Golden State goes for eight against Houston

Game Information

Golden State Warriors (59-14) at Houston Rockets (51-22)

How to watch

Date: Tuesday March 28, 2017

Time: 5:00pm PST

Location: Toyota Center — Houston, TX

TV: CSN Bay Area; NBA TV

Radio: 95.7 THE GAME

Team comparison

Injury report

Last updated 3/27/17

Warriors: Kevin Durant

Rockets: Ryan Anderson

With just nine games left in the regular season, the Golden State Warriors continue their trek to lock up the one seed as they go on the road to face MVP candidate James Harden and the Houston Rockets.

Harden to play

Harden jammed his wrist during the Rockets’ March 18 contest against the Denver Nuggets. Despite the injury, Harden locked up Western Conference Player of the Week honors last week and led Houston to a 3-0 — averaging 33 points, 13.3 assists and 6.3 rebounds. He practiced with the team yesterday and is expected to suit up against the Warriors.

So far, Golden State and Houston have split their previous two meetings. The Rockets claimed a double-overtime victory behind a triple-double by Harden and a surprising 23 points from Eric Gordon off the bench. The Warriors found redemption in their second match-up, holding the Rockets to 7-35 shooting on threes.

Golden State will face Houston twice this week, and it will be without Kevin Durant, the high scorer in both of the previous games. The Rockets have been impressive this season and sit in third place in the Western Conference. This will be an interesting week as Houston will be a potentially dangerous match-up later on in the playoffs.

Warriors in the driver’s seat

The Warriors control their own destiny as they can take a big jump towards locking up the one seed for the playoffs if they win out this week. Easier said than done as this week is chock full of strong opponents. Golden State got past Memphis on Sunday but still have to get through Houston twice and San Antonio on the second game of a back-to-back.

It will be interesting to see how the Warriors pace themselves through these next few games. Coach Steve Kerr will have to do his best to balance securing the one seed, making statements to playoff opponents and keeping players fresh and injury-free for the playoffs.

Predictions

He’s heating up! Follow our picks on twitter! (@ForTheWs)

He (11.5 points)

Winner: Golden State by 4

High scorer: Stephen Curry

She (14 points)

Winner: Golden State by 2

High scorer: James Harden