ClutchFans Game Thread: Rockets @ Clippers 3/2/2011

Win this please!

 

98-87 Rockets.

 

Can't sleep on them. Gonna be a fun game to watch. Hope for a W.

 

Before this road trip started, I felt if we came back 2-1, I would be happy.

I expected them to win this one and one of the other 2. Things have changed... now a 2-1 will disappoint me. It has to be 3-0. Team worked hard to come back from double digits and then play near-perfect game to beat Portland.. can't let that hard work be wasted..

As long as we come with energy.. play them like they are a good team.. and play smart basketball, we will win it easy. Earlier these games looked dangerous to me because we used to come lazy... but now, I expect Rockets to rape such teams. They are on a roll.. they are motivated... they are playing great basketball... Martin is all fresh, Lowry and hayes are ready to lead... This is Scola's time again to start putting double doubles...

Can't get better chance to be above .500 for the first time this season

I would love to see Patterson play much more to rest Hayes. Hayes looked tired as hell yesterday. They do have 2 days rest coming... so it will get better.

 

When I noticed that we had 4 games in 5 nights, optimistically I thought they might win 3 of them. Was really thinking 2. Now they have a shot at all 4 of them. Wow!

 

I suspect we will see A LOT of Dragic, Lee, Williams and Patterson tonight. Starters have to be almost on empty after the last few games.

NEED this win BADLY, can not stumble now.

 

From the Clippers webpage..

Rockets-Clippers Preview

By BRETT HUSTON
Posted Mar 02 2011 1:47AM

The Houston Rockets emerged from the All-Star break with three straight wins, but it was easy to write those off as simply an easy stretch against some of the Eastern Conference's worst teams.

Their past two wins have carried considerably more weight.

Fresh off road victories over a pair of playoff contenders, the Rockets look for a season-high sixth consecutive victory when they wrap up a three-game road trip Wednesday night against a Los Angeles Clippers team eager to welcome back Eric Gordon.

Houston (31-31) remains at the bottom of the outstanding Southwest Division, but it's looked nothing like a bottom feeder lately. (ouch)

The Rockets came out of the break with wins at Detroit and Cleveland, but seemed to be admitting they weren't playoff material by trading away Shane Battier and Aaron Brooks prior to Thursday's trade deadline.

If anything, they've looked like a postseason threat since making those deals. Houston's soft stretch ended with an easy victory over New Jersey on Saturday, but it kept rolling with a 91-89 win at New Orleans on Sunday and an impressive 103-87 rout at Portland on Tuesday.

Kyle Lowry and Luis Scola had 21 points while Kevin Martin had 20 against the Trail Blazers.

"Talent-wise I think we took a step backward (with the trades), but guys like Chase (Budinger) and Courtney (Lee) are getting an opportunity to get more minutes now, and coach (Rick Adelman) gets an opportunity to leave his best players out on the court," Martin said.

Though Houston sits in 11th place in the West, it's just three games behind seventh-place Portland and Memphis, currently in eighth.

Starting with the Clippers (21-40), the Rockets' next three opponents are below .500. Houston, which hasn't won six straight since Feb. 11-26, 2009, is 17-6 against teams currently with losing records.

That includes two victories against Los Angeles in which it held the Clippers to 87.5 points - 17.0 beneath the average allowed by Adelman's club.

Los Angeles scored just 31 points after halftime in a 96-83 loss at Houston on Jan. 26, the second game it played after Gordon went down with a small fracture in his right wrist.

The Rockets won't avoid Gordon this time, though. The third-year guard is expected in the lineup Wednesday after the Clippers went 4-14 in his absence.

Prior to the injury Gordon averaged 26.8 points and shot 51.5 percent in helping Los Angeles go 7-2 from Jan. 5-22.

The Clippers' latest skid hit five Monday. Los Angeles led by five after three quarters in Sacramento, but was outscored 27-16 in the fourth en route to a 105-99 defeat.

Mo Williams had 16 points and five assists in his debut after coming over from Cleveland last week, and Blake Griffin - named the Western Conference rookie of the month Tuesday for the fourth consecutive time - was already looking forward to watching his new point guard share the backcourt with Gordon.

"It will be fun. (Mo) pushes the ball," Griffin said. "Eric is obviously young and athletic and wants to push the ball. I'm excited to see how we play when everybody is back and everybody is healthy."

Griffin has been held to 19.0 points per game while shooting 36.1 percent against Houston.

Martin had 28 points in the Rockets' road victory over the Clippers on Dec. 22. Houston is 13-6 when Martin scores at least 28.

 

Every game is the most important game from now on. Can't underestimate the Clips, especially since I feel like they're going to really want to win.

 

http://www.nba.com/games/20110302/HOULAC/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0021000911

With Gordon back in the lineup and Mo Williams with his second game with the team, there may be an opportunity for the Rockets to attack any imbalances the Clippers may have due to unfamiliarity in the lineup.

 

A big W for this game. Guaranteed. We are firing on all cylinders now (since battier trade)

 

Lets go CLIPPERS!!! Griffin has a monstrous game, and tare up the front line of the rockets!

Lets remove this false hope the rockets are currently playing with!!!

 

Rockets win, 99-93. Big game from the bench.

 

the better win i am not going to this game just to see them lose!

godspeed houston rockets

 

This has trap game written all over it. Rockets are known to disappoint after they start to get things going so I expect a loss here.

 

Can we have DD come in here to tell us how Hayes will be eating Griffin's pit hairs again? That worked out well last time.

 

6-0!!

 

Lee's going to shine tonight.

I expect him to knock down a couple of timely 3-balls and do an extraordinary job of locking up one of the league's most prolific scorers, Eric Gordon.

Rockets -- 108
Clippers -- 103

 

Does this make any sense?

 

This is the Clippers' Black History Month game and they are admitting 1000 underprivileged children for free. The Rockets better play well to show the team's love for black history and underprivileged children.