Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors game preview

The only thing worse than a back-to-back is a back-to-back on the West Coast.

Writing previews at midnight is not my idea of a good time, so I'm writing this before the Portland game starts and making it quick.

We know the Warriors pretty well by now. They're young, uptempo, and really good. In their meeting last week, the Rockets shot out to an early lead and never looked back, pulling out a big win to end a two-game losing streak.

On the other hand, the Warriors have been struggling a bit this season. A lot of that has to do with the injury to Andre Iguodala. His defense and all-around play really complements the Warriors. He would normally draw the assignment of guarding Harden (who went 34/7/4 last time). I don't know his status for tonight, so we'll see. They got a huge comeback win over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.

Oh yeah, did I mention that the Warriors are playing at home AND have an extra day of rest? Because of course they do. Stupid schedule makers.

Dwight Howard pulled down a 22/18 and Terrence Jones added a 16/10 in the first matchup.

On the other side, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Harrison Barnes shot poorly in that game. Andrew Bogut got in foul trouble and couldn't stop Howard or the drive anyway. That's certain to change. I expect them to light it up from deep tonight and get the win.

Tip-off is at 9:30pm CST on ESPN.