After the Clippers and Rockets dispatched their first round opponents in vastly opposing styles, each faced a unique challenge in round two. For L.A., it was transitioning from playing a fluid team offense to defending a one-man show. For Houston, it was going from a tactically efficient Mavericks team to an athletically dominant Clippers team.
So far through two games, this series is tied, although each team has different feelings following Wednesday night’s Game 2 in Houston. Houston has to feel like the pressure was turned up after their Game 1 no-show and a come-from-behind win in Game 2, both at home. Los Angeles, on the other hand, has to feel pretty good about itself after stealing a game on the road, all without their star Chris Paul. Going forward, several key factors will determine who wins this series.
Will the Real James Harden Please Stand Up
In Game 1, James Harden did not play like the MVP runner-up for the regular season. He was held to just 20 points and 12 assists, while only shooting 6 free throws (less than half of his regular season average) and turning it over 9 times. It was a Game 1 to forget, not only for Harden, but also for the whole team. Through three quarters in Game 2, it looked like Houston was headed for the same fate as Harden was struggling and saddled with foul trouble. However, he turned it on in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 of his 32 points and rallying the Rockets to victory.
For Houston to win this series, Harden has to play like he is capable of playing. He is simply too much of the Rockets’ offense to have a no-show like Game 1, and the spotlight is only elevated as the playoffs progress. If L.A. can hold him like they did in the first seven quarters of the series, they’ll take the series. If not, Houston has a very real shot at moving to the Western Conference Finals.
C. P. Hammy.
On the other end, the Clippers have to feel pretty good about almost going up 2-0 on the road without superstar Chris Paul. However, they are only tied and the status of CP3 is still in serious question. One of the key flaws of this Clippers team is that they are extraordinarily weak off the bench. With Paul out, the ball-handling duties went to Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford, and Blake Griffin, somewhat surprisingly. It worked in Game 1, but in Game 2, Crawford shot only 6/22 and Griffin ran out of gas (despite yet another triple double) in the fourth quarter.
Paul is fresh off one of the best playoff performances in recent memory against the Spurs in round one. His game seven performance on his bad hamstring was epic, and his return would very clearly shift the dynamic of this series. It’s possible that Doc Rivers held him out of Game 2 because he knew they had already accomplished what they needed to do by winning Game 1, and if that’s the case the Clippers are in pretty good shape.
Free Throw Shooting
My first reaction when seeing this matchup was that we were going to see A LOT of free throws. So far, I think that assumption has been proven true. Game 2 saw the Rockets tie an NBA playoff record for free throws attempted, as they took a monstrous 64 attempts. Some have pointed to this as a sign of one-sided officiating, but if you consider that Dwight Howard shot 21 (Hack-a-Dwight, anyone?) and James Harden shot 15 (around his season average), that number shouldn’t seem so outlandish. A key will be if Howard can make enough free throws to stay on the floor. Shooting 8/21 probably won’t cut it going forward, and the Clippers have seen enough of the Hack-a-Jordan tactic to know that it can work in their favor as well.
Much of James Harden’s game requires him getting to the free throw line. He is a great free throw shooter, as his 15/15 performance in Game 2 indicates, but in Game 1 he only took six. If he is settling for jumpers or being passive, his free throw attempts go down, and the offense struggles. As with Dwight Howard, the Clippers need DeAndre Jordan to make enough free throws to stay on the floor as well. In Game 2, he shot a respectable 66% and was able to be a factor on both ends of the floor. Going forward, the charity stripe could end up determining at least another game, and the advantage seems to be in Houston’s favor if that is the case.