NBA Playoff Betting – (3) Clippers at (2) Rockets (Game 1)

Los Angeles Clippers at Houston Rockets (-6, 212 o/u)

The Los Angeles Clippers (4-3, 2-1 away) emerged victorious from an epic, seven-game battle against the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs on Saturday (111-109). The team won’t have much time to rest as they travel to the Toyota Center to face the Houston Rockets tonight in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals (7:30 PM Eastern).

Clippers point guard Chris Paul, who suffered a hamstring injury part way through Game 7, managed to soldier through the deciding game and wound up leading his team in scoring with 27 points, including hitting the game-winning basket with just one second on the clock.

“We’ve been in that situation a lot of times already this year, and most of the time I hadn’t made it,” Paul said. “We talked about it, and finally it worked when we needed it.”

“He is just a tough kid. He’s a street fighter. I mean, he really is. I love him to death because of his will”, said coach Doc Rivers about his star point guard.

But Paul’s will, which led to him playing through the pain, may have a negative impact on the Clippers’ chances as a whole; Paul is listed as questionable for Game 1.

The injury to Paul, coupled with Glen Davis’ ankle problems, may spell big trouble for L.A., which struggled to find depth scoring all series against San Antonio.

Making matters worse, the Houston Rockets are as healthy and rested as they have been all season. The team hasn’t played in a week after taking the Dallas Mavericks in five games and Donatas Motiejunas (12.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG in the regular season) is the team’s only significant injury. (The Lithuanian is out for the season with a back injury.)

Houston’s leading scorer James Harden, who was second in the league at 27.1 PPG during the regular season, has taken his game to another level in the playoffs, averaging 28.4 PPG and 7.8 APG while shooting nearly 39-percent from three. Meanwhile Dwight Howard has been a menace on the glass, averaging over 13 rebounds per game (to go along with 16.6 PPG and 58.6 shooting percentage).

In the trends, Los Angeles has won seven of the last ten games head-to-head, covering the spread in six of those wins; however, the Rockets won and covered the last two meetings. With Paul injured, the Clippers fatigued, and Houston rested, the Rockets minus the points (-6) looks like the best option.

Pick: Rockets -6.

(Photo credit: Verse Photography (Flickr: 20131118 ClippersvGrizzles27) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)