Posted:
#1
That's what Houston is facing tomorrow night, on national TV. I am not a Rockets fan or a Harden fan but this game intrigues me from a psychological standpoint. The Clippers own Harden (he has been average at best against them) and he knows it. From what I've been reading, he is very focused on preparing for this game. Whether or not that translates into a win or a great performance remains to be seen. It's not easy to pinpoint why the Clippers have dominated the Rockets but they have.
What makes this matchup so intriguing (from a capping standpoint) is that the game, for the Clippers, is sandwiched in-between games against a team (Memphis) that owns them. The Rockets were beaten by the Clippers before the all-star break and the Clippers were just beaten by the Grizz the other night in a game that they almost won on sheer will. But they didn't win, as Paul had the ball taken away from him in the final seconds. Once again, the Clippers came up short and now face the prospect of losing to Memphis for a 3rd time this season if they fail again on Friday.
I think the Clippers will have to be extremely focused tomorrow night to beat a team that they've owned (and that will be extremely focused/motivated to beat the Clippers) while trying to not look-ahead to playing a team that has owned them. The most recent example of this I can think of comes from the NFL. The Niners lost to Seattle (a team that owns them) at home, then had to play the Raiders (a team that was easy to overlook) before playing again at Seattle. And we all know what happened to the Niners.
0
Big Baby cost me in that Spurs game and D Jordan thinks he is Bill Russell all of a sudden while JJ does his best impersonation of Danny Ainge. If Harden can get D Jordan in foul trouble early (by driving to the Basket) I think that will help a lot.
I couldn't imagine Dwight Howard playing against DeAndre Jordan and both teams doing the hack thing.
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