All eyes in the NBA will be trained on Houston on Wednesday as the Rockets host James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets.
Harden was an outstanding player with the Rockets, winning the 2018 MVP award and twice reaching the Western Conference Finals, but he is unlikely to receive a warm welcome.
The nine-time All-Star decided in the offseason he wanted to leave Houston and worked to force a trade.
Although the Rockets initially resisted, a blockbuster deal was eventually agreed with the Nets, who pipped the Philadelphia 76ers to the signing.
Harden, slow by his lofty standards in the first eight games of the season in Houston, has rediscovered his best form in the NBA's newest 'big three' with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.
Both the player and his former team, struggling badly at 11-22, will be determined to come out on top in this first meeting since they parted ways.
TOP PERFORMERS
Houston Rockets - John Wall
Even with Harden's numbers declining at the start of 2020-21, no Houston player has been able to match the 24.8 points he scored on average across those eight games.
Christian Wood (22.0) has come closest, yet an ankle injury has limited him to just 17 games. The Rockets have lost 12 in a row since he went down a month ago.
So, Wall, who missed the entirety of the Washington Wizards' 2019-20 campaign with a torn ACL, has had to step into the breach.
Although Houston's form is awful, Wall at least comes into this clash on somewhat of a roll, playing 10 straight games and scoring 32 points last time out against the Cleveland Cavaliers, his best return since December 2018.
Brooklyn Nets - James Harden
Wall is not alone in being asked to do some heavy lifting, as Harden, the third man signed to the 'big three', has operated without either Irving or Durant due to injuries at times in the early stages of his Brooklyn career.
He has done so admirably, however, averaging 25.3 points, 11.3 assists and 8.7 rebounds since leaving the Rockets.
With Irving returning following a back issue against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, Harden scaled new heights, becoming the first player to post 30 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in a game without a single turnover since individual turnovers were first tracked in 1977-78.
It was his seventh triple-double of the season already, a mark he only once passed in Houston colours (22 in 2016-17).
KEY BATTLE - CAN HOUSTON GET TO HARDEN?
Irving claimed after the Spurs game there would be "no animosity" and "no tension" in Houston "on the court or about James in my presence or anybody else's presence". That seemed optimistic.
Harden's parting shot at the Rockets, where he claimed to "have done everything that I can", prompted angry responses from Wall and the since-waived DeMarcus Cousins.
Given Wall and Cousins had each been team-mates of Harden for only eight games, it stands to reason that some of his long-standing colleagues might have been even more frustrated.
With the Nets a far superior outfit to the Rockets, the conversation around Harden on the court might prove as interesting as any matchup. The Brooklyn man will have to handle the heat.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Rockets have had the better of this series, boasting a 64-32 regular-season record, most recently winning in December 2019 when lifted by 44 points from Harden.
The 31-year-old has a 14-15 record against the Oklahoma City Thunder, his only other former team, averaging 28.2 points.
In Harden's three years with OKC, he was 6-6 against Houston.
Griffin announces retirement after 14-year NBA career
Blake Griffin has dunked in an NBA game for the last time.
The six-time All-Star announced his retirement on social media on Tuesday after a 14-year pro career.
The first overall pick of the 2009 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, Griffin missed the entire 2009-10 season with a broken patella in his left knee sustained in the preseason.
He made an immediate impact the following year, however, winning the 2010-11 Rookie of the Year Award, the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest and was named to the first of five consecutive All-Star teams while playing for the Clippers.
A three-time All-NBA Second Team selection and a two-time All-NBA Third Team pick, Griffin made his final All-Star Game appearance in 2019, with the Detroit Pistons.
The 35-year-old spent the 2023-24 season out of basketball as a free agent.
Griffin's best season came in 2013-14, when he finished third in MVP voting with averages of 24.1 points per game, 9.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists to help the Clippers capture the Pacific Division title.
In his final NBA season, Griffin averaged career lows of 4.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 41 games for the Boston Celtics in 2022-23.
Though injuries slowed him in recent seasons, Griffin, who also played for the Brooklyn Nets, still averaged 19.0 points per game and 8.0 rebounds in 765 career games.
One of basketball's top dunkers, Griffin may be best remembered for winning the Slam Dunk Contest by dunking the ball after jumping over a parked car on the floor at his home-court in Los Angeles.
Antetokounmpo reportedly to miss start of Bucks' play-off series
Giannis Antetokounmpo is reportedly unlikely to play when the Milwaukee Bucks open the NBA play-offs.
The Bucks expect to be without Antetokounmpo for the start of their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN on Tuesday.
The two-time league MVP will continue to go through treatment on his left calf strain, and the team remains hopeful he'll be able to take the court at some point during the series against the sixth-seeded Pacers.
Game 1 tips off Sunday in Milwaukee.
Antetokounmpo missed the final three games of the regular season after he strained his left calf in the third quarter of Milwaukee's 104-91 win over the NBA-best Boston Celtics on April 9.
It was a non-contact injury for Antetokounmpo, who was heading up the court when he awkwardly went down grabbing his left calf.
An MRI later confirmed it was a calf strain.
The eight-time All-Star is coming off another outstanding season, ranking second in the NBA in scoring with an average of 30.4 points per game and sixth in rebounding at 11.5 boards per game.
The Bucks lost two of the final three games of the season with Antetokounmpo injured to slip from second place in the Eastern Conference to the third seed.
On the season, the Bucks went 4-5 in games he missed and 45-28 in games he played.
Making matters even more difficult for Milwaukee is the Pacers went 4-1 against the Bucks in the 2023-24 regular season.
Caitlin Clark fulfils WNBA dream as Indiana pick college star first in draft
Caitlin Clark is living the dream after she was chosen as the first pick in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever.
The 22-year-old is stepping up to the professional league as the most successful college player in history, which has made her the new star of the sport.
She joins last year’s first pick Aliyah Boston – a former team-mate of hers in the United States Under-19s – at the Fever as the club try to revive their fortunes after again failing to reach the play-offs in 2023.
Clark said on the WNBA website: “I dreamed of this moment since I was in second grade, and it’s taken a lot of hard work, a lot of ups and downs, but more than anything, just trying to soak it in.
“Obviously going to an organisation that has, in my eyes, one of the best post players (Boston) in the entire world.
“My point guard eyes just light up at that. And obviously, Aliyah has been one of my team-mates before. I’m excited. I can’t wait.”
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Fever head coach Christie Sides said on the club’s website: “Caitlin is one of the most naturally gifted basketball players I have ever seen enter the WNBA from the college level.
“Her shooting and passing abilities captivated an entire audience of basketball fans, and her ability to make those around her better was even more evident during her collegiate career.
“We can’t wait to bring her to Indiana and incorporate her into our locker room with a group ready to get back to the postseason.”
Clark’s Fever career kicks-off in the WNBA opener against the Connecticut Sun on May 14.
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