It's the Battle of the New Bloods tonight as James Harden, Jeremy Lin and the Houston Rockets (3-4) take on rookie sensation Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Hornets (3-2) tonight at 8 p.m. at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Just one day removed from their heartbreaking--yet promising--113-110 loss to the world champion Miami Heat in a thriller in Houston, the Rockets look to get their record to 4-4 with a win tonight against the Hornets.
The game will also feature a first for Red Nation--as Jeremy Lin affectionately dubbed Houston fans on Twitter--as Wednesday night will feature the first-ever matchup between the Rockets and Davis, arguably the hands-down favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award (no disrespect to Damian Lillard).
Despite a concussion scare in his second game, the athletic and tall Davis, a former Olympian who played alongside Harden in the London Olympic Games this past summer, has been on a tear this season, averaging 17.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in his three games with New Orleans.
In his last game on Friday, Davis, ignited by a skirmish with Charlotte Bobcats center Byron Mullens, made a statement with his first NBA double-double of 23 points, 11 rebounds and throwing in five blocks as the Hornets stung the Bobcats, 107-99.
Bottom line for the Rockets? Don't make the unibrow-sporting Davis angry--they might not like him when he's angry.
"He's got a bit of an edge about him," Hornets coach Monty Williams told NBA.com. "He's a nice kid. He's the kind of kid you dream of coaching and yet you are not going to push him around."
Getting another offensive outburst won't come easy for Davis, as he has two solid defenders in center Omer Asik and forward Chandler Parsons to compete with in the paint tonight. Both are coming off career-high scoring games against the Heat on Monday, with Parsons scoring 25 and Asik racking up 19.
But the same can be said of the problems facing the Rockets' dynamic duo of Lin and Harden, who will be facing a Hornets defense that ranks third overall in the league in defense, allowing only 88.6 points per game. Both Harden and Lin have been struggling from the field this season--Lin posting a 36.2 percent field goal average while Harden has gone only 33.0 percent from the field in his last five games since opening up the season on a 41.0 points per game tear.
No doubt Lin is looking to get himself going, especially after missing a critical three near the closing of Monday's game against Miami that could have won it for the Rockets.
"Obviously, it's my responsibility to hit that shot," Lin told NBA.com. "It was a good shot for me, a quality shot and it didn't go in for me, unfortunately, in a crucial play of the game."
The Hornets are also looking to end a two-game losing skid against the Rockets, dropping both meetings in Houston last season.
For more information on the game, check out the NBA's official web site or ESPN.
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