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The Golden State Warriors will face the Houston Rockets tonight at 5:30 p.m. PST on ABC in a game that could have served as a preview of how DeMarcus Cousins will fit into the matchup between last year’s Western Conference Finalists.
Alas, James Harden will be out tonight with both a neck injury and flu-like symptoms, as announced earlier this afternoon. There are plenty of relatively easy jokes you could make about this — and Twitter is already doing its thang — but I’m just not in the mood for picking at low-hanging fruit. Let’s just say his reputation precedes him and leave it at that.
ROCKETS ALERT: James Harden will not play tonight versus the Golden State Warriors with a cervical strain and flu-like symptoms https://t.co/CJHMWdjwID
— Houston Sports (@abc13sports) February 24, 2019
On top of the flu and neck pains, Harden was also fined for his comments about the refs on Thursday. So overall, a rough time for him today.
Rockets star James Harden has been fined $25,000 for his public criticism of referee Scott Foster after Thursday's loss to the Lakers, the NBA announced.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) February 23, 2019
Interestingly, the Rockets have decided to start a big lineup with Harden out tonight with recently acquired Kenneth Faried getting a start tonight at Oracle.
Rockets starters: Tucker, Faried, Capela, Gordon, Paul.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) February 24, 2019
Warriors: Durant, Green, Cousins, Thompson, Curry.
Officials: Guthrie, Buchert, Taylor.
The Warriors, meanwhile, will start a lineup that we’re becoming increasingly familiar with and has proven effective.
The Warriors are 10-0 this season when starting Curry, Klay, Draymond, KD, and Cousins.
— Grant Liffmann (@GrantLiffmann) February 23, 2019
Feel free to share your thoughts on Harden, the lineups, or your observations of the game in the comments below.