Houston has a chance to exorcise some demons tonight. The first is their current three-game losing streak against other teams at the top of the Western Conference. With Eric Gordon out and Danuel House Jr. still shaky after his back injury, some losses were expected.
What wasn’t expected was the 129-100 drubbing the Heat delivered to Houston earlier this season. It’s possible you saw it coming if you subscribe to the “James Harden loves to party” theory, but Harden was easily the best starter on the court that night for Houston (which isn’t saying much, true).