Los Angeles Clippers Must End Rockets Series In 6 Games

By Andrew C. Fisher | May 13, 2015

May 12, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) out rebounds Houston Rockets guard Pablo Prigioni (9) in the first half in game five of the second round of the NBA Playoffs. at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /

The Los Angeles Clippers were far from entering a must-win situation in Game 5 of their semifinal matchup against the Houston Rockets. Based on the way they played in three of the previous four games, it was pretty clear heading into Tuesday night that if they couldn’t get the job done, it was likely going to be a case of delaying the inevitable.

More from LA Clippers

But if you’re a Clippers fan, a Game 5 win would have really been nice.

Chris Paul and his bad hamstring need rest and preferably lots of it. With a win on Tuesday night he would have earned possibly up to a week off before starting his first-ever conference final.

It’s not that the Clippers won’t win this series now. They’ll probably end it on Thursday. But you can’t have a team much more on the ropes than Houston was coming into Game 5. If ever there were a time to deliver a knockout blow, it was on Tuesday night at the Toyota Center.

Give Kevin McHale‘s team, and specifically the trio of Dwight Howard, James Harden and Trevor Ariza (68 points, 34 rebounds combined), credit. They brought it when they had to. It was do or die, win or go home and any other cliche you can think of.

They took care of the their home court and have now shifted some pressure back on the Clippers. The pressure is only slight at this point, but just wait if the unthinkable happens in Los Angeles on Thursday evening.

If Houston forces a Game 7, the entire narrative of this Clippers postseason is at risk for major change.

It could swing from one of the best postseasons in franchise history, and maybe the best, to possibly one of the most gut-wrenching postseasons Clippers fans have ever been through.

The latter is worst case scenario, but the door is now open for that scenario because of Houston’s convincing Game 5 win.

Moving forward, the health of the Clippers is a big storyline to follow. Not only is Paul ailing, Matt Barnes had to revisit the locker room in the second half of Game 5 to get his ankle re-taped and Austin Rivers went down extremely hard on his left hip.

You can bet that all of them will be ready to go in Game 6, but you never know when the injury bug will really bite down hard and take a player out of action at the worst possible time.

There’s no reason Los Angeles still shouldn’t win this series. Houston finally showed it belonged in Game 5, about two games too late, but the Clippers are a better overall team right now (if in the ballpark of fully healthy). Ending the semifinals in five games would have been ideal, but the 21-point loss should prove to be a minor bump in the road.

As long as Chris Paul can continue to go at near 85 percent you have to like L.A.’s chances of clinching the series on Thursday night at home. Because while Game 5 was from far from a must-win, Game 6 is about as close as you can get to being one. Clippers fans at the Staples Center will be ready to go.

Anything can truly happen in a Game 7, and that’s simply a situation the Clippers must avoid.

Next: 5 Reasons Why Clippers Will Win It All

More from Hoops Habit

Home/LA Clippers