Denver Nuggets vs Houston Rockets: Match Preview and Predictions - 22nd January 2020

Match Details

Fixture: Denver Nuggets vs Houston Rockets

Date & Time: Wednesday, 22nd January 2020 (8:00 PM ET)

Venue: Toyota Center, Houston, TX

Last Game Results

Denver Nuggets (30-13): Won 107-100 against the Minnesota Timberwolves (Monday, 20th January)

Houston Rockets (26-16): Lost 107-112 against the Oklahoma City Thunder (Monday, 20th January)

Denver Nuggets Preview

The Denver Nuggets are one of the deepest teams in the league, with players that could be on the starting 5 on other teams not even making the rotation on some nights. They have continued to perform at the highest level and are currently 3rd with a 30-13 record.

Nikola Jokic started off the season really slow but ever since Jamal Murray has gone down with an injury, Jokic has taken on more responsibilities than usual and has been leading them from the front. The Nuggets will be hoping Jokic continues his form against the Houston Rockets too.

Key Player - Nikola Jokic

Denver Nuggets need Jokic at his best against the Rockets

Nikola Jokic is truly a one-of-a-kind player in the NBA, a center who is probably a better play-maker than a lot of the point guards in the league. Jokic is known for his selfless play on the court and makes everyone around him better.

This season though, Jokic has been under-performing a little, averaging 19.4 points, 10 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, all down from his career-high numbers last season. This is mostly attributed to his awful start to the season.

Of late, Jokic has started playing more like himself, averaging 24.4 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game in January. The Nuggets will be hoping that Jokic continues to excel and gets them the win against the Rockets.

Nuggets predicted lineup

Monte Morris, Torrey Craig, Will Barton, Jerami Grant and Nikola Jokic

Houston Rockets preview

The Houston Rockets, this off-season, traded for Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook and reunited James Harden with his old teammate. This move looked to cement them in the upper echelons of the Western Conference.

Instead, the Rockets have struggled to have any consistency this season, sitting at the 6th spot with a 26-16 record. They have only won 4 of their last 10 games and really need to secure a win against the Nuggets to get themselves going again.

Key Player - James Harden

Houston Rockets need Harden to step up against the Denver Nuggets

James Harden has been one of the top 3 players in the NBA for a while now and has almost single-handedly carried the Houston Rockets to multiple victories. Even with Westbrook, a heavy usage player, Harden's stats have only become better.

This season, he is averaging a huge 36.9 points, 7.4 assists and 6.3 rebounds per game. Harden is leading the league in scoring and the Rockets need to help their star guard if they want to get the win over the Nuggets on Wednesday.

Rockets predicted line-up:

Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Ben McLemore, PJ Tucker and Clint Capela

Rockets vs Nuggets Match Prediction

The Houston Rockets will enjoy home court comfort in this game but they are on a bad run of form and haven't been able to win games of late. The Nuggets, on the other hand, are playing better and will be favorites in the game on Wednesday.

Rockets vs Nuggets Where to watch?

The match can be caught live on Altitude Sports and AT&T Sportsnet - Southwest. You can also watch the match live on the NBA League Pass.