The Houston Rockets are scheduled to face the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Oct. 26, Wednesday as the two squads open their 2016-2017 NBA Season stints.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 10:30 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru the NBA League Pass.
Preview
Houston is featuring new head coach Mike D'Antoni this season as the club seemed to have opted for the full offensive route than playing defense to try and go deeper into the playoffs. James Harden is set to benefit the most in this kind of scheme and will certainly maximize his skills.
While the Rockets' defensive issues, particularly Harden's, will continue this season, it would be difficult to stop them when they have the ball and so expect a highly-entertaining, high-scoring game every time these guys get on the floor.
D'Antoni and Harden seemed like a match made in heaven and so there is a chance that Harden could be one of the top MVP candidates this season.
Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Jason Terry, and Terrence Jones are all gone as the team acquired players who are more fit with Harden's style of play, namely outside shooters Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon, as per Get More Sports. Anderson would create space for Harden's drives to the basket as a stretch four while Gordon is an accurate spot-up shooter than can be a regular target for the Beard's dish-outs.
Meanwhile, the Lakers begin the post-Kobe Bryant life with their young core in their second year together. D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, and Julius Randle are the focal point of new head coach Luke Walton's Golden State-like system, although Clarkson could be coming off the bench with Lou Williams as the starting shooting guard.
Veterans Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov were added in the offseason to provide stability in the starting unit while Brandon Ingram was selected second overall in last June's draft to put in another piece in the Lakers' youth revolution.
Without Kobe, the expectations on these young Lakers are quite low, according to Basketball Insiders, and it could be the break that the franchise needs to begin their climb back up to their lofty status in the league.
Prediction
The Rockets rout the Lakers in a high-scoring game as Coach Walton's boys are not that great defensively either. Harden will manhandle the kids for the full four quarters.
