Tag: Los Angeles Clippers

Pat Beverley’s struggles continue against the Houston Rockets

In Thursday’s win, James Harden and Russell Westbrook combined to shoot 60% against Pat Beverley with an average of 2.60 points per shot.

In a potential playoff preview, the Rockets have won two of three games in the 2019-20 NBA season against the Los Angeles Clippers and could easily have won all three. Consider that in the one loss on Nov. 22, Houston led by five points at Staples Center with under a minute to play.

How have the Rockets (19-9) been so good versus another perceived title contender in the Clippers (21-9), including twice on the road? There are a number of storylines to this matchup, but one big one is continued underperformance by one of Los Angeles’ most prominent role players.

Pat Beverley’s calling card is supposed to be his defense, but it hasn’t played out that way versus Houston. Facing his old team in the Rockets and a personal rival in Westbrook, Beverley has fouled out all three times.

Foul trouble has limited his ability to cover backcourt stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook, and the Clippers have paid dearly. In the two matchups in November, Harden averaged 42 points per game, while Westbrook scored 40 in Houston’s win this Thursday. Harden still had key contributions, of course, with 28 points and 10 assists on 50% shooting.

According to The Athletic, Beverley left the home locker room postgame without speaking to media. By the next morning, a holiday Photoshop meme involving Westbrook and Beverley was born.

Per NBA.com’s tracking data, Harden and Westbrook were especially effective in Thursday’s game when covered by Beverley — shooting a combined 60% against his defense and averaging 2.60 points per shot. For comparison, Harden and Westbrook average 1.55 and 1.15 points per shot on the 2019-20 season as a whole.

After the first meeting in November, Westbrook said this regarding Beverley’s defense after Harden scored 47 points:

Pat Bev trick y’all man, like he play defense. He don’t guard nobody, man. He’s just running around doing nothing. As you’ve seen what happened, 47. All that commotion to get 47.

Their rivalry dates back to the 2013 playoffs, when Beverley — then on the Rockets — went for the ball after the Thunder had called timeout and collided with Westbrook’s knee, all after the whistle had been blown. It led to a torn meniscus and ended Westbrook’s season early, and tension between the now 31-year-old guards has lingered for over six years since.

As far as this season goes, Beverley also fouled out in the second meeting on an epic Harden three-pointer in the final two minutes.

It could be argued that the rigors of chasing Harden and Westbrook defensively have compromised Beverley’s effectiveness on offense. In three games versus Houston, Beverley is shooting just 36% from the field and 18.8% on three-pointers — down significantly from his season averages of 41.0% and 32.7%, and career marks of 41.2% and 37.6%.

Beverley has grabbed only 2.3 rebounds per game against the Rockets, which is less than half of his usual 6.0 average.

Westbrook didn’t offer another specific one-liner about Beverley after Thursday’s win, though he did reference “a lot of antics going on.” After Beverley fouled out late in the game, Westbrook picked up a technical foul for taunting after waving at Beverley on his way off the floor.

Fortunately for the Rockets, Harden intervened to prevent Westbrook from potentially picking up a second technical foul and being ejected.

In the end, Westbrook got the last laugh against his rival when the Rockets finished off the 122-117 victory.

The Clippers and Rockets have one more regular-season meeting on Thursday, March 5 in Houston before a potential playoff matchup in the spring. For Los Angeles to reverse the early results, one big priority for head coach Doc Rivers is figuring out how to keep Beverley on the floor.

[lawrence-related id=20254,20187,20162]

Bucks-Lakers showdown draws 2.78 million viewers

The Bucks-Lakers game did well but still didn’t match the ratings of the opening night game between the Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks came together to deliver what was a pretty entertaining game on Thursday night between the two best teams in the league. And it delivered what is perceived by experts as a pretty good rating for their TV partners, although it wasn’t close to being the highest-rated game of the young season.

According to updated ratings from last night, the Bucks-Lakers showdown on TNT received a 1.12 rating and had a viewership of 2.78 million. Before the game, The Athletic’s Brett Dawson interviewed Sports Business Daily’s Tony Karp who said anything around 2.7 million would be “a hit” for the league.

So the Lakers and Bucks not only delivered a good game they also delivered some much needed good ratings for the NBA. The Lakers-Bucks game was the third-most viewed show on cable last night trailing only the Democratic Debate and coverage of the same debate.

The Clippers-Rockets game which was more of a thriller on Thursday had a viewership of 1.87 million.

 

 

 

How Rockets veteran P.J. Tucker put the clamps on Kawhi Leonard

Rockets veteran P.J. Tucker excelled defensively against Kawhi Leonard, holding the Clippers star to just 33.3% shooting on 12 attempts.

Just by looking at the box score, it might seem that Los Angeles Clippers susperstar and reigning NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard had a strong outing Thursday night at home against the Houston Rockets.

Though the Clippers lost the game, the 6-foot-7 forward had 25 points on 47.4% shooting from the field and 40% on three-pointers. He also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists.

But box scores can occasionally be misleading. In the fourth quarter, when the game was in the balance, Leonard scored just four points and had a costly turnover as the Rockets took control of the game.

What changed? Veteran Rockets forward P.J. Tucker, who was limited at times during the game due to foul trouble, threw caution to the wind and hounded Leonard all over the Staples Center court when the game was on the line. Here’s a collection of his defensive highlights:

When guarded by Tucker, Leonard shot just 4-of-12 (33.3%) and turned the ball over twice, according to NBA.com’s tracking data.

“He’s one of the best players in the league,” Tucker said postgame of Leonard. “He’s strong, he’s physical. He’s a really good pull-up shooter, good catch-and-shoot shooter. He can do everything.”

“So you’ve just got to be physical with him,” Tucker said of his strategy. “Try to knock him off his spots. Try to make him take tough shots. I just put my body into him, and it comes down to players making plays.”

After the game, Clippers coach Doc Rivers singled out Tucker and Russell Westbrook (who scored a game-high 40 points) for their contributions.

Russ and Tucker were the two guys that changed the game for them. I thought Tucker’s defense and just overall toughness on everybody. Whoever he guarded, he got every loose ball, he got steals, I thought just his defensive energy and intensity changed the game for them.

[lawrence-related id=20187]

In addition to his elite man defense on Leonard, Tucker had the most rebounds of any player on either team at 12 — even though he’s undersized at 6-foot-5 and also older (34) than most of his opponents.

“Our defense was the difference,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said postgame about his team’s execution late in the game, when they had a 15-0 run in the final five minutes to take command.

D’Antoni continued:

Even when we were turning it over a couple times, if we didn’t get shots up or we missed shots, they didn’t score. P.J. was a big part of that with his defense on Leonard, and he came up with steals and rebounds. Guys were just playing as hard as they could play.

Leonard is far from alone, as it pertains to superstar NBA forwards that have struggled at times against Tucker’s relentless defense. In September, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant identified Tucker as the league’s toughest one-on-one defender for him.

Tucker and the Rockets (19-9) return to action Saturday night at Phoenix (11-16) for the second game of a four-game West Coast road trip. The Rockets have now won eight of their last 11 games overall.

[lawrence-related id=19918,20162]

Report: Rockets still hope to pursue Andre Iguodala via buyout

According to The New York Times, the Rockets, Lakers, and Clippers remain hopeful that Andre Iguodala will be bought out later this season.

The Houston Rockets are among the Western Conference contenders still hoping to pursue veteran defensive ace Andre Iguodala, if he ultimately receives a buyout from the Memphis Grizzlies.

In a Friday update, Marc Stein of The New York Times listed the Rockets and both Los Angeles teams (Lakers, Clippers) as among those squads hoping that Iguodala becomes a buyout candidate later this season.

Because the Grizzlies seem intent on trying to trade Iguodala first, any potential Iguodala buyout would appear unlikely until after the 2019-20 NBA trade deadline on Feb. 6, 2020. Iguodala would need to be bought out by March 1 in order to be playoff eligible with his next team.

Now 35 years old, Iguodala was traded to Memphis in July purely to cut costs after Golden State faced a hard salary cap due to the double sign-and-trade deal involving Kevin Durant and D’Angelo Russell. The Grizzlies actually received a future first-round pick to take on Iguodala, who has one year and $17.2 million left on his contract.

For Memphis, the primary value of the trade was believed to be that future draft selection, since Iguodala wouldn’t seem to be a fit for the rebuilding Grizzlies at this advanced stage of his career. Thus, many around the NBA have believed that Iguodala would eventually be bought out of his contract, as occurs with numerous veterans on bad teams every season that are in the final year of their contracts.

But to this point, the Grizzlies have held firm on not buying him out and are instead continuing to try and trade Iguodala for more assets. During this process, Iguodala is working out privately away from the team to stay in game shape while awaiting his next destination.

The Rockets, who are well above the NBA’s salary cap, are likely unable to trade for Iguodala — even if they wanted to. This is because they lack the mid-tier salary fillers necessary to approach his $17-million contract and make a deal legal under the league’s collective bargaining agreement. However, reports over the summer indicated that the Rockets believed Iguodala would be a good fit in Houston.

In recent weeks, reports have suggested that the Rockets (19-9) are attempting to add wing depth to their team. At 6-foot-6 and extremely versatile on defense, Iguodala would certainly seem to fit the bill.

As far as Iguodala is concerned, the problem for GM Daryl Morey and the Rockets could be his California roots. Considering he played his last six seasons with the Warriors, either the Lakers (24-5) or Clippers (21-9) would offer a much shorter commute to home than Houston.

But it seems the Rockets still want the opportunity to make their pitch, if Iguodala ultimately becomes a free agent. And if only a small handful of weeks are left in the 2019-20 season by the time Iguodala makes his choice, perhaps that could make geography slightly less of a priority.

[lawrence-related id=14065,13343,11001]

Doc Rivers on Rockets, Westbrook: ‘We forget the other MVP’

Clippers coach Doc Rivers credited Russell Westbrook and P.J. Tucker as game-changers for the Houston Rockets in Thursday’s comeback win.

The Clippers limited Houston star and perennial MVP candidate James Harden to 28 points on 16 shots in Thursday’s game at Staples Center, which is more than 10 points below his season average and tied for Harden’s fifth-lowest total of the year.

Los Angeles head coach Doc Rivers said postgame that he liked his team’s overall defensive balance on Harden, who averaged 42 points in a pair of games between the same teams in November.

Yet the Rockets (19-9) still defeated the Clippers (21-9) in Thursday’s matchup of perceived NBA title contenders, 122-117 (box score), in large part due to other guys who stepped up on the Houston roster.

Russell Westbrook scored a season-high 40 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds, while P.J. Tucker brought infectious energy with 12 rebounds, two blocks, a steal, and suffocating defense on Kawhi Leonard.

Despite trailing by 16 points with under nine minutes left in the third quarter and by six points with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Rockets rallied back each time with 40-12 and 17-2 bursts.

Within that first run, Rivers appeared most perturbed by a 16-2 run late in the third and early in the fourth quarters when Harden was actually on the bench. He explained in his postgame interview:

The biggest run they made was when James went out. That was with a bunch of guys on the floor and Russ. And Russ decided, ‘I’m taking this game over.’ And all the other role players played their role for him. They did a great job.

We talked about that this morning, when James goes out of the game, Russ becomes ‘Oklahoma Russ,’ and we didn’t handle it very well.

From a tactical standpoint, Rivers said he thought his defenders were too aggressive against the ultra-quick Westbrook in the backcourt — which allowed him to blow past the wave of defenders.

We give so much attention to Harden that we forget the other MVP that’s on their team. You’ve got to respect him and play him the right way.

I thought we lost our discipline a lot on him tonight, especially in transition. We were jabbing at the ball in the backcourt. Once he gets in front of you, you’re not catching him, at least nobody that I’ve seen. And I thought that happened over and over again in the second half.

Harden did have 10 assists for the game, and his 28 points came on efficient 8-of-16 (50%) shooting, including 5-of-11 (45.5%) on three-pointers. The presence of the NBA’s scoring leader and the attention he draws from opposing defenses certainly makes the game easier for Westbrook and others who play with him.

But in those minutes without Harden, Westbrook showed that he was still capable of leading a team himself, too. Rivers seemed to agree:

Russ changed the game. Russ and Tucker were the two guys that changed the game for them. I thought Tucker’s defense and just overall toughness on everybody. Whoever he guarded, he got every loose ball, he got steals, I thought just his defensive energy and intensity changed the game for them.

It’s not as if Thursday’s performance was an outlier for Westbrook, either. In his last six games, the 2017 MVP has averaged 29.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 6.7 assists for the Rockets on 50.4% shooting overall and nearly 30% on three-pointers.

“It’s coming,” Westbrook said postgame about his integration into the Rockets’ offense after spending his first 11 seasons in Oklahoma City.

“As the season goes along, I figure out a way to make my impact on the game,” Westbrook said. “Whatever it is, scoring, defending, rebounding, passing. The game will kind of tell me what I need to do.”

Westbrook and the Rockets (19-9) return to action Saturday night at Phoenix (11-16) for the second game of a four-game West Coast road trip. The Rockets have now won eight of their last 11 games overall.

[lawrence-related id=20162,19929,19732]

The Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley beef got another chapter with goodbye wave

The rivalry continues.

Russell Westbrook and Patrick Beverley have one of the most heated rivalries in all of sports and it’s showing no signs of stopping.

A reminder: this all started when Beverley was a member of the Houston Rockets and he rammed into Westbrook — then with the Oklahoma City Thunder — a move that tore Westbrook’s meniscus in 2013.

Since then, we’ve seen, among other things, the police separate the two and some heated smack talk.

Toward the end of Thursday night’s Houston Rockets victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, Beverley fouled out. So Westbrook did exactly what you’d expect: he waved goodbye to his rival … and referees gave him a technical for it:

Westbrook — who scored 40 points, the first time a non-James Harden Rocket scored 40 since Kevin Martin in 2011 (!) — didn’t care that he got a technical at a crucial point in a huge game against a Western contender:

We can only hope this continues — and it probably will when these two teams meet again on March 5. But would it be too much to ask for a playoff series in which these two face off a bunch?

[jwplayer FSUJXoNr-q2aasYxh]

Russell Westbrook scores 40 to lead epic Rockets rally at Clippers

Russell Westbrook and James Harden combined for 68 points as the Rockets (19-9) overcame a 17-point deficit to defeat the host Clippers.

The Rockets went on 40-12 and 17-2 runs in the second half of Thursday’s wild game at Staples Center in Los Angeles, overcoming a 16-point deficit in the third quarter to defeat the host Clippers, 122-117 (box score).

Russell Westbrook led Houston with 40 points and 10 rebounds, becoming the first Rockets player not named James Harden to score 40 or more points in a game since Kevin Martin on Jan. 5, 2011.

Meanwhile, Harden had 28 points and 10 assists, with one of those dimes making him the franchise’s all-time assists leader.

Westbrook keyed the massive 40-12 run for the Rockets late in the third and early in the fourth quarters, in which Houston (19-9) turned a 77-61 deficit into a 101-89 lead with just over nine minutes left. Part of that run came with Harden on the bench and Westbrook leading the second unit.

Then, after the Clippers (21-9) responded with a 22-4 burst to go up 111-105, Harden took over down the stretch with 10 points in the final five minutes during a 17-2 Rockets run to secure the game.

Frontcourt starters P.J. Tucker and Clint Capela offered key defensive contributions, especially late. Tucker had 10 points, 12 rebounds and helped limit Kawhi Leonard in the fourth, while Capela posted 16 points (8-of-9 shooting), eight rebounds, four steals, and a game-high plus/minus figure of +27 in his 39 minutes.

Paul George led Los Angeles with 34 points, but Harden took on the assignment of the Clippers’ leading scorer in the final five minutes and held him in check as the Rockets took command with that 17-2 burst.

The Rockets, who have now won eight of their last 11 games overall, return to action Saturday night at Phoenix (11-16) for the second game of a four-game West Coast road trip.

[lawrence-related id=20087,20121,19732]

James Harden becomes all-time Houston Rockets assists king

Rockets star James Harden made history Thursday by passing Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy as the all-time Houston Rockets assists leader.

Rockets superstar James Harden made history in Thursday’s first quarter by recording assist number 4,403 of his Houston tenure. Appropriately, it occurred in Harden’s hometown of Los Angeles, where the Rockets (18-9) faced the Clippers (21-8) in a clash of perceived NBA title contenders.

That assist — which led to a dunk for big man Clint Capela — allowed Harden to pass Hall of Fame guard Calvin Murphy (4,402) for the franchise’s all-time assists lead.

Entering Thursday, Harden was the NBA’s leading scorer this season at 38.9 points per game. However, on the all-time Rockets points list, Harden (16,881) trailed No. 2 scorer Murphy (17,949) by nearly 1,000 points and No. 1 scorer Hakeem Olajuwon (26,511) by almost 10,000.

In many ways, it’s symbolic for Harden to pass Murphy on the assists list before the points list. Though the 2018 MVP is revered for his scoring, it’s the diversity of his skillset and his ability to both score and facilitate that has largely defined his eight seasons to date in Houston.

Murphy, who now works as an analyst for Rockets television partner AT&T SportsNet Southwest, addressed Harden’s looming history on Monday.

People are going to ask me about him breaking my record. Number one, I’ve held it for 50 years. Can you believe that? All my contemporaries are gone, and they’re still talking about Calvin Murphy.

I’ve always said that if any of my records fall, I want them to be broken by somebody of quality. Not somebody that accidentally stepped into it. James Harden is more than qualified to break any of Calvin Murphy’s records.

The thing I like about James Harden is that when he does something of that magnitude, he always brings me along for the ride, and I appreciate that. … The fact that he appreciates what we did before him makes me feel good. This man has class.

When asked last weekend to compare Harden to other current NBA stars and MVP candidates, Orlando Magic defensive ace Jonathan Isaac pointed to Harden’s passing as a distinguishing characteristic.

“I would say he’s the toughest so far, with the way that he’s able to get everybody else involved on top of him having a great shooting night,” Isaac said after Harden’s 54 points and seven assists in a blowout win.

[lawrence-related id=19774]

As for the franchise’s all-time leaders in cumulative statistics, Harden also ranks first in three-pointers made and attempted.

Barring injury, the 30-year-old guard should soon become the all-time Rockets leader in made free throws, as well. Harden entered Thursday’s game 255 made foul shots short of Olajuwon (5,121 to 5,376), but with an average of 13.1 free-throw attempts per game on 88.4% accuracy and 55 games left to play this season, Harden should easily clear Olajuwon’s mark before the 2019-20 campaign is complete.

For perspective, heading into Thursday’s game, Harden had made 312 free throws within just the first 27 games for the Rockets.

With Harden under contract through at least 2021-22, he’ll have every opportunity to break numerous other team records in the years ahead.

[lawrence-related id=19855]

How to Watch Rockets vs. Clippers, NBA Live Stream, Schedule, TV Channel, Start Time

Watch Rockets vs. Clippers Live Online.

The Western Conference is loaded with star power this season after a plethora of teams made offseason moves. Two of those franchises were the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers. They clash in a key game on Thursday.

Rockets vs. Clippers

When: Thursday, December 19

Time: 10:30 p.m. ET

TV: TNT

Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

The last game for the Houston Rockets was an emotional one, as they earned a dramatic 109-107 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. In a rematch of a game the Rockets protested earlier in the season due to a James Harden dunk that was not counted, the Rockets came back from a 25-point deficit to grab the win. Russell Westbrook led the Rockets with 31 points. It will be interesting to see how the emotions of that night impact the Rockets in their clash with the Clippers.

Los Angeles enjoyed a much less dramatic affair during its last game, as the Clippers collected a 120-99 win over the Phoenix Suns. Paul George scored 24 points for the Clippers, while Kawhi Leonard had 20 points. That balance between the two stars has been an impressive feature of this new-look Clippers team, as both stars have played without an ego. A strong bench has also provided them with plenty of support.

We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.

Paul George says James Harden’s numbers are about winning

When asked about James Harden’s historic scoring, Paul George said the numbers are about doing what it takes for the Rockets to win games.

At a morning shootaround before Thursday night’s nationally televised game in Los Angeles, Clippers forward Paul George weighed in on the astonishing season to date from Houston Rockets star James Harden.

Harden leads the league with an average of 38.9 points per game, which over a full season would be the highest of any NBA player in the last 56 years. The 2018 MVP also averages 7.4 assists and 6.0 rebounds.

But in the eyes of George, who finished third in MVP voting a season ago, the production by Harden is about more than simply individual numbers.

When asked about Harden’s scoring binge, George said:

Y’all see what he’s doing. I don’t have [any] answers for that one. He does what he has to do for them to win.

The Rockets (18-9) and Clippers (21-8) split a pair of games in November, with the home team winning by a close margin in both instances. With the teams separated by just one game in the loss column in the Western Conference standings, Thursday’s game is a big one for both sides.

Regarding the matchup, George said:

It’s always going to be a hard-fought game. You’ve got a team that plays defense and a team that prioritizes offense. It’s going to be a clash, and that’s what it’s going to be tonight.

To this point, it’s hard to argue with George’s assessment. The Clippers have been a slightly better team than the Rockets so far, mainly because the advantage Houston has over Los Angeles on offense (No. 3 in net rating, compared to No. 7) isn’t as large as the edge the Clippers have relative to the Rockets on defense (No. 5 in net rating versus No. 16).

If the Rockets are to win Thursday’s game at Staples Center, where George, Kawhi Leonard, and the Clippers are 14-1 this season and have won 10 straight, they’ll need to execute at a high level on both ends of the court. The Harden-led offense should give them a chance, but it will likely have to be paired with a strong defensive showing to win on the road against a team as talented as the Clippers.

[lawrence-related id=18470,17812,17833]