The Grizzlies face off tonight against the 2-2 division rival Houston Rockets to kick off what should be a fascinating weekend at FedExForum. This game became a whole lot more interesting — for better or worse in terms of making the conference and the division even more competitive — when the Rockets acquired James Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder, pairing him with Jeremy Lin for one of the NBA’s most colorful and potentially dynamic backcourts.
Three things I’ll be watching tonight:
- Bill Baptist NBAE/Getty Images
- James Harden
1. James Harden vs. Tony Allen: The Main Event. Harden is leading the league in scoring at 30.3 points per game. Allen is a reigning first-team All-Defense member who is sure to have his gas up for this one. As the theoretical third option for the Thunder, Harden didn’t always draw Allen as a defender, who was often dealing with Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook instead. He’ll have him tonight. This will be a fascinating game-within-the-game, but I wouldn’t assume it will be great for the Grizzlies. Two concerns: The hype around Harden could have Allen running a little too hot. And Harden’s crafty, herky-jerky ball-handling skill — much like Manu Ginobili — makes him the kind of wing scorer with which Allen has been more likely to struggle. But this alone is worth being in the building for. And it’ll be important, since the Rockets have been heavily dependent on Harden for points, with his scoring average more than three times that of Houston’s current number two scorer (Patrick Patterson at 13.0).
2. Linsanity’s Local Debut: The Intriguing Undercard. The Grizzlies missed Lin during his monumental breakout with the Knicks last season, and the young point guard will make his FedExForum debut with the hype considerably reduced. I’ll be interested to see if Lin’s presence affects any change in the typical Forum crowd. But I’ll also be interested in the undercard battle between Lin and Mike Conley. Conley’s individual defense is been improved this season and he should match-up reasonably well with the bigger Lin. Conley is also one of the league’s great thieves and Lin tends to be turnover prone.
