Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers, Game 4 (Clippers Lead Series 2-1)
Game Time, TV: Sunday, May 10 – 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT
Projected Starting Lineups:
Houston Rockets: PG: Jason Terry, SG: James Harden, SF: Trevor Ariza, PF: Terrence Jones, C: Dwight Howard
Los Angeles Clippers: PG: Chris Paul, SG: JJ Redick, SF: Matt Barnes, PF: Blake Griffin, C: DeAndre Jordan
The Los Angeles Clippers will look to take a commanding 3-1 lead in their second-round series when they play host to the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.
The Clippers’ offense looked as good as it has all season on Friday night, with role players JJ Redick and Austin Rivers exploding for an unlikely 56 points combined. The Clippers’ “Big Three” of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan have been extremely reliable all season long, but the key to achieving their championship dreams will be their role players stepping up when it matters most.
The Rockets, on the other hand, look like they are in real trouble. Their isolation-heavy offense that they have run all season long appears to be reaching its end, and unless head coach Kevin McHale can design new plays to get his guys open looks, the Clippers’ defense simply does not have to work this series on the defensive end.
The key matchup for this game will be James Harden vs. Matt Barnes. Barnes did a fantastic job on Kawhi Leonard during the Clippers’ first-round matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, and it will be his responsibility to slow Harden as much as he can again in this game.
In the end, I see the Clippers winning this one. The Rockets’ simplistic offense has miraculously gotten them this far, and with the Clippers executing on both ends of the floor right now, they look very hard to stop – especially at home.
Prediction: Clippers 111, Rockets 100
Dan Schultz is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.