Houston Rockets (11-22) vs. Brooklyn Nets (23-13), March 3, 2021, 6:30 p.m. CST

Location: Toyota Center

TV: ESPN

Radio: SportsTalk790

Online: Rockets App

Nets SB Nation Blog: Nets Daily

It’s quite the homecoming tonight. James Harden is back in Houston and playing at the Toyota Center for the first time as a Net. The Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen had an interesting shot during pregame warmups.

A lot has been said about Harden’s return, from a video tribute to The Beard, to Houston owner Tilman Fertitta already announcing plans to eventually retire Harden’s number to our own AK’s preview. I’m not going to get into too much here. We all know the story.

The bigger issue is that the Rockets come into this game on a 12-game losing streak, while the Nets are 16-6 since trading for Harden. Two teams, two opposite directions, and that likely continues tonight.

Houston is without Christian Wood, David Nwaba, Danuel House and Eric Gordon, and it’s going to be extremely tough sledding against one of the league’s best teams. Don’t be surprised if The Beard drops 40.

I don’t have faith, but go Rockets anyway.