The LA Clippers crushed by the Houston Rockets with James Harden leading the way- March 2017

The Houston Rockets came to the staples center and too it to the Clippers.  LA got of to a quick start but it went downhill from there.  Houston had a barrage of three point shots and LA had no defense against it.  Meanwhile their offense stalled in the third quarter as the rockets built a 30 point lead at the end of 3″ quarters. .  Houston is 10 deep and the addition makes them even more dangerous.  With James Harden leading the way in scoring and distributing on his way to leading the league in assists, this team will be a handful in the playoffs.  They have just about sewed up the 3rd spot and have already surpassed their win total of last year.   LA doesn’t match up well with Houston. The Rockets combated LA’s plan to have Luc Mtah Mutte on Harden setting a screen every time down so unfavorable switches took place. Blake Griffin led the way with 17 points and Chris Paul had 11 assists as he recently returned to the lineup. Harden led a balanced attack with 26 points and Houston went 20-52 from 3 point range

They barley beat the Charlotte Hornets in their last game after losing back to back games vs Golden St and San Antonio.  I feel they missed out at the trade deadline and should have pushed for Paul George as they are clearly not at the same level as the top 3 teams in the west.   They don’t have enough young quality talent in return besides Austin Rivers, who is plating the best ball of his career,   The window seems to be closing with the Big 3 so if they don’t make itbpadtbthe first round, they will need to pick up a big free agent or they won’t have a chance. The team they match up best with of the top 3 is San Antonio. Right now they are fighting for the #4 spot with Utah, Memphis and Oklahoma City not far behind.

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