The Dream Shake - Complete Coverage: Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles ClippersThe best footwork on the Internethttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/34031/32x32.png2013-02-14T00:30:56-06:00http://www.thedreamshake.com/rss/stream/37510312013-02-14T00:30:56-06:002013-02-14T00:30:56-06:00Motiejunas shines in loss to Clippers
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/gfrzb_RC6vL1UL6zw9wQauRmMQU=/0x26:4000x2693/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/8121483/20130213_gav_sv5_002.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Clippers superior talent was the deciding factor in a loss to lead into the All-Star Break, but there were plenty of positive takeaways from the loss.</p> <p>After the Clippers rode hot shooting, strong rebounding, and Chris Paul's brilliance to a 46 point first quarter, it seemed like Wednesday night's contest was all but over. James Harden was out with a bum ankle, Carlos Delfino couldn't get anything going in his stead, and it seemed unlikely that Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons alone could propel the Rockets past Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and the Clippers.</p>
<p>In the end, the Rockets' effort wasn't enough, but a collective team effort over the last three quarters allowed the Rockets to make quite the game of it. Donatas Motiejunas came off the bench for a career high 13 points, James Anderson added some steady contributions, the duo of Jeremy Lin and Chandler Parsons enjoyed varied success in a night where the Rockets nearly overcame inferior talent to surprise the Clippers.</p>
<p>Boiled down to its core, the game was a great battle between a superior team in top form and an inferior one missing its leader. There were moments of entertainment, but to be perfectly honest, it was a fairly vanilla night of basketball. However, one thing stuck out, and that's what we will be discussing tonight in our recap.</p>
<p>Donatas Motiejunas, in his longest outing of his career, had a terrific night, scoring 13 points in 16 minutes. In those 16 minutes, he showed off an ability to run the floor, to score in the post, and work in the pick-and-roll game, three of his strongest skills coming out in the Draft. There were times when he still looked a little green around the gills, but in what appeared to be an audition for backup center minutes, Motiejunas thrived.</p>
<p>Now, he's going to have to work on his rebounding. He got pushed around in the paint a little bit, and though he managed to grab three rebounds in limited minutes, his ability to box out and corral boards has to improve. Regardless, he made the case for more minutes moving forward, and that should be an interesting story to follow after the All-Star Break.</p>
<p>Though going into a long break with a loss is tough, the Rockets can take solace in the fact that they just stuck with a championship contender for 48 minutes with James Harden on the bench. Add in the potential emergence of a new bench big man, and you have plenty of silver linings to a double-digit loss.</p>
https://www.thedreamshake.com/2013/2/14/3987432/rockets-lin-outclassed-by-clippers-paul-in-106-96-lossPatrick Harrel2013-02-13T20:31:04-06:002013-02-13T20:31:04-06:00Game #55: Rockets vs. Clippers
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Iw5_MCFTvFVaC8UBnhHYqVOA0C8=/0x0:4000x2667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/8103707/20130211_hcs_sy4_056.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Houston Rockets could be without their centerpiece tonight on the road against against the best team in Los Angeles.</p> <p></p>
<table class="sbnu-legacy-content-table" cellspacing="5" border="1" height="666" align="center" width="577" cellpadding="5"><tbody> <tr><th align="center" bgcolor="silver" colspan="3">2012/2013 NBA Season</th></tr> <tr> <td width="240"> <center><img class="photo" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/91861/Houston_medium.gif" alt="Houston_medium"></center> <center>(29-25)<br> </center> </td> <th align="center" width="20">@</th> <td width="240"><center><center> <p><a href="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2020453/clippers_50.png" target="_blank"><img class="photo" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2020453/clippers_50_medium.png" alt="Clippers_50_medium"></a> <br id="1360796165178"></p> <p>(37-17)</p> </center></center></td> </tr> <tr><td align="center" bgcolor="silver" colspan="3"><strong>February 13th, 2013</strong></td></tr> <tr><td align="center" colspan="3">STAPLES Center</td></tr> <tr><td align="center" colspan="3"><strong>9:30 PM CST</strong></td></tr> <tr><td align="center" colspan="3"><strong>NBATV</strong></td></tr> <tr><th align="center" bgcolor="silver" colspan="3"><strong>Starting Lineups</strong></th></tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Jeremy Lin</span></span></span></span></span></span></td> <th align="center" width="20">PG</th> <td width="240"><span>Chris Paul</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Carlos Delfino</span></span></span></span></span></span></td> <th align="center" width="20">SG</th> <td width="240"><span>Willie Green</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Chandler Parsons</span></span></span></span></span></span></td> <th align="center" width="20">SF</th> <td width="240"><span>Matt Barnes</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Patrick Patterson</span></span></span></span></span></td> <th align="center" width="20">PF</th> <td width="240"><span>Blake Griffin</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Omer Asik</span></span></span></span></span></span></td> <th align="center" width="20">C</th> <td width="240"><span>DeAndre Jordan</span></td> </tr> <tr><th align="center" bgcolor="silver" colspan="3"><strong>2012/13 Advanced Stats</strong></th></tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240"><span style="text-align: start;">96.2 (1st of 30)</span></td> <th align="center" width="20">Pace</th> <td width="240">94.1 (6th of 30)</td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240">109.9 (4th of 30)</td> <th align="center" width="20">ORtg</th> <td width="240"><span style="line-height: 9px;">106.3 (12th of 30)</span></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" width="240">106.7 (21st of 30)</td> <th align="center" width="20">DRtg</th> <td width="240">106.4 (19th of 30)</td> </tr> <tr><th height="20" bgcolor="silver" colspan="3"><p>Also see: <a href="http://www.clipsnation.com" target="_blank">Clips Nation</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/clippersteve" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.clipsnation.com/2013/2/13/3983358/clippers-rockets-preview-home-again-home-again-jiggity-jig" target="_blank">Preview</a>) | <a href="http://www.thedreamshake.com/2013/2/13/3986990/complete-coverage-houston-rockets-vs-los-angeles-clippers" target="_blank" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">StoryStream</a></p></th></tr> </tbody></table>
<p><strong>Injuries:</strong></p>
<p><span>James Harden</span>: sprained right ankle, game-time decision and doubttful</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 9px;"><span>Toney Douglas</span></span><span style="line-height: 9px;">: left hip pointer, questionable tonight</span></p>
<p><span>Chauncey Billups</span>: sore lower back, questionable tonight</p>
<p><span>Caron Butler</span>: strained lower back, questionable tonight</p>
<p><span>Trey Thompkins</span>: bone bruise in left knee, out indefinitely</p>
<p><strong>Tweets:</strong></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> <p>Harden attending daily meeting, still called 'game-time decision.' Getting treatment. Seems unlikely he'll play vs. Clips, but he wants to.</p>— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen/status/301793875801022464">February 13, 2013</a> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> <p>This 'game-time decision' really is, but Harden going through normal warm up with no trainer, staff personnel watching. Looks OK.</p>— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen/status/301881504303296512">February 14, 2013</a> </blockquote>
<p><script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> <p>James Harden will play tonight and is going to start (of course)</p>— Jason Friedman (@JasonCFriedman) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonCFriedman/status/301883150580207616">February 14, 2013</a> </blockquote>
<p><script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> <p>Change in plans. Harden will not play. He was named a starter, but was just ruled out.</p>— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Feigen/status/301887944212488194">February 14, 2013</a> </blockquote>
<p><script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>(it was a bit of a roller coaster ride)</p>
<p><strong>The conversation starts now.</strong></p>
https://www.thedreamshake.com/2013/2/13/3986102/game-55-rockets-vs-clippersthomasfenoglio2013-02-13T08:00:07-06:002013-02-13T08:00:07-06:00Rockets-Clippers game preview
<figure>
<img alt="Get ready for pick-and-rolls. Lots of them. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/jsCpspzSzUCuMqcvdcIHr625Ww0=/0x0:4000x2667/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/8068291/20130211_hcs_sy4_035.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Get ready for pick-and-rolls. Lots of them. | Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Rockets finish a back-to-back right before the All-Star break tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers.</p> <p>Short preview today because these 9:30pm CST start times suck. I was on the east coast a few years ago when the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/">Rockets</a> went on a 5-game west coast road trip, with every game starting at 10:30 and not ending until at least 1 in the morning (I remember at least one went to overtime). It was miserable, and I usually only watched the first quarter before dragging myself to bed.</p>
<p>I can't imagine what it's like for you overseas people (oversears?). Must be really rough, but we appreciate you here at TDS. You're the real diehards here. Don't worry regular fans, I like you too. Not so much BD though. </p>
<p>So tonight is a tough matchup with <span>James Harden's</span> status in the air. It's even more difficult because the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.clipsnation.com/">Clippers</a> seem to have the Rockets' number. The Clips swept the good guys last year, with one game going to overtime and another being decided by four points in LA. It's not that the Rockets can't hang with the Clippers, it's that the Clips have that finishing kick or extra drive when the Rockets don't. </p>
<p>Earlier this season the Clippers won in Houston despite the absence of <span>Chris Paul</span>. Tonight the Rockets may be without their star in LA. I think Harden will want to play since he's back home, but I think he also wants to play in the All-Star game since he's the lone player for the Rockets. </p>
<p>I doubt the Rockets can steal this one, but I didn't think they could beat the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/">Warriors</a> in the Bay Area either. Let's just say this would be a HUGE win for the Rockets whether or not Harden plays. </p>
<p>What do you think? Sound off in the comments. And please don't say, "We can't let them dunk 50 times on us." Because I already said it just now. </p>
https://www.thedreamshake.com/2013/2/13/3983590/houston-rockets-vs-los-angeles-clippers-game-previewArmin Khansari