After a fun seven-game homestand, the Houston Rockets take their show and 6-game winning streak on the road.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen that James Harden is now a member of the Los Angeles Clippers. You’ve also seen that they have not won a game in the James Harden era (0-5), while the Philadelphia 76ers have continued their own winning ways.
Well, I’m here to say that the Clippers are too good, with too much talent, to continue struggling to pick up wins. And with Houston on a long winning streak heading into LA’s house, you know the Clips will be juiced to end their own losing streak and make a statement to the rest of the league. The Rockets have been off four days, which is nice, but the Clippers have been off for two, so the advantage is essentially nullified.
In case you needed a refresher, the Clippers have Harden, Russell Westbrook, P.J. Tucker, and Daniel Theis (who will clear waivers today, but probably won’t play tonight) on their roster. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George still form the nucleus of the squad, along with Ivica Zubac. Terance Mann and Norman Powell come off the bench and can light up the scoreboard.
One last note: Harden has already had games against the Rockets since his trade to the Nets, but tonight marks his first opportunity to show Ime Udoka that he made a mistake in passing him up for Fred VanVleet. Rockets fans are happy about how the entire situation has unfolded, but I wonder if The Beard will take tonight’s contest a little bit more personally.
Tip-off
9:30pm CT
How to Watch
Space City Home Network
Injuries
Rockets
Amen Thompson-OUT (ankle)
Clippers
Mason Plumlee-OUT (knee)
Looking ahead because we can
Sunday in Los Angeles against the Lakers