Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers host James Harden, Russell Westbrook and the Houston Rockets on Thursday. It's the third matchup of the season between the two title contenders, with the series tied at 1-1.
George says the Clippers' matchup with the Rockets is always a “clash” of different styles of play, as LA is a defensive-minded team, while the Rockets focus more on offense:
Paul George on James Harden's scoring, facing the Rockets – "Y’all see what he’s doing. I don't have any answer for that. He does what he has to do for them to win… It’s always gonna be a hard fought game. You got a team that plays defense and a team that prioritizes offense." pic.twitter.com/wPUiiP5ZDj
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 19, 2019
The Clippers are one of the few teams in the league who are stout on both sides of the ball. LA is seventh in the NBA in offensive rating and fifth in defensive rating, per NBA.com.
The Rockets, meanwhile, are third in the NBA in offensive efficiency and second in scoring at 119.7 points a night. However, as is often the case with a Mike D'Antoni-coached team, the Rockets are just 16th in the league in defensive rating.
George, one of the best two-way players in the game, will likely guard both Harden and Westbrook. The six-time All-Star will attempt to use his length to bother the two former MVPs and make things as difficult as possible.
The Clippers are 21-8 on the season, good for second place in the Western Conference standings. The Rockets, meanwhile, are 18-9, fourth place in the West.
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