Clips Nation - NBA Playoffs 2015 Round 2 Game 1 Clippers-Rockets coverageWhat it do babyyyhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47967/clipsnation_fave.png2015-05-05T18:50:59-07:00http://www.clipsnation.com/rss/stream/83127082015-05-05T18:50:59-07:002015-05-05T18:50:59-07:00Film Room: Defending James Harden in Game 1
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<figcaption>Scott Halleran/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Despite 20 points and 12 assists on 6-for-13 shooting, James Harden struggled to get anything going on a consistent basis and turned the ball over 9 times. So, what did the Clippers do to keep Houston's dynamic scorer at bay in Game 1?</p> <p id="paragraph0" class="pgh-paragraph has-dropcap">During the regular season, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/">Rockets</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.clipsnation.com/">Clippers</a> met four times. They split the four game series. Despite splitting the four games, Houston's brilliant euro-stepping shooting guard managed to average just 20 points per game on 35.8 percent shooting. In fact, <span>James Harden</span> has managed to average just 19.6 points per game over the last eight regular season meetings against the Los Angeles Clippers and has gone just 11-for-55 from three. Perhaps the Clippers know how to defend him better than most and possess a strategy that helps nullify what makes him great. With all that said, he still played a good offensive game – minus the turnovers – in Game 1. So, how did the Clippers attempt to combat him? And did it really work? Well, thankfully we can take a look back at some of the tactics the Clippers used in this edition of "The Film Room."</p>
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<p>There has been a lot of talk leading up to this series about how the Clippers would choose to defend James Harden. Most people just assumed they’d stick <span>Matt Barnes</span> on him and just try to limit what the other players would get. Others thought the Clippers would just stick <span>J.J. Redick</span> onto him and let Redick try his best to keep Harden from doing what he does best; getting to the line and wreaking havoc that way. In Game 1, the Clippers employed a mix of looks and attempted to make Harden uncomfortable by switching up who the main defender would be. They showed Redick on Harden during the first possession of the game for Houston as the Rockets tried to run their bread-and-butter Harden-Howard pick-and-roll with a shooter in the weakside corner. On this play, watch how the Clippers defense moves as one to sniff out the preliminary pick-and-roll by the Rockets.</p>
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<p>As you can see, the Rockets try to initiate the ball to Harden just off of a simple cut. <span>Dwight Howard</span> steps up to set a screen for Harden and <span>DeAndre Jordan</span> follows him up towards the top of the arc just in case Harden steps over the top of the screen for a three. Redick gets around the screen admirably and can get back into position thanks to Jordan’s positioning. Jordan gets low, slides well to contain Harden, and then slides back once Redick gets in position in order to stop any lob to Howard. The Rockets then run a quick side pick-and-roll with <span>Terrence Jones</span> that Harden feeds beautiful only to have Jordan stuff him and then alter his second shot due to just being in the vicinity. One other note is how well Matt Barnes chokes down on the Howard roll but keeps his awareness of where <span>Jason Terry</span> is as a weakside shooter. Once Jordan recovers, Barnes recovers back to Terry. Jordan bought time for Redick, Barnes bought time for Jordan, and they all worked in unison to combat an early pick-and-roll staple of the Rockets.</p>
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<h3><center>James Harden 2014-2015</center></h3>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="center" width="25"><font color="#ffffff"><b></b></font></td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#ED174C" width="125"><font color="#ffffff"><b>vs Others</b></font></td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#006BB6" width="125"><font color="#ffffff"><b>vs Clippers</b></font></td>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="right"><b><font color="white">PPG:</font></b></td>
<td align="center">27.8</td>
<td align="center">20.0</td>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="right"><b><font color="white">RPG:</font></b></td>
<td align="center">5.7</td>
<td align="center">5.0</td>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="right"><b><font color="white">APG:</font></b></td>
<td align="center">7.0</td>
<td align="center">7.3</td>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="right"><b><font color="white">FG%:</font></b></td>
<td align="center">44.3%</td>
<td align="center">35.8%</td>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="right"><b><font color="white">3P%:</font></b></td>
<td align="center">38.1%</td>
<td align="center">24.0%</td>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="right"><b><font color="white">eFG%:</font></b></td>
<td align="center">51.5%</td>
<td align="center">41.5%</td>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="right"><b><font color="white">TS%:</font></b></td>
<td align="center">60.7%</td>
<td align="center">56.3%</td>
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<p>Having the entire defense move in unison to combat the Rockets pick-and-roll is a big deal. They love to run pick-and-roll sets with the weakside wing shooter, so if you can push the ball-handler in one direction then you effectively cutoff the other side of the court from his passing range and vision. By clamping down on the roller with the weakside defender, you allow the big to hedge onto the pick-and-roll even more and make life a little tougher for the ball-handler because it strings the play out towards the sideline and congests the floor with bodies. On the very first play of the game, we saw how the Clippers chose to defend the pick-and-roll twice. On one, it was to contain the ball-handler and make sure you don't give up anything in the middle. On the other, it was to force the pass towards the middle with a less adept finisher and where the help was waiting in the form of DeAndre Jordan.</p>
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<p>This was Houston’s second possession of the game and came after a Clippers miss. It starts off in secondary transition and Barnes is switched onto Harden because of this. Harden likes to go right and perform a stepback a lot so Barnes makes sure to not get handsy defensively on this play. Harden power dribbles to his right, extends the elbow slightly to nudge Barnes away from him, and steps back into an 18-foot jumper that he misses off the front iron. As far as defending this goes, the Clippers do a quality job. Barnes slides his feet well, doesn’t get caught reaching in, and Griffin is there to cut off any potential passing lane to the middle of the floor. The one area that could cause Barnes some problems is that Harden does employ the stepback head fake and draws fouls that way. Barnes jumps towards Harden but also makes sure not to jump at Harden. Going forward in this series, Barnes could have problems if Harden decides to head fake on the stepback and jump into the defender to draw a foul.</p>
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<p>On the first three possessions of this game for the Rockets, we saw three staples of what Houston wants to do offensively. The first one is to run the middle pick-and-roll to space the floor with shooters and attack via lob passes if defenders don’t show on the roll or hit weakside shooters if defenders crash too much on the roll. The second one is to just isolate Harden and let him go one-on-one defensively. This one is the other one. It’s Harden in transition. This is where Harden does a ton of his damage, especially drawing fouls by using his elbows to generate contact. Harden gets the rebound after a Howard block, races up the floor, and goes right at the body of Jordan. To Jordan’s credit, he stays straight up with his arms and turns his body while contesting Harden’s attempt. Meanwhile, <span>Austin Rivers</span> smartly dives in and rips the ball from Harden’s grasp. One of the other things to notice is how Matt Barnes aggressively runs back to dive in front of any pass that might have gone towards <span>Trevor Ariza</span> in the corner. All four Clippers defenders who hustled back did their job as a unit. That’s the story and way to defend Harden. While going for the rip against Harden is risky here, it’s clear that Rivers steps in front of Harden as Harden is too occupied thinking about attacking Jordan. It was smart.</p>
<p>During the regular season, James Harden racked up 465 points on the fast break. That ranked as the third most in the NBA. As did his 5.7 fast break points per game. Harden drew 6.7 fouls per game, which was second in the league, and an astronomical 542 in total this season, which led the league. Quite a bit of those came in transition as you’d imagine. Harden has mastered drawing fouls. It’s an art form that should actually be lauded more than admonished. He uses every crevice of the court to his advantage and can bend the will of defenders by drawing them into his realm when initiating contact. It’s commendable and smart. But this was just the beginning of the game and Harden started to get going a little bit towards the latter half of the first quarter.</p>
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<p>Remember that middle pick-and-roll that the Rockets ran on their first possession that the Clippers defended exceptionally well? They ran it again here but the Clippers don't defend it nearly as well. And it all starts with DeAndre Jordan. Redick is once again on Harden as Howard sets the screen right at the arc. Redick shades Harden trying to force him back to the right but Harden expertly and wisely goes left. Jordan is late on his slide and in poor defensive position. He’s not as low as he was on the first pick-and-roll of the game where he walled Harden off beautifully. Instead, Harden’s able to use Jordan’s lazy posture to his benefit and waltzes right in for a layup. As an aside, Jordan’s posture could have been him standing tall to deny any lob attempt to Howard but you should want to deny the layup attempt before you deny the lob. Rivers can’t help on the drive because it’d leave the strongside shooter – in this case, Jason Terry – wide open. Griffin has to move with Jones but is there to box him out. This leaves it entirely up to Jordan to stop the layup. Howard’s aggressive roll makes it likely he gets a putback dunk here but it’s not needed as Harden scores. One or two of these a game is understandable but the entire team has to stay locked in for the vast majority of the contest.</p>
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<p>Classic James Harden. Gets ball, runs in transition, draws foul, and hits the layup. The Clippers problem here is that the big running the floor on defense – which is <span>Blake Griffin</span> on this play – foolishly turns his back on the freight train in the open court which lets Harden run right up on him and draw the foul while getting the easy bucket in transition. When running back on defense while Harden has the ball, you cannot turn your back to him and allow him to just run right up on you. Harden is quick in the open court and constantly tricks defenders into thinking he’s not as swift as he is. Looks are deceiving when it comes to him; especially in fast break settings. The Clippers stopped a Harden transition look early in the quarter but let him get this one. The big not being DeAndre Jordan on this play had something to do with it but just having spatial and situational awareness would have done wonders for the Clippers and Blake Griffin on this play. It resulted in three points and a quick swing in momentum.</p>
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<p>This is another lack of situational awareness by Griffin. The Rockets run another 1-5 pick-and-roll here but this is a different variety because instead of Dwight Howard, Houston has <span>Josh Smith</span> as the roll man. The Clippers defend the initial roll action well and even pinch down onto the corner shooters like they should. The issue here is Blake Griffin’s lack of recognition of what James Harden likes to do in this situation. Griffin does a good job of shutting off the driving lane when he hedges but allows Harden to venture too far away from him. This allows Harden to casually stroll into a half-stepback three as time winds down. If Griffin had recognized the time on the clock a little better and understood the personnel a tad more, the right play would have been to press into Harden and force him to put the ball on the floor once more with the clock winding down. As it stands, Harden is an adept shot maker and makes the Clippers pay on this play.</p>
<div class="sidebar">
<h3><center>James Harden Game 1</center></h3>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="center" width="25"><font color="#ffffff"><b></b></font></td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#ED174C" width="125"><font color="#ffffff"><b>1st Q</b></font></td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#006BB6" width="125"><font color="#ffffff"><b>2nd – 4th Q</b></font></td>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="right"><b><font color="white">Points:</font></b></td>
<td align="center">8</td>
<td align="center">12</td>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="right"><b><font color="white">Rebounds:</font></b></td>
<td align="center">2</td>
<td align="center">3</td>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="right"><b><font color="white">Assists:</font></b></td>
<td align="center">5</td>
<td align="center">7</td>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="right"><b><font color="white">Turnovers:</font></b></td>
<td align="center">4</td>
<td align="center">5</td>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="right"><b><font color="white">FG:</font></b></td>
<td align="center">3 / 5</td>
<td align="center">3 / 8</td>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="right"><b><font color="white">3P:</font></b></td>
<td align="center">1 / 2</td>
<td align="center">2 / 4</td>
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<td bgcolor="black" align="right"><b><font color="white">+/-:</font></b></td>
<td align="center">+6</td>
<td align="center">-28</td>
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<p>There’s obviously a lot more to a basketball game than just the first 12 minutes of it. We all know that. Harden had the ball in his hands quite a bit in that first quarter. In that opening period, James Harden had a Usage Rate of 30.6 percent. The rest of the way, his Usage Rate was only 23.8 percent. Now, Usage Rate can be flawed sometimes since it only registers possessions that end with that player shooting free throws, turning the ball over, getting an assist, or throwing up a shot attempt. Your Usage Rate won’t increase if you made a great read on a pick-and-roll only to see you get a secondary assist – which doesn’t show up in traditional box scores – instead of a primary assist. The Clippers locked in defensively in the final three quarters, though, and forced Harden to play at their pace. They forced Harden to give the ball up early in pick-and-rolls and made other guys make passes or shots to beat them. It didn’t happen in this game. It could in the future but it didn’t in Game 1.</p>
<p>One of the other things the Clippers did was wear Harden down a little bit on the other end of the floor. Harden had to either guard Matt Barnes or J.J. Redick most of the night. He gets tired chasing Redick around and Barnes showed up just enough in Game 1 to make Harden have to respect where Barnes was at all times. Harden’s offense is his calling card. While he has improved on defense this season compared to last season, he can still get downright lazy and uncaring when things aren’t going his way offensively. That was clearly evident on this play late in the game with the game decided, but not yet over, and Harden not giving a care in the world to even pay attention to what was going on.</p>
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<p>It’s easy to poke fun at Harden for being a completely negligent defender on this play but this speaks to a larger thing that happened in this game. Things didn’t go Harden’s way and he let it affect him on the other end. That’s something that he will have to remedy as this series drags on. The Clippers aren’t Dallas, that’s for certain. While Houston was able to take possessions off defensively against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Mavericks</a> because they knew they could score at will against Dallas’ porous defense, that’s not the case with the Clippers. Taking possessions off isn’t going to bode well for them or Harden specifically.</p>
<p>Defending Harden is a team thing. No one guy is just going to stop him unless that guy is someone of the caliber of <span>Kawhi Leonard</span>, <span>Tony Allen</span>, or <span>Jimmy Butler</span>. But even those guys give up points and shots to even the best players. <img src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CESwCn2WAAEvEq4.png" align="right"> While J.J. Redick and Matt Barnes did a great job of forcing Harden out of his comfort zone and towards the help in the middle, it will take at least three more games of that type of intensity and focus. Being able to stay out of foul trouble, which Redick does beautifully due to knowing his limitations as an athlete and knowing where to keep his hands, is a huge part of the battle. There are at least three more battles to go before winning the war.</p>
<p>This series just started. However, if Game 1 was any indication into how the Clippers will defend James Harden, the Rockets are in store for a tough go of it. The Clippers like to blitz pick-and-rolls and trap them while having weakside defenders pinch down on the roll man in order to bog things down for opponents and deny passing lanes. The Rockets had trouble figuring that out in Game 1 and it led to a slew of turnovers for not only James Harden but the team as a whole. And that was without <span>Chris Paul</span>, one of the league’s premier perimeter defenders, playing. Harden has to be engaged more offensively <i>and</i> defensively for the Rockets to fare better. The Clippers will defend Harden in a similar fashion as Game 1 for the foreseeable future. It’s up to Harden and Houston to adjust. If not, they’re looking at a quick series against a Clippers team that looks a little bit locked in defensively this postseason.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2015/5/5/8557287/film-room-defending-james-harden-in-game-1-may-5-2015Justin Russo2015-05-04T22:01:10-07:002015-05-04T22:01:10-07:00Clippers 117, Rockets 101: Goonies Never Say Die!
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<figcaption>Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Without Chris Paul, the Clippers were sloppy in the first half on the road against the Houston Rockets. Then the second half happened and the Clippers proceeded to win a game they had no business winning.</p> <p id="paragraph0" class="pgh-paragraph has-dropcap">Ewing Theory. We've all heard the phrase get thrown around by people. It was a term coined by Bill Simmons to use when a team plays great for a brief stretch of games without a star player. Tonight, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.clipsnation.com/">Los Angeles Clippers</a> were without All-Star point god <span>Chris Paul</span>. They were listless and sloppy in the first half. They looked like they were paddling nowhere fast without their oar to steer them. Then the second half happened. With great performances by a wide assortment of players, the Clippers stole Game 1 from right under the noses of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/">Houston Rockets</a> while a stunned crowd watched.</p>
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<th></th> <th>1</th> <th>2</th> <th>3</th> <th>4</th> <th>Total</th>
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<td bgcolor="#006BB6" class="p-boxscore__team_name"><a href="http://www.clipsnation.com/"><font color="white">Los Angeles Clippers</font></a></td>
<td bgcolor="#006BB6"><font color="white">19</font></td>
<td bgcolor="#006BB6"><font color="white">27</font></td>
<td bgcolor="#006BB6"><font color="white">37</font></td>
<td bgcolor="#006BB6"><font color="white">34</font></td>
<td bgcolor="#006BB6"><font color="white">117</font></td>
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<td bgcolor="#ED174C" class="p-boxscore__team_name"><a href="http://www.thedreamshake.com/"><font color="white">Houston Rockets</font></a></td>
<td bgcolor="#ED174C"><font color="white">25</font></td>
<td bgcolor="#ED174C"><font color="white">25</font></td>
<td bgcolor="#ED174C"><font color="white">27</font></td>
<td bgcolor="#ED174C"><font color="white">24</font></td>
<td bgcolor="#ED174C"><font color="white">101</font></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
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<div class="m-scoreboard__box-score_title">Monday May 4, 2015 – Toyota Center – Houston, Texas</div>
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<p>Despite a woeful and pitiful first half, the Clippers did not give up. They were down by just four points going into halftime despite 13 turnovers and their two best guards – <span>Jamal Crawford</span> and <span>J.J. Redick</span> – shooting 5-for-15. <span>Austin Rivers</span> was playing horribly up until that point, as well, shooting just 1-for-5. Nothing was going right for the Clippers. That all changed in the second half when Redick nailed on multiple shots for 12 points in the third quarter alone and Rivers poured in 7 points himself that frame. In the second half alone, those three guards combined for 41 points on 13-for-23 shooting. They also had just 4 combined turnovers after having 9 in the first half.</p>
<p>If the Clippers guards showed up while Chris Paul watched from the bench in a dapper suit, then <span>Blake Griffin</span> and <span>Matt Barnes</span> were absolutely sensational by comparison. Griffin went for a game-high 26 points, game-high 14 rebounds, and game-high 13 assists to lead the Clippers to this victory. He went 9-for-19 from the field and 8-for-10 from the line. Barnes poured in 20 points to go with 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. He was 8-for-11 from the field and 3-for-6 from three.</p>
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<div class="read-more" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<img align="left" src="https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/uploads/blog/sbnu_logo/172/large_thedreamshake.com.full.36015.png" height="24" width="30"> <font face="Lucida Sans Unicode, Lucida Grande, sans-serif"><strong>For More</strong>: Visit <a href="http://www.thedreamshake.com/" target="new">The Dream Shake</a></font> <img align="right" src="https://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/uploads/blog/sbnu_logo/172/large_thedreamshake.com.full.36015.png" height="24" width="30">
</div>
<p>The last guy to be mentioned is <span>DeAndre Jordan</span> but this is saving perhaps the best for last. Yes, <span>Dwight Howard</span> had a Rockets-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, as well as 5 blocks. But Jordan matched him jump for jump and effort play for effort play. Jordan finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks. Most surprising, though, was him going 6-for-11 from the line while Howard went 4-for-9. Howard might have had more points but Jordan was arguably a bigger factor during this game and that bodes well for the Clippers going forward in this series.</p>
<p>There were some interesting spots in this game. Late in the fourth quarter, the Clippers let the Rockets snip five points off of their lead in about 45 seconds before quelling that with a free throw parade by both teams and coming out ahead of that battle. There will be a few interesting takeaways from this game. First off, the Rockets got nothing out of <span>Trevor Ariza</span> after the first quarter. He had 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting that quarter but finished with just 6 points on 2-for-9 shooting the rest of the way. The Clippers dared him to beat them. He didn’t.</p>
<p>Among other players the Clippers dared, <span>Josh Smith</span> and <span>Corey Brewer</span> reverted back to the norm for this game after having out-of-body experiences against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/">Dallas Mavericks</a> in the first round. They combined to go 1-for-10 from three and showed why they are two of the five worst three-point shooters of all-time (min. 1000 attempts). <span>James Harden</span> didn’t get going until later on and that’s been a thing for him against the Clippers minus that final regular season game against them. He struggles against them. A lot. You can thank <span>Doc Rivers</span>’ scheme a lot for that and also Redick’s defense.</p>
<p>This was an emotional win. It’s hard not to read too much into one win, especially when the Clippers were without Chris Paul and playing on the road just 48 hours after a thrilling Game 7 against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">San Antonio Spurs</a>. This team came out sloppy but that could be attributed to them adjusting without Paul. They put up 71 points in the second half and outscored the Rockets by 20 in the final 24 minutes. It was a Clippers clinic down the stretch. There’s no telling how the rest of this series will go but, for now, enjoy the fact that Austin Rivers has helped the Clippers win <b><i>TWO</i></b> playoff games <b><i>ON THE ROAD</i></b> so far. I guess that trade paid off so far.</p>
<center><font size="6" face="Lucida Sans Unicode"><b>WILL PAUL BE BACK?</b></font></center>
<p>There’s no word yet. We’ll just have to wait and see what Doc Rivers decides to do. On one side, you want to say that it’d be better off giving him extra rest now since the team already stole one game in Houston and have homecourt firmly on their side already. It’d let Paul get ready for Game 3 on Friday and help him recuperate. On the flip side, having Paul back would start to tip the scale even further in the Clippers favor. If he’s ready to go on Wednesday then he should play. That’s the way this writer is choosing to look at it.</p>
<p>All in all, the Clippers accomplished something big tonight. They went into Houston and stole a game they had no business stealing. They went in search of One-Eyed Willie’s treasure and came up with a massive fortune during this game. The treasure chest resides on their side of the table tonight. It’s up to the team to keep it in their possession as this series wears on. Having Chris Paul back will help. But as Blake Griffin has said time and time again, this is just one game. It doesn’t count for anything more than one tally in the win column. There’s three more to go. Enjoy this one, though. They earned it. And you deserve it. Because Goonies never say die!</p>
<p><font size="2"><b>NBA.com Interactive Box Score:</b> <a href="http://stats.nba.com/game/#!/0041400231/" target="new"><b>Click Here</b></a></font><br> <font size="2"><b>NBA.com Box Score PDF:</b> <a href="http://www.nba.com/data/10s/html/nbacom/2014/gameinfo/20150504/0041400231_Book.pdf" target="new"><b>Click Here</b></a></font><br><font size="2"><b>Popcorn Machine GameFlow:</b> <a href="http://www.popcornmachine.net/gf?date=20150504&game=LACHOU" target="new"><b>Click Here</b></a></font> </p>
<center> <font face="Verdana" size="4"><b>Tweet(s) O' The Night</b></font><br><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">No lie, I'll buy an Austin Rivers jersey if the Clippers win this game. I might be like the 3rd person in the world with one.</p>— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) <a href="https://twitter.com/FlyByKnite/status/595399807901962240">May 5, 2015</a>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Charles just said Doc should forget about tonight's game because they're gonna lose. They might lose. But they're only down 4.</p>— Justin Russo (@FlyByKnite) <a href="https://twitter.com/FlyByKnite/status/595422814393479168">May 5, 2015</a>
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https://www.clipsnation.com/2015/5/4/8548287/clippers-rockets-game-one-recap-may-4-2015Justin Russo2015-05-04T21:26:04-07:002015-05-04T21:26:04-07:00Clippers Shock the Rockets In Game 1, 117-101
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<figcaption>Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>No Chris Paul, no problem.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Houston Rockets</a> learned an important lesson the hard way: the <a href="https://www.clipsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Clippers</a> > the <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Mavericks</a>. Math is fun.</p>
<p>To the Rockets' apparent surprise, the Clippers still showed up to play without <span>Chris Paul</span> and rode an explosive third quarter to a Game 1 victory, 117-101. The Rockets turned the ball over 23 times while playing at half speed, sending their fans to the exits early.</p>
<p>The Clippers, hardened and empowered by a series victory for the ages, stole home court advantage in what will hopefully be their only game without their star point guard. <span>Blake Griffin</span> notched yet another triple-double, <span>DeAndre Jordan</span> acquitted himself well against <span>Dwight Howard</span>, and <span>J.J. Redick</span>, <span>Jamal Crawford</span>, <span>Matt Barnes</span>, and <span>Austin Rivers</span> each hit at least three from deep.</p>
<p>Justin Russo will have a complete game recap for you soon!</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2015/5/4/8549987/clippers-shock-the-rockets-to-steal-game-1-117-101Thomas Wood2015-05-04T20:04:31-07:002015-05-04T20:04:31-07:00NBA Playoffs Clippers-Rockets 2nd half open thread
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.clipsnation.com/">Clippers</a> have made just two three pointers to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/">Rockets</a>. five, yet L.A. is only down by four in Houston, playing without Chris Paul. Both teams have been incredibly sloppy with the ball (funny how not having CP3 at the point pushes the Clippers turnover count up) but this game is right there for the taking in the second half.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2015/5/4/8549845/nba-playoffs-clippers-rockets-second-half-open-threadSteve Perrin2015-05-04T17:08:44-07:002015-05-04T17:08:44-07:00Chris Paul Out for Game 1
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<figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>According to Doc Rivers, Chris Paul will not play in Game 1 in Houston tonight.</p> <p>"I just don't think he's healthy enough to play", said Doc Rivers.</p>
<p>The Clippers will ride into Houston tonight for the first game of their second round series against the Houston Rockets without their leader, Chris Paul, who produced a remarkable game 7 performance against San Antonio in the first round, leading the Clippers to victory with an injured hamstring by scoring the latest game-winning basket in the history of game 7s.</p>
<p>Doc Rivers noted that he expects CP3 to play in this series, maybe by game 2.</p>
<p>Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford will both have greatly increased roles for the Clippers with Paul's absence, and deeper reserves like Lester Hudson and Dahntay Jones could also see minutes. Normally inactive are wings C.J. Wilcox and Jordan Hamilton. At least one of these two will become active tonight.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2015/5/4/8549311/chris-paul-out-for-game-1Lucas Hann2015-05-03T18:25:32-07:002015-05-03T18:25:32-07:00NBA Playoffs 2015 Round 2 Clippers-Rockets preview
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<figcaption>Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>After the most impressive and emotional game and series in franchise history against the defending champions, the Clippers have no time to look back and must focus on the task at hand.</p> <table align="center" cellpadding="5" border="1" cellspacing="5" class="sbnu-legacy-content-table">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th bgcolor="silver" colspan="3" align="center">
<p>2015 <a data-ref-index="3" class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba-playoffs">NBA Playoffs</a><br>Second Round</p>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240"><center><img alt="Bvv028jd1hhr8ee8ii7a0fg4i_medium" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/472353/bvv028jd1hhr8ee8ii7a0fg4i_medium.gif"></center></td>
<th align="center" width="20">vs</th>
<td width="240"><center> <a target="_blank" href="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/assets/90873/8xe4813lzybfhfl14axgzzqeq.gif"><img src="http://cdn0.sbnation.com/assets/90873/8xe4813lzybfhfl14axgzzqeq_medium.gif" class="photo" alt="8xe4813lzybfhfl14axgzzqeq_medium"></a> <br id="1393396779331"> </center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240"><center><b>56-26</b></center></td>
<th width="20" align="center"><br></th>
<td width="240"><center><b>56-26</b></center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
</tr>
<tr>
<th bgcolor="silver" colspan="3" align="center">Series Schedule<br> </th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" align="center"><b>Game 1 - Mon May 4, 6:30 p.m., TNT, Houston, TOYOTA Center</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" align="center">
<b>Game 2 - </b><b>Wed May 6, 6:30 p.m., TNT, Houston, TOYOTA Center</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" align="center">
<b>Game 3 - </b><b>Fri May 8, 7:30 p.m., Los Angeles, STAPLES Center</b>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" align="center"><b>Game 4 - Sun May 10, 5:30 p.m., Los Angeles, STAPLES Center</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" align="center"><b>Game 5* Tue May 12, Time TBD, TNT, Houston, TOYOTA Center</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" align="center"><b>Game 6* Thu May 14, Time TBD, TNT, Los Angeles, STAPLES Center</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" align="center"><b>Game 7* Sat May 16, Time TBD, TNT, Houston, TOYOTA Center</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="3" align="center"><b><i>* if necessary</i></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
</tr>
<tr>
<th bgcolor="silver" colspan="3" align="center">Win-Loss Breakdown</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><b>19-11</b></td>
<th width="20" align="center">East</th>
<td width="240"><b>23-7</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><b>37-15</b></td>
<th width="20" align="center">West</th>
<td width="240"><b>33-19</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><b>30-11</b></td>
<th width="20" align="center">Home</th>
<td width="240"><b>30-11</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><b>26-15</b></td>
<th width="20" align="center">Road</th>
<td width="240"><b>26-15</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><b>19-22</b></td>
<th width="20" align="center">.500+</th>
<td width="240"><b>21-21</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><b>37-4</b></td>
<th width="20" align="center">.500-</th>
<td width="240"><b>35-5</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>Probable Starters</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><b><span>Chris Paul</span></b></td>
<th width="20" align="center">PG</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Jason Terry</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><b><span>J.J. Redick</span></b></td>
<th width="20" align="center">SG</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>James Harden</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><b><span>Matt Barnes</span></b></td>
<th width="20" align="center">SF</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Trevor Ariza</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><span>Blake Griffin</span></td>
<th width="20" align="center">PF</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Terrence Jones</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><span>DeAndre Jordan</span></td>
<th width="20" align="center">C</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Dwight Howard</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th bgcolor="silver" colspan="3" align="center"><b>Key Reserves</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><b><span>Austin Rivers</span></b></td>
<th width="20" align="center">PG</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Pablo Prigioni</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><b><span>Jamal Crawford</span></b></td>
<th width="20" align="center">SG</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Nick Johnson</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><b><span>Hedo Turkoglu</span></b></td>
<th width="20" align="center">SF</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Corey Brewer</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><b><span>Glen Davis</span></b></td>
<th width="20" align="center">PF</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Josh Smith</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><b><span>Spencer Hawes</span></b></td>
<th width="20" align="center">C</th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Clint Capela</span></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th bgcolor="silver" colspan="3" align="center"><b>Advanced Stats 2014-2015 Regular Season</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><span><b>96.96 (11th of 30)</b></span></td>
<th width="20" align="center">Pace</th>
<td width="240"><b>99.25 (2nd of 30)</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><span><b>109.8 (1st of 30)</b></span></td>
<th width="20" align="center">ORtg</th>
<td width="240"><b>104.2 (12th of 30)</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="240" align="right"><span><b>103.0 (15th of 30)</b></span></td>
<th width="20" align="center">DRtg</th>
<td width="240"><b>100.5 (6th of 30)</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="center" colspan="3" bgcolor="silver"><b>Injuries/Other</b></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>Chris Paul (hamstring) questionable</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Patrick Beverley</span> (wrist surgery) out</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b>Glen Davis (ankle) probable</b></td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><b><span>Donatas Motiejunas</span> (back) out</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="right" width="240"><b><br></b></td>
<th align="center" width="20"><br></th>
<td width="240"><b><span>K.J. McDaniels</span> (wrist) out</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="3" height="20" bgcolor="silver"></th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph1"><b>The Back Story (The teams split the season series 2-2):</b></p>
<table class="sbn-data-table" border="0">
<tbody>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td><b>Date</b></td>
<td><b>Venue</b></td>
<td><b>Final</b></td>
<td><b><br></b></td>
<td><b><br></b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><center><b>11/28/14</b></center></td>
<td><center><b>Houston</b></center></td>
<td><center><b><a href="https://www.clipsnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Clippers</a> 102, <a href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Rockets</a> 85</b></center></td>
<td><center><b><a href="http://www.clipsnation.com/2014/11/28/7304449/clippers-blast-rockets-102-85" target="_blank"><font color="red">Recap</font></a></b></center></td>
<td><center><b><a href="http://www.nba.com/games/20141128/LACHOU/gameinfo.html" target="_blank"><font color="red">Box Score</font></a></b></center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><center><b>02/11/2015</b></center></td>
<td><center><b>Los Angeles</b></center></td>
<td><center><b>Clippers 110, Rockets 95</b></center></td>
<td><center><b><a href="http://www.clipsnation.com/2015/2/11/8024587/clippers-ground-harden-and-rockets-110-95" target="_blank"><font color="red">Recap</font></a></b></center></td>
<td><center><b><a href="http://www.nba.com/games/20150211/HOULAC/gameinfo.html" target="_blank"><font color="red">Box Score</font></a></b></center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><center><b>02/25/2015</b></center></td>
<td><center><b>Houston</b></center></td>
<td><center><b>Rockets 110, Clippers 105</b></center></td>
<td><center><b><a href="http://www.clipsnation.com/2015/2/25/8112505/rockets-stifle-clippers-late-win-110-105" target="_blank"><font color="red">Recap</font></a></b></center></td>
<td><center><b><a href="http://www.nba.com/games/20150225/LACHOU/gameinfo.html" target="_blank"><font color="red">Box Score</font></a></b></center></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><center><b>03/15/2015</b></center></td>
<td><center><b>Los Angeles</b></center></td>
<td>
<b>Rockets 100, Clippers 98</b><center><b></b></center>
</td>
<td>
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.clipsnation.com/2015/3/15/8220071/heroics-and-heartbreak-clippers-fall-to-rockets-100-98"><b>Recap</b></a><center><b></b></center>
</td>
<td>
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.nba.com/games/20150315/HOULAC/gameinfo.html"><b>Box Score</b></a><center><b></b></center>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p><b>The Big Picture:</b></p>
<p>Do you want the good news or the bad news? The good news is that the Clippers are in the second round of the NBA Playoffs after knocking off the defending NBA Champion <a href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">San Antonio Spurs</a> in the only first round series that was the least bit competitive. Oh, and to say that the Clippers-Spurs series was more competitive than the others is akin to saying that the Pacific Ocean is a larger body of water than others in or around southern California. So the Clippers are battle-tested and playing well to say the least. The bad news is that the player most responsible for getting them past the Spurs is listed as questionable after pulling a hamstring in Game 7. My guess is that Chris Paul sits out Game 1 and then tries to play beginning with Game 2. But playing and playing well are different things, and while it is unimaginable to me that Paul would miss much of this series, there's no guarantee that he can conjure the miracle he pulled off in Game 7 where he went for 27 points on 13 shots, including a game winner, playing on one leg. With a healthy Paul, there's little question in my mind that the Clippers are the better team. Sure, they split four games on the season, but the Clippers outscored the Rockets by 25 in the those games, winning twice in laughers and losing twice in nail biters. Advanced stats, head to head, on paper -- I look at this and I come out with the Clippers ahead on almost every count. But all of that assumes a (relatively) healthy Chris Paul.</p>
<p><b>The Antagonist:</b></p>
<p>The Rockets are a tough team to figure. They have an MVP candidate in James Harden who is a prolific scorer and disinterested defender, yet it was their defensive efficiency that was top five on the regular season while their offense was middle of the pack. Their other superstar, Dwight Howard, was hurt much of the season missing 41 games while playing in 41 -- yet their record was not significantly different with or without him (29-12 with, 27-14 without). We know they follow the analytics book to the letter, setting an NBA record by attempting an astonishing 33 three pointers per game, yet they shoot worse than 35% on those threes, a bit below the NBA average. They faced a wounded and dysfunctional Dallas squad in the first round, winning in five games -- but those <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Mavericks</a> weren't putting up a lot of fight. I'm not a big believer in this Rockets team -- but I've certainly been wrong before.</p>
<p><b>The Subplots:</b></p>
<p><b>Threes, threes, threes.</b> It's truly breathtaking how many threes this Houston team shoots, The Clippers heavily emphasize the three ball and take it whenever it's there. The Rockets took 478 more threes during the season than the Clippers did. They have six players in their playoff rotation who took more than four and half threes per 36 minutes during the regular season -- the Clippers have three, and remember, the Clippers shoot a LOT of threes. Knowing that they want to take that shot is an advantage -- it means running them off of it. At the same time, maybe you're not so upset when Josh Smith (.33 with the Rockets, .285 for his career) or Corey Brewer (.284/.290) or Pablo Prigioni (.275/.398) takes that shot. Like I said, strange team. Closing out on the truly dangerous shooters (Harden, Terry, Ariza) while funneling the ball to the other guys is the way to go, but it's easier said than done.</p>
<p><b>Fouls, fouls, fouls.</b> We'll see how the respective coaches play it, but if intentional fouls off the ball is your cup of tea, there is no shortage of targets in this game. DeAndre Jordan is of course the biggest target in the league right now -- he's a dominant defender and rebounder who shoots 40% from the line, so teams have plenty of incentive to foul him and force <span>Doc Rivers</span>' hand. Meanwhile, Houston's Dwight Howard was the league's main target before DeAndre began to dominate, and if <span>Kevin McHale</span> wants to take Howard out he's looking at guys like <span>Joey Dorsey</span> and Clint Capela who are much, much worse (in small sample sizes) than even Jordan. Doc has never been much into intentional fouls, but Kevin McHale has used it against Jordan before, so we'll see. Maybe a four hour foulfest is just what we need to get the NBA to change the rules.</p>
<p><b>Fouls, fouls, fouls part 2.</b> The three commandments in the analytics Bible are Thou shalt shoot threes, Thou shalt shoot layups and Though shalt get to the free throw line -- and James Harden is freakin' Moses to Daryl Morey's burning bush (stop laughing). Harden averaged 10 free throw attempts per 36 minutes on the season, and that's not because teams are fouling him intentionally. In the one good game he had against the Clippers this season, he was 17-18 from the line. Keeping Harden off the line is going to be a huge factor in this series.</p>
<p><b>The point guard matchup.</b> Rarely does an NBA Playoff series feature so one-sided a matchup as this one, assuming Paul is anywhere near full strength. The Rockets were suspect at the point before Patrick Beverley was lost for the rest of the season -- now the depth chart shows Jason Terry and Pablo Prigioni as the guys playing opposite of Chris Paul. Having said that, in a post-positional NBA universe, it may not matter a lot. On offense Harden has the ball almost constantly for the Rockets, and defensively they'll put one of their long limbed wings (Trevor Ariza or Corey Brewer) on Paul. Of course, Terry has to defend somebody.</p>
<p><b>Redick out of jail.</b> J.J. Redick is probably the happiest guy on the team to be past the Spurs. Against San Antonio Redick faced a steady diet of either <span>Kawhi Leonard</span> (the NBA's DPOY) or <span>Danny Green</span> (almost as good as Kawhi). But unless Houston plays Brewer and Ariza together (which they will some for sure) Redick is going to be seeing a much different class of defender this series. Even Brewer and Ariza, who are both very good, are not Leonard and Green.</p>
<p><b>Dwight Howard.</b> In four meetings this season, the Clippers did not once face Dwight Howard. As I mentioned, the Rockets weren't appreciably better on the season with Howard than they were without him -- but it's also worth mentioning that Howard has looked healthier in the post-season than he did during the season. DeAndre Jordan has sort of taken over Howard's spot in the NBA hierarchy as the dominant rebounder/defender among traditional centers -- but Howard isn't going to take that challenge lightly in this series. This is going to be a tremendous challenge for Jordan, and an opportunity to truly show people that he's now the man at the five spot.</p>
<p><b>Griffin.</b> While Howard never played against the Clippers this season, Blake Griffin only played twice against the Rockets, one of those coming in his first game back from elbow surgery when he was understandably rusty. In the one game in which Griffin was healthy, he went for 30/10 in 31 minutes. No one on Houston's roster other than Howard can handle him and he could have a field day in this series.</p>
<p><b>Regular season meetings.</b> In four meetings this season, the Rockets won once when Blake Griffin was out, and once in his first game back when he was rusty and ineffective, that victory coming by a mere two points. Now, it's also true that the Rockets were without Howard in all four games, so the teams have rarely seen each other at full strength.</p>
<p><b>Handling Harden.</b> Harden struggled mightily against the Clippers this season, shooting under 35% which was his worst percentage against any Western Conference opponent. Having said that, it's hard to explain; it's not like the Clippers have anyone that truly locks Harden down. But Doc Rivers' schemes have been pretty successful at limiting dominant scorers this season, and given a seven series to game plan against the Beard, I could see the Clippers continue to give Harden trouble. If they can keep him off the line, I don't think the Clippers are going to let Harden beat them.</p>
<p><b>Austin Rivers.</b> Believe it or not, I think Austin Rivers is going to be huge in this series. There's the obvious issue of him being Chris Paul's backup. It's almost unimaginable that Paul will be able to play the 40-plus minutes per night from the first series, even if he does play and play well. So Rivers is certainly going to get more playing time and will need to deliver. Over and above that, he may be among the best options defensively on Harden. Rivers has decent size and does a good job of staying in front of players. He'll get his shot at Harden for sure, and if he does well, he'll play big minutes in the series.</p>
<p><b>Spencer Hawes.</b> A forgotten man against the Spurs (deservedly so) Hawes may be called on against the Rockets. If DeAndre Jordan finds himself in foul trouble or is forced to the bench by Bang-the-DJ, Hawes may have to defend Howard. Glen Davis would give it a good effort, but he'd be giving away so much length it would be a big problem. So Hawes may yet have a chance to make an impact in the postseason.</p>
<p><b>Connections:</b> There are no former Rockets on the Clippers and there are no former Clippers on the Rockets. Clippers Hedo Turkoglu and J.J. Redick got valuable playoff experience alongside Rockets center Dwight Howard in Orlando. DeAndre Jordan was born and raised in the Houston area and went to High School in the suburb of Humble. James Harden was born and raised in the L.A. area, and went to High School at Artesia High in Lakewood. Trevor Ariza and Matt Barnes are both UCLA small forwards, but Ariza's one season in Westwood came a couple years after Barnes left. Ariza played his High School ball at Westchester. Both the Rockets and the Clippers were once located in San Diego -- the Rockets were there for four seasons from 1967 to 1971 and the Clippers lasted six seasons from 1978 until 1984.</p>
https://www.clipsnation.com/2015/5/3/8539957/nba-playoffs-2015-second-round-clippers-rockets-series-previewLucas HannSteve Perrin