Are the Clippers starting to feel the absence of Russell Westbrook? It sure felt like it as they fell 113-106 on the road Monday night against a Milwaukee Bucks team without their best player Giannis Antetokounmpo. Damian Lillard went for 41 points, I’m willing to bet Westbrook would have taken that challenge on if he was playing. The Clippers also wasted a 29 point night by both Paul George and James Harden, as a team they shot jut 44% from the field. It’s not all doom and gloom for Ty Lue’s team though as they have a favorable match-up tonight in Houston. Against the Rockets they’ve won 8 straight games, while in their last 8 visits to Toyota Center they’ve lost only once. It’s also a homecoming of sorts for Harden who spent 9 season in Houston, so I’m expecting him to show up here.
The Rockets are slowly catching steam following back to back wins over the Suns and Spurs. This will be a 2nd night of a back-to-back for them, following an impressive 114-101 defensive display vs San Antonio yesterday. Alperen Sengun stole the show with 45 points and 16 rebounds in the win, completely outplaying rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama. Houston has been one of the more stable home teams, with 21 wins in 31 games and with a 20-10-1 ATS record. They enter this one as 6-point underdogs, which sounds like a lot for a team that is 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games vs Pacific Division opponents. Coincidentally, the first meeting of the season was won by the Clippers 106-100 with the game being played in Los Angeles.
