Key Match-up – George Hill and James Harden
Much like the Oklahoma City Thunder’s dependence on Russell Westbrook, the Rockets have also become extremely reliant on their own MVP candidate James Harden. While Houston does benefit from significantly more depth than OKC, for the most part the truth still holds that how James Harden goes, so go the Rockets.
Therefore, it will be vital that George Hill and the Utah Jazz hold Houston’s prolific guard in check. Since switching over to the point guard position for this season, James Harden has been absolutely phenomenal. Not only is he still averaging a mind-blowing 29 points per game, but he’s also racking up 11.3 assists per game to lead the NBA.
The revelation of head coach Mike D’Antoni to move Harden to the point has certainly paid its dividends and has been the driving force behind Houston’s dominant offense.
However, stopping Harden has also become the equivalent to cutting off the head of the snake. In Utah’s latest victory over the Rockets, Harden was able to put up an impressive 26 points, but Hill and the Jazz held him to just 8-of-23 (.348) shooting from the field and 2-of-6 (.333) from deep in the process.
Contrast that to his 31-point performance in Houston’s first meeting with the Jazz where he went a notably more efficient 10-of-24 (.417) from the field and 4-of-10 (.400) from deep and it’s not hard to see why the results of the two games were different.
Not to mention, Hill didn’t play the first time around against the Rockets, but was indeed active and impactful in the second contest. He finished the game with just eight points, but his defense was sufficiently stellar and his teammates did enough offensively that it was still enough to push the Jazz over the edge.
Unfortunately, with Hill sitting out on Monday against the Pelicans, his status is still somewhat up in the air for Wednesday’s bout with the Rockets. Not to mention, if his recent performances against Sacramento, Minnesota and Oklahoma City are any indication, the Jazz guard may very well be back in a slump once again.
And if that’s the case, it spells bad news for the Jazz who will more than likely find themselves in need of Hill’s services on both ends of the floor if they’re to steal a tough road victory from a daunting Rockets team. Although his defense on Harden may very well be his primary assignment, Utah needs Hill to also provide that additional offensive boost that they’ll need to put up enough points to top Houston.