevor Ariza, C Dwight Howard

The Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets will meet for a second time this season Friday night at the Pepsi Center.

The Nuggets won the first meeting between the teams back on October 28 in the season opener 105-85 in Houston. Both teams have reached 4-4 records since, enjoying some success in recent games. The Nuggets are riding a two-game home winning streak, notching close wins over the Portland Trail Blazers and Milwaukee Bucks, respectively. Houston however, was riding a four-game winning streak before suffering possibly their worst loss of the season thus far to the Brooklyn Nets at home on Wednesday.

Two big reasons for the Nuggets’ success in the first meeting against the Rockets were Gary Harris’ defense on James Harden and the Rockets’ inability to make three-pointers.

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Harden finished with 22 points, six rebounds and six assists against Denver in the first meeting, but only shot 28.5 percent from the field and 16.6 percent from beyond the arc. Houston as a team struggled to make shots for much of the first game against Denver, shooting only 34.5 percent from the field and 23 percent from three. A common trend in the Rockets losses this season has been poor shooting from the three-point line. In all four losses this season, the Rockets have shot under 30 percent from the three-point line with an average three-point shooting percentage of 24.2 in those games.

Nuggets rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay has continued to show signs of growth over the last several games. Mudiay played fairly well against Houston in his NBA debut, finishing with 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds. He also committed eleven turnovers in that game, something I’m sure he hasn’t forgotten about.

Good news for Nuggets fans, though: Mudiay has taken care of the orange sphere much better since. Over the past three games, he has averaged seven assists and only 2.3 turnovers per game. I expect Mudiay to play with somewhat of a chip on his shoulder in this game, trying to erase the memory of his 11-turnover night in Houston.

Player to Watch: Dwight Howard – Howard missed the first game against Denver due to injury and should be good to go Friday night. The Rockets are 3-1 this season in games in which he plays at least 25 minutes.

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Howard, in the five games he’s played this season, has averaged 17.6 points, 13.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game on 63 percent shooting from the field. This doesn’t bode well for a Nuggets frontcourt that has struggled mightily against opposing centers this season. In eight games so far this season, starting centers have averaged 12.9 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 60.8 percent from the field against Denver.

Probably an even bigger concern for Denver is that, in the few games they’ve started Kenneth Faried and J.J. Hickson together this season, starting centers have shot even better from the field at 65 percent. So expect Howard to have a big game against the Nuggets on Friday night, having his way on the block against pretty much any Nuggets big he’s expected to face. Howard’s presence will also allow the Rockets to space the floor more offensively, much more so than they did in the first meeting with Denver.

This is a tricky match-up to ultimately predict because of how up and down Houston has been thus far this season. Even though the Nuggets won their last two games at home, I think that streak comes to an end on Friday night in at the Pepsi Center.

Dwight Howard no question will be a load for Denver to deal with in the middle and I wouldn’t be shocked if he finishes with a 20-20 game here against Denver. As mentioned above, his presence alone should allow Houston the ability to open up more offensively on the perimeter.

I also don’t expect Harden to shoot 28.5 percent from the field again and expect him to play very well against Harris. Harden could be looking at a 35- to 40-point night here and also don’t expect Houston to shoot 34.5 percent from the field or 23 percent from three as a team again, as they did in game one versus Denver.

Ultimately, with Howard back, Harden being Harden and Houston actually shooting well, this should be a tough game for the Nuggets to win.

Next: Nuggets Pull Off Gutsy Win Over Bucks

Final Score Prediction: Rockets 111, Nuggets 97