No matter how much adversity the Clippers have experienced lately, they just keep winning. And they’re doing it without Blake Griffin. They haven’t defeated the Rockets in two tries this season, however, and the skid has reached five games dating back to last season’s playoff collapse.
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SCHEDULING
Right when the Rockets started to make a move back to respectability in the Western Conference, the NBA schedule played a wicked trick on them. Houston reeled off five straight wins to climb two games over .500, then, bam, a visit from the East-leading Cavaliers followed by a trip to the red-hot Clippers. At least the Rockets get a reprieve when they play the Lakers in between those contests, but that game comes the night before Houston squares off with the Clips. Playing back-to-back against the Los Angeles teams on the road isn’t as scary as it sounds. The Lakers stink and no travel is involved since both games are played in the same building. The Rockets are 5-5 SU and 4-6 ATS in the second of their 10 back-to-backs this season and the over is 7-3 in those games. Houston’s first visit to the Clippers resulted in a 109-105 win on Nov. 7 when the Rockets were five-point dogs playing the second of a back-to-back set. Houston also posted a 107-97 home win over the Clips as a 2.5-point dog on Dec. 19, further frustrating the Clips after coming back from a 3-1 series deficit in the playoffs last year.
INJURIES
Patrick Beverley took a leave of absence from the Rockets to tend to a personal matter. No specifics were given by the team and it’s unknown if he’ll be back for Monday’s game. Houston is also without Donatas Motiejunas, who is out indefinitely with a back injury.
Blake Griffin is progressing from his partially torn quadriceps tendon, but there remains no definitive timetable for his return. The Clippers won all of their first nine games without him, continuing their remarkable ability to persevere in recent seasons without one of their top players.
The longest active consecutive games played streak came to an end at 360 when Clippers center DeAndre Jordan missed Wednesday’s game against Miami with a mild case of pneumonia. He’s listed as day-to-day.
KEY MATCHUP
Point guard Chris Paul has spearheaded the Clippers effort since losing Griffin to a quad injury. That’s obvious just glancing at his stats, but it’s also come with leadership. Coach Doc Rivers said Paul has gotten better about calling his own sets and Paul knows the team needs the guys they rely on most to be more accountable with Griffin down, and he’s taking control. In nine games since Griffin sustained his injury, CP3 averaged 19.5 points, 11.5 assists and 4.8 rebounds. The Clippers won them all. Prior to Griffin’s injury, Paul averaged 17.7 points and 8.9 assists per game, so he’s definitely taken his game to the next level in the absence of a superstar, but he’s also making his teammates better. Paul had double-digit assist totals in seven of the nine games without Griffin and didn’t have fewer than seven. His 19 assists against the Blazers on Jan. 6 are his most in a Clippers uniform. Paul missed the first meeting with the Rockets and had 10 assists when the Clips visited Houston on Dec. 19.
ODDS AND PREDICTION
The Rockets have the Clippers number, winning each of the first two regular season meetings as an underdog after taking three straight to win their playoff series last year. Maybe the Clips haven’t gotten over that postseason collapse. But they currently are playing a much better brand of basketball, which is quite surprising since Griffin has been out since right after Christmas. Things have been going so well for the Clips that seldom-used Cole Aldrich was the star in their 10th straight win. Starting in place of Jordan, Aldrich, who had scored 64 points the entire season, went for 19 and seven rebounds in 24 minutes. The Clippers are playing with a lot of confidence, and as Paul said, injuries such as Griffin’s force a team to come together. And the Clips will come together to finally beat the Rockets.
Los Angeles 108, Houston 100
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Click here and start wagering today! The contest pitting the Houston Rockets versus the Los Angeles Clippers will commence Monday, January 18, 2015, at 10:30 p.m. ET at Staples Center. The contest will be broadcast nationally on TNT.
