The third war of two titans in the Western Conference occurs tonight in the first slot of NBA on TNT action as the Clippers make their second and final trip to the Toyota Center in H-Town to play the Rockets in what is setting up to be a potential playoff preview in late April, live on TNT at 8:00 p.m. ET.
It’s now becoming apparent that all this Clips team needed was some quality time spent on the court together, and with their five-game winning streak being established with big wins over the Sixers and Nuggets, they’re resembling the well-oiled machine many speculated at season’s beginning to run rampant over the entire conference, especially over their roommates in the Staples Center, the Los Angeles Lakers.
They have materialized a single-game cushion over 2nd in the conference behind their DTLA counterparts in the Lakers, and are currently playing their best ball of the season. Heck, one could argue that they’re finally having their best stretch of health this year, with virtually no injuries to core pieces like Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Lou Williams. Now, they look locked in and focused on maintaining this hot streak in order to supplant themselves into the hierarchy of formidable foes come playoff time next month.
As it goes for the Rockets, Russell Westbrook is picking up the slack he left by himself with his early-season growing pains in his new city with his old teammate James Harden, the small ball experiment is wild enough to the point that it’s working to near perfection, and in a shifting conference, they’re not too far away from snatching that third seed in this year’s playoff tree from Denver. And yet, there’s still anxiety and uncertainty on whether or not this can be sustained later on this year, evident by a head-scratching loss to the lowly Knicks on the second night of a back-to-back in the Madison Square Garden.
The season series between the two conference rivals is currently at 2-1 with the Rockets holding the advantage. Both teams have made some significant alterations to their rosters, including the likes of Houston’s disposal of the injury-prone Clint Capela to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Minnesota’s 3-and-D man Robert Covington, who has provided a serious spark on both ends of the floor for Houston in the execution of their center-less tactics.
Teams have struggled to compete with the 5-man-out system the Rockets have been running, due to the proficient 3-point shooting and driving ability of the men on the floor in Mike D’Antoni’s offensive attack. But, if any team in the league is built to keep up with such an offense, it has to be the Clippers, right?. LA has tons upon tons of depth and can easily match Houston’s starting lineup, with talents like Patrick Beverley, Lou Will, Montrezl Harrell, and new pickups in Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris Sr. Those named players all have the ability to guard multiple positions while still displaying pesky length to stretch the floor on the other end.
It’s a tale of personalities in this one, so be sure not to miss a second of it, live on TNT at 8 p.m. ET.
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