The gift that just keeps on giving is TNT Thursday Night Basketball, as game two of this star-packed doubleheader features another blockbuster showdown featuring a team in Tinseltown in the Clippers defending their home court against the dangerous Houston Rockets at 10:30 p.m. ET on TNT.
The 21-7 Clippers face these 18-9 Rockets for the third time this season, and now it looks as if they’ll have the perfect defensive gameplan to at least slow down offensive supernova James Harden, now that Harden has to worry about dueling against both superstars the Clippers picked up in this offseason.
You know the drill about these Clippers anyway. Now from adding Patrick Beverley, who is now 100 percent recovered from a concussion he suffered a week ago against Toronto, it’s the same lineup as follows, repackaged and all: two superstars in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, three ex-Rockets in PatBev, Lou Williams, and Montrezl Harrell, and three solid rotation players in Ivica Zubac, Mo Harkless and Landry Shamet.
As it goes for Houston, this is yet another opportunity to earn another win against the two-way juggernaut the Clippers are perceived to be. These two teams have split their two-game series apiece, though it looks like the Clips have the clear and conspicuous advantage on paper. This means not that the Rockets can expect this as a loss, though. Both games that the Clips and Rockets have played have been particularly close, and with James Harden standing in rarified air as a scorer with his 38.9 ppg. (only he and Wilt Chamberlain have touched the 40-point average mark in the entire history of this league), expect this one to probably be around the same speed.
It’ll be compelling to watch if the Clippers can limit Harden’s trips to the FT line, considering that Harden has averaged six free throws per game (surprising, isn’t it?) after averaging closer to 14 a game earlier this year. it’ll also be interesting to see if Russell Westbrook can have himself a get-back game against the Clippers (he’s averaging 22.8 ppg., off 42.6 percent shooting and 22.8 percent three-point shooting), considering that he had his worst game of the season against these Clippers. They’re better now that they have their two all-stars on the floor together, so the 2017 MVP certainly isn’t deserving of an easier challenge.
Tip-off is set to occur shortly after the conclusion of Lakers/Bucks on TNT.
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