NBA Christmas Day Rockets vs. Bulls Preview

Tonight on ESPN at 7pm, the 14-12 Houston Rockets visit the 15-11 Chicago Bulls at the United Center. The Rockets are coming off of an impressive 25 point win at home against one of the best teams in the West, the Memphis Grizzlies. Houston will be coming to Chicago for the one and only time this season, but they met in Houston back in November, when the Rockets escaped with a 93-89 win. They are led by guard James Harden, who is averaging 25.6 points a game this season, his first since being traded from Oklahoma City on October 27. Chicago is doing very well without their MVP point guard, Derrick Rose, who is recovering from a torn ACL in the playoffs last April.They are coming off of a disappointing 92-75 loss at the Atlanta Hawks. They are led by guard Luol Deng, who is averaging 17.8 points per game. Despite the way that Chicago is playing without their leader, I still expect Houston's duo of James Harden and Jeremy Lin to play up to expectations, and to take this Christmas Day matchup over the Chicago Bulls.