Rockets James Harden Will Not Play in Pivotal Jazz Contest

The Rockets will be without James Harden for their tilt against the Jazz.

Harden is dealing with a thigh injury, something that forced him to miss Sunday’s contest against the Nuggets. Houston lost to Denver by a score of 117-110 with Harden in the lineup.

As our own Jared Smith wrote, the Jazz are playing their best basketball of the season, having won 14 of their last 15 games. They currently sit second in the Western Conference, as of this writing, with a record of 32-13.

The Rockets entered the night owners of the sixth seed in the conference. Harden, who was recently named to his eighth-straight All-Star game, has missed two games this season prior to tonight’s tilt and the team lost both contests. Houston was outscored by 22 points total over the two games.

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Russell Westbrook Continues To Sit Out Back-To-Backs

Russell Westbrook will not suit up for the contest either. He hasn’t been playing in back-to-backs so far this year, as I mentioned in the Rockets’ Trade Primer for SLAM Magazine.

The team has been extra cautious with Westbrook, who came to the team during the offseason via a trade with the Thunder. Tonight’s contest will be the seventh time the former MVP has sat out a game this season.

Westbrook has shown flashes of his former self during first-year in Houston. In 39 games with Daryl Morey’s squad, he’s averaging 26.0 points, 7.4 assists, and 8.1 rebounds per contest. He hasn’t been asked to carry his typical load for the franchise, instead, taking a backseat to Harden for large chunks of court time.

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