Clipper at Rockets Game Thread

LA Clippers (10-11) at Houston (14-10) 7:30 pm CST



Starters
vs. Jim Jackson/Corey Maggette
vs. Kelvin Cato/Elton Brand
vs. Yao Ming/Chris Kaman
vs. Steve Francis/Marko Jaric
vs. Cuttino Mobley/Quentin Richardson

Game Outlook
The last time these two teams met earlier in the season, the Rockets won 105-90 thanks to a balanced scoring attack on behalf of the Rockets. I would not expect the same sort of game tonight however. The Clippers are a much improved team since the last time we faced them. Not only is Elton Brand back but Marko Jaric is the starting point guard now. Add to that, Chris Kaman has improved tremendously since he last faces Yao, and you have a new and improved Los Angeles Clippers. In the last game between these two, Corey Maggette absolutely slaughtered the Rockets. He scored 33 points in that outing as he went to the free throw line 20 times. Add Elton Brand to the mix and you now have a very nice inside-outside combo for the Clippers.

The key to this game for the Rockets will be to stop the inside play of Elton Brand while not allowing Corey Maggette to go off like he did last time. Jim Jackson will be a key factor tonight. Corey Maggette won match-up one; Jackson needs to come in tonight fired up, and do his job defensively. Another person to be leary of is Chris Kaman. Recently he has become more and more involved in the Clippers offense. Yao Ming needs to do a good job defensively tonight on Kaman and make sure he gets a body on him, anytime a shot goes up. On offense, the gameplan is like it always is, get it to Yao down low. If we can make a few shots down low on the block early, that will open up room for our perimeter players to go to work. In the last game against this team, we had balanced scoring as five players got in double figures. I do however think, Yao Ming must get involved early on offense. Sure he has been playing bad as of late, however they still need to work to get him the ball more often. Steve Francis should have a huge night tonight against Marko Jaric who is of far less calibar then him.

The Clippers gameplan tonight on defense is going to be try to stop the guard play of Cuttino Mobley and Steve Francis. Quentin Richardson is very athletic, so he should be able to guard Cuttino quite well. The main problem they will have tonight is with Stevie Francis. Marko Jaric just doesnt have the defense skills necessary to guard a player like Francis. As of late Yao Ming has not been playing great basketball. Houston will try to establish him down low tonight, so the Clippers must be ready to help out the rookie on defense. On offense, look for the Clippers to try to establish Elton Brand on offense from the opening tip. Kelvin Cato has the size to bump Brand around however Brand is a very fundamental and talented player and will present problems for the Rockets defense. I would not be surprised if Brand got 25 points in tonights game. Corey Magette got to the free throw line 20 times the last time these two met. He needs to be as aggressive tonight in taking the ball to the hole.


Game Prediction
This game should be very exciting to watch. I think the addition of Brand back to the line-up really helps the Clippers. Add to that all their recent changes and you have a much improved team. I think the Clippers will give the Rockets a run for their money tonight however I do think the Rockets will be able to pull away with a victory. The Rockets are 8-2 at home while the Clippers are 2-6 on the road. My prediction:

Rockets 95, Clippers 91

 

Rockets beat the Clippers 99-85. This game was a great game for the Rockets. Yao Ming played terrific tonight on both sides of the court. He had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. Those are the types of numbers we need for him to put up every night. The Rockets shot an astonishing 96.4% from the floor tonight.

Major props to the Houston defense tonight as well. We forced the Clippers to shoot 32 of 88 (36.4%). The Rockets also did a good job of keeping all of the Clippers players "in check". Elton Brand was held to 11 points and Corey Maggette to 16.

Elton Brand scored the first bucket 26 seconds into the game. That however sparked an 8-0 run by Houston. From there Houston controlled the entire game and never trailed.

One key stat tonight was points in the paint. Houston got 42 while Los Angeles only got 26.

Rockets Players
Yao Ming - 21 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks
Kelvin Cato - 6 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks
Jim Jackson - 12 pouints, 12 rebounds, :mrgreen:, 3 assists
Steve Francis - 16 points, 6 assists, 2 steals
Cuttino Mobley - 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists
Maurice Taylor - 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Eric Piatkowski - 7 points, 1 steal
Moochie Norris - 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals

Player of the Game
Yao Ming - 21 points(9-13 shooting), 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 blocks

Overall a great game by the Rockets. We were hitting on all cylinders.

Reasons for Victory
1. Yao Ming was active tonight
2. Rockets shot the ball well(49.4%)
3. Rockets prevented the other team from shooting well (36.4%)
4. Rockets won the points in the paint battle (42-26)

 

JVG is a big fan of both Jim Jackson and Kelvin Cato. Both of them are great role players for the Rockets.