ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Clippers 4/10/2017

Clippers are dirty.

Start Nanu, Wiltjer, Taylor, Troy Williams, and Brown. Bench? tell Bull to suit up and give TR Dunn some minutes. He used to play some good defense for Denver. IF you need 8. Let John Lucas play the point for 5 to 10. Everyone else. Rest and relax

 

Good warmup game for the playoffs.

They are still a good team, we should look sharp.

 

I want us to win but i really don't give a F.

 

You can surely expect Harden to play. But I wouldn't expect him to be shooting much.
He'll be passing every chance he gets. He needs those assists
Consider THIS from the Chronicle:

"While praising Westbrook and his place in the record book, Harden moved back on pace to break another NBA record.
Harden scored or had the assist on 72 points on Sunday, pushing his average of points produced to 59 per game and on pace to break the NBA record Nate Archibald has held since 1972.
He is 11 assists from becoming the first player in NBA history with 2,000 points, 900 assists and 600 rebounds."

Anyone who thinks he's going to be THAT close to that record and just sit out is mistaken.
He'll be passing more than a hot-dog eating champ with a stomach flu.
He's going to need his teammates to knock down shots

Don't you think D'antoni would love to have 2 MVP's on his resume? (Nash/Harden)
And also vindicate his offense by helping create a record breaking PG? Count on it.
I wanna watch just for THAT alone. Don't even care if we win
Would be hard to deny James MVP if he sets that record. Gonna be a tough call

 

I agree!! They are dirty, and we don't need our starters hurt in a meaningless game by some cheap shot.

 

Let's end the season on a positive. Let's match the win total from 2015.

 

There's a stat for everything, and it shouldn't be a tough call to keep our starters injury free for a couple meaningless games. If he does play, then it's all about James and his MVP and individual records. I think the coach is an idiot to play him.

 

Does Harden want to be Carmelo Anthony or Dwayne Wade. Stay tuned tonight and find out!

 

I was originally against him playing as well, until I read that bit about how close he is to an ALL TIME record.
If I were James, I'd go for it too. That Nate Archibald record has stood for 45 years.
If I need just ONE more game to break it, I'm IN
And surely, MDA is not going to deny him that

 

I disagree. This is a good warm up for playoff games. The Pistons, Kings, and twolves games...not so much.

 

who has a better chance to knock off warriors; jazz or clippers?

 

They both don't really have a good chance tbh I'll but if I were to guess between both, I'd go with Jazz.

 

You don't have to rest a player who doesn't get tired. Harden's gonna tear the whiny Clippers up.

 

If healthy, I'd prefer the Clippers. I don't trust the Jazz. They're still young and inexperienced and it's shown with their play down the stretch(although injuries have played a role as well in their recent struggles). Meanwhile, LA is actually playing a lot better lately. Granted, they had that choke job against Sactown at home, but I wouldn't write off a team just because they blow a game like that. Otherwise I'd be giving up on the Rockets and Cavs as well.

 

If you think the Clippers have the mental fortitude to take even 2 games from Golden State let alone 4 in a playoff setting, you're gonna have a bad time. CP3 and BG are mentally weak players who have no confidence in their abilities in the playoffs. At least Utah has an incredible home court advantage. I could see them taking 2 games on their home floor against the Golden Boys if the Jazz shoot like they do against us. The Clippers, OTOH, have possibly the worst home court in the NBA during the playoffs.

 

Harden and company will rest the last game... let him put up big numbers and a last point to his MVP resume. I'm all for it. Gonna be fun. Let's go Rockets.

 

I'm not saying the Clippers will beat the Warriors. But I at least give them a shot. The Jazz are too young. They'll crumble under the pressure once the Warriors start raining 3's on them. And that homecourt is solid, but it's not like the glory days of Stockton & Malone when it was damn near impossible to win there.

 

I would argue that their youth actually plays in their favor. The Clippers have far too many playoff collapses to tap into. When things get tight in the 4th quarter, you can tangibly see angst and worry on the faces of Clippers players, and it starts with Doc. The Jazz don't have such traumatic memories to fill their heads with.

Honestly though, this is pretty much a moot point. The Warriors would beat either team in, AT MOST, 6 games......but most likely 5.

 

The Clippers lose this and the Jazz win the next two and they lose HCA over the jazz. They will comeout needing a win. This should be like a playoff game for the Rockets and a good early hit out

 

I wasn't concerned about him getting tired. They have twice as much rest time as playing time anyway, with all the time outs and stops. I just didn't think it was worth risking getting hurt, especially against a dirty team like the Clippers. But he will play, and MDA wouldn't have any say so anyway. I think Harden does what he wants, and that's why he takes the most 3's most games even though he's not the best shooter.