Clippers look to even up series vs dangerous Rockets

The L.A. Clippers have lost two of three previous contests against the Houston Rockets, but L.A. is a different team at full strength.

The L.A. Clippers and Houston Rockets have met three times already this season, but it'd be best to wipe those previous matchups off the board. The Clippers weren't healthy for any of the three, and the Rockets have been playing a completely different brand of basketball lately. Neither team is the same.

With that, Thursday night's matchup between the two teams has a chance to be one of the best games we've seen this season. As it stands, the Rockets are a 1.5-point favorite, according to Odds Shark. The game will be aired on TNT starting at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time. 

L.A. is rolling. The Clippers are winners of five straight, knocking off strong opponents like the Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder along the way. It's no coincidence that the Clippers have been completely healthy for each of their last five games — which they've won by an average of 17.4 points per game. 

The Clippers' newest additions have been contributing at a high level as well. Marcus Morris Sr. has fit in nicely into L.A.'s starting rotation, playing solid basketball on both ends of the floor and helping to add spacing to a group in desperate need. Reggie Jackson has had the same effect off the bench, and he's helped improve a second unit that was already one of the best in the NBA.

Add all that up, and the Clippers are playing some elite basketball. According to Basketball-Reference, L.A. owns the league's third-best offensive rating and fifth-best defensive rating — one of just three teams to rank in the top-five in both metrics, along with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Rockets, on the other hand, have won 10 of their last 13, with impressive wins over the Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Lakers and Celtics. The team's plan to remove a traditional center from the starting lineup has paid dividends, as the Rockets have averaged nearly 120 points per game since February. 

On top of that, Russell Westbrook is playing some of the best basketball of his career in Houston. He's no longer the triple-double machine that he once was with Oklahoma City (though he's still recorded eight of them this season), but Westbrook has made more of a "team" contribution while still scoring 27.5 points per game — his highest mark since the 2016-2017 season. 

For the Clippers to have the best chance of beating the Rockets, it may be in the team's best interest to match Houston's fast-paced, small-ball style of play. Doc Rivers has already hinted at this too — after Tuesday's win over Oklahoma City, Andrew Greif reported that Rivers wants to play Morris and JaMychal Green at center as the season winds down. 

Size-wise, both players better match up with Houston's current center, P.J. Tucker, than Ivica Zubac does. Both can shoot the three-ball at a high rate and play good defense as well, so don't be surprised if this is a change that's made tonight. 

A win would extend the Clippers' streak to six and overall record up to 43-19 — furthering the gap between them and Denver, and tightening the one between them and the Lakers ahead of their all-important matchup on Sunday.