Worst first-round opponent for each NBA Western Conference playoff team
LA Clippers: Houston Rockets
Just because the LA Clippers would be favored against Houston, doesn’t mean they’d embrace the matchup in the opening round. Not when more favorable opponents like OKC and Dallas remain a possibility.
The Rockets split four games with LA during the regular season. Paul George missed one of those Clipper losses but scored 34 in the other. Both wins for Houston saw one of either James Harden or Russell Westbrook go for at least 40, providing a recipe perhaps only this due is equipped to execute.
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Trading Clint Capela only maximizes everything Harden and Westbrook do at an elite level: create shots for themselves, whether at the 3-point line or close to the rim. Mike D’Antoni’s system isn’t shy about getting as much out of them as possible, two players who rank top-six in usage rate.
However low the chances are that the two can take turns dropping 40 to give Houston a chance, against a premier defense no less, do the Clippers want to be the ones to test those odds?
LA has its sites set on the ultimate prize, requiring a lengthy playoff run. For a team with a sensitive injury history, Houston and its high ceiling potential isn’t the ideal matchup to kick it off.