Opening up a promising stretch of games in the coming weeks, the LA Clippers (31-31) visit the torpedoing Houston Rockets (15-44) Sunday afternoon. Read on for our full Clippers vs. Rockets game preview.
Clippers vs. Rockets Game Information
Where: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
When: 4 p.m. PT
How to Tune in: Bally Sports SoCal, AM 570 KLAC, KTMZ
Projected Starting Lineups
LA Clippers: Reggie Jackson – Terance Mann – Nicolas Batum – Marcus Morris Sr. – Ivica Zubac
Houston Rockets: Dennis Schröder – Jalen Green – Eric Gordon – Jae’Sean Tate – Christian Wood
Injury Report
LA Clippers: Paul George – OUT (Right Elbow UCL Tear), Kawhi Leonard – OUT (Right Knee; ACL – Injury Recovery), Norman Powell – OUT (Left Foot; Fractured Medial Sesamoid Bone), Jason Preston – OUT (Right Foot – Injury Recovery), Jay Scrubb – OUT (Right Foot – Injury Recovery)
Houston Rockets: Usman Garuba – OUT (Left Wrist Fracture), Daishen Nix – OUT (G League – On Assignment), Kevin Porter Jr. – QUESTIONABLE (Left Ankle Sprain), Trevelin Queen – OUT (G League – Two-Way)
Update: Kevin Porter Jr. (Ankle) has been ruled out for tonight, per Law Murray.
The Big Picture
After bursting out of the break with yet another dramatic win over the Los Angeles Lakers, the LA Clippers have split their wins and losses right down the middle once again 62 games into the season. Winners of four of their five coming all against Western Conference opponents, LAC now find themselves not only on a good pace to make the play-in as the eighth seed, but also entering what should be an easier part of their schedule. Unfortunately, from a big-picture perspective, however, Friday’s headlines weren’t entirely everything Clipper fans were hoping for as Paul George’s MRI update didn’t say much. Although hearing that he’s “feeling better” and “making progress” is undeniably better than hearing that a setback occurred, it’s looking pretty clear that prepping for 2022-23 should be the goal. As Shap put it on the latest episode of TLTJTP, there’s not much “ramp” left and the postseason plane is about to take off. In the meantime, the beat goes on as just as Terance Mann alluded to recently, this is going to be the group for the foreseeable future — and one that has been pretty darn impressive.
The Antagonist
The task at Toyota Center tonight is something the Clippers haven’t attempted since May 2021, a game in which Rajon Rondo, Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Oturu and Yogi Ferrell each logged minutes for LA. Of course, the Clippers also just saw this year’s Rockets for the first time in DTLA, which wasn’t very competitive at all. At a glance, the Clippers’ defense (No. 7 DEFRTG in the NBA) is leaps and bounds ahead of the Rockets’ league-worst. This set up LAC to rout Houston by a 31-point win margin as well as see them put up 142 points, which both hold records in the two teams’ history.
Houston, currently on an 8-game skid, has tallied just four fewer losses than Phoenix, Golden State and Memphis combined. A lot of that has happened whenever a certain former Clipper has been out of the office. This year, the Rockets are 0-11 without Eric Gordon, who missed the game against LAC earlier in the month due to a sore groin. Getting their third-leading scorer back in for this one could make a difference, especially if Kevin Porter Jr. is able to play as well. The Rockets’ starting point guard is leading the team in assists and steals, and was absent as well in the last meeting.
Clippers vs. Rockets Game Notes
- Zu, Reg Stock Down: Tonight should be a nice opportunity for several guys to “bounce back” from stretches of the last game that were less than desirable. Ivica Zubac was outplayed by Dwight Howard early on and sat the final 18 minutes due to foul trouble. Although he did chip in a much-needed 17 points and hit the game-deciding free throws, Reggie Jackson had a trio of momentum-swinging turnovers as well as the odd dribble-out-the-clock play that led to a near-disastrous 8-second violation.
- TMann, RoCo Stock Up: Some of the more exciting trends to track with the Clippers as of late is the play of Terance Mann and Robert Covington, who each delivered big-time Friday night. Mann has seemingly been unleashed since Norman Powell went down five games ago, to which Tyronn Lue agreed his development has outweighed the need to go get another point guard. Covington has wasted little time winning over those both in and out of the Clipper organization. A “great locker room guy” that does all the dirty work according to Mann, it’s no surprise Lue described RoCo’s addition as having “two Nicos.”
Feel free to stick around and chat down below as this article’s comment section will serve as our live game thread tonight against the Houston Rockets. Sign up for a free account and join the conversation!
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