Clippers have chance to make a big statement vs. Rockets
By Tom West
The Los Angeles Clippers have a chance to make a real statement against the Houston Rockets — to finally defeat their playoff nemesis and prove they can defeat worthy opponents even when they face adversity.
The Los Angeles Clippers still don’t have Blake Griffin (partially torn quadricep tendon) or DeAndre Jordan (pneumonia), and they’re about to face one of the toughest opponents of their recent hot spell. Until a 110-103 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, the Clippers had won 10 straight games which was without doubt their best stretch of the season. Even though their schedule was fairly weak except for the Miami Heat (a 104-90 win), they did so through adversity without Griffin. However, the Houston Rockets bring about a new challenge.
The 3-1 playoff collapse is something that no Clippers fan, or Clippers hater for that matter, is going to forget. They took a commanding lead with convincing victories, went 3-1 and then simply blew it. There’s no other way to describe it other than a total collapse, and the Clippers certainly aren’t going to forget the handiwork of their new teammate Josh Smith in that series.
So, as they didn’t have to wait long for a heated rematch this season, it was a chance for L.A. to answer back with their reloaded bench and prove that they wouldn’t be losing to the Rockets again. On November 7 they got that opportunity, but it didn’t quite work out as they lost again 109-105.
Never mind. Better luck next time, right?
Well, the next rematch didn’t work out so well either. On December 19, the Rockets once again downed the Clippers and the hopes of their vengeful fans with a 107-97 win. With that, Houston held a 2-0 season series lead and have now won five straight games against L.A., dating back to the playoffs.
This time, the Clippers have an opportunity to make a real statement. Not only can they answer back against the Rockets as the now superior team (they have a 26-14 record in comparison to the latter’s 22-20), but they can show the rest of the league that they don’t just get their wins of easy opponents.
Right now, they’re going to have a serious challenge. No, the Rockets aren’t an elite team in the West at the moment, but they’re still tougher than basically everyone the Clippers have faced in their last 11 games (only the Heat have been above .500). With no Griffin and possibly no Jordan, they get even tougher.
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This is where the key matchup to watch arises. Dwight Howard isn’t the player he was in Orlando, yet he’s still having a solid year with 14.2 points, 12 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game, and he’s still a real presence in the paint. Alongside him, the Rockets also have the upcoming and athletic Clint Capela, Terrence Jones, and tough rookie Montrezl Harrell.
Essentially, Houston’s frontcourt is an awful lot depth than L.A.’s when Griffin and Jordan aren’t around.
Yet again, the Clippers are going to need Cole Aldrich to step up and Josh Smith to keep showing that he can make an impact defensively when Doc Rivers actually decides to get him off the bench. Aldrich has averaged a highly impressive 19 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks in 26.4 minutes as the starting center over the last two games. He’s been adding so much stability to the second unit both in terms of his pick-and-roll play inside and his defensive energy, and those attributes are still on display with the starters.
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Against Howard, he has another difficult matchup to prove himself.
Chris Paul and J.J. Redick will handle a lot of the issue of defending James Harden, and both have proved that they are capable of containing him and keeping him off the free throw line. It’s the frontcourt battle is the part of this matchup to really watch out for.
However, thankfully for the Clippers, the Rockets aren’t a remotely convincing contender, or any kind of contender. They rank just 7th in the West, and have dealt with their own issues with the failed experiment of Ty Lawson at point guard and the prompt firing of head coach Kevin McHale in November.
The Clippers have come a long way since the early stages of this season, and have fought through countless chemistry and rotation issues with the new bench and went on a 10-game win streak without a superstar. They didn’t even have their defensive anchor Jordan when they beat the Heat, and Monday night is a chance to show everyone that they are capable of beating talented teams.
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They can get one back against their playoff nemesis and show that they should be taken far more seriously than a second round joke with two injured stars and an easy win streak.
To add even more pressure, it’s a perfect way to warm up to an elite opponent like the Cleveland Cavaliers who they face next on Thursday.