Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/17/2022

Time: 10:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA

Where to watch: BSSC, ATTSN-SW

WynnBet: Clippers -10

BetOnline: Clippers -10 

Caesars: NL

Rockets: 15-42

Clippers: 29-31

It’s already been a rough time for the Houston Rockets. Now they have to play a back-to-back after playing the Phoenix Suns the night before? This poor group can’t catch a break whatsoever.

We touched on this in yesterday’s preview against the Phoenix Suns, but the Rockets are not playing well right now. That, as much, has to be expected. We’re talking about a young team that is building in a post-James Harden era, and they might be lucky to win 25 games.

I can’t believe that to be a long-term situation, but man, it’s not going to be an easy rebuild for the Rockets. There are pieces to build around, like Jalen Green and Christian Wood, but there’s not that one defined option that can actually revitalize this team to its once prominent glory.

Green, who just turned 20 years old a week ago, is averaging 14.4 points while shooting 38 percent from the floor. You can see the pure athleticism when he flies through the air, preparing to throw one down on someone’s head. Shooting 30 percent from 3 this season, you want to see when he’ll develop that jumpshot and more of the all-around game.

He’s getting a decent amount of run every game, going about 30 minutes per night and making 82 percent of his free throws. Those are solid building blocks to start with, and if you’re a Rockets fan, there’s a lot to get excited about for the future. That excitement has to be controlled for the present, with a rough road ahead.

As for the home team, the Los Angeles Clippers are finding ways to stay above water in the playoff race. How they’re able to field a competitive team and do so at a .500 pace is just unreal to think about, but here they are, still eighth in the Western Conference.

That type of play might not be sustainable at this point with the Minnesota Timberwolves leapfrogging them and find themselves a few games back, and the Los Angeles Lakers aren’t that far behind despite their shortcomings.

But the Clippers still have to weave through the traffic without Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, likely for the rest of the season. The Clippers have lost four of six and are coming off a 103-96 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Marcus Morris had 23 points on 10 of 17 shooting, while Nicolas Batum turned back the clock a bit for 18 points and seven rebounds.

And of course, it was against the Suns. Because the Suns are just ridiculous, and them winning 18 of 19 games is just another reminder of how absurd they’ve been. No one is beating that team right now on a consistent basis. Nothing to hang their heads on.

"They have a team full of guys who can defend and want to defend," Clippers coach Ty Lue said. "That makes them great right there."

The Clippers have been known to hang their hat on defense, but it has slipped the last 10 games giving up 113.1 points per game. They’re also giving up 47 percent shooting from the floor and almost 39 percent from 3-point range. It’s not typical Clippers defense but that’ll help going into this game.

I didn’t think it would take much for the Suns to handle the Rockets, and given it’s a back-to-back with travel, I tend to stay as far away from those as I possibly can. L.A. doesn’t have a lot of time to figure out how to make this roster work for another 25 games or so, and they want to play well going into the All-Star break. The road won’t be any easy, but I trust the Clippers to get the job done. Clippers by 14

The Rockets are 23-42 ATS in the second half of the season over the past three seasons.

The Rockets are 33-54 ATS after failing to cover four or five of their last six.

The Clippers are 3-11 ATS against Southwest Division teams this season.

The Clippers are 61-84 ATS off a road cover when they lost outright as an underdog.

PG: Dennis Schroder

SG: Jalen Green

SF: Eric Gordon

PF: Jae'Sean Tate

C: Alperen Sengun

PG: Reggie Jackson

SG: Terance Mann

SF: Marcus Morris Sr.

PF: Nicolas Batum

C: Ivica Zubac

Rockets: Christian Wood, Kevin Porter (illness, out), John Wall (out)

Clippers: Paul George (elbow, out), Kawhi Leonard (ACL, out), Norman Powell (back, out)

Points: Christian Wood -- 17.6

Rebounds: Christian Wood -- 10.2

Assists: Jae'Sean Tate -- 3.1

Points: Reggie Jackson -- 16.6

Rebounds: Ivica Zubac -- 8.0

Assists: Reggie Jackson -- 4.4