The heavyweight clash between the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks is getting most of the publicity, but it might not even end up being Thursday's best game. The Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets are set to step into the ring for the third time in the past five weeks, with the first two games coming down to the final minutes. 

The Clippers have been nigh unstoppable since Paul George returned to the fold last month. Lineups featuring both he and Kawhi Leonard are outscoring opponents by 11.3 points per 100 possessions, per Cleaning the Glass, and both should be in the fold for this game. Some of their more important teammates, however, aren't as certain. 

Lou Williams returned on Tuesday, but missed the prior two games with an ankle injury. JaMychal Green and Patrick Patterson are both dealing with back issues. Landry Shamet only just returned to the lineup Saturday after an extended absence, and his role on the fully healthy version of the Clippers remains unclear. No matter who plays Thursday, the Clippers will still be shaken up. That they have still been as dominant as they've been is a testament to George and Leonard. The Clippers are 10-2 when they both play. 

One of those wins came against the Rockets, and was determined on a missed potential game-winner by Russell Westbrook. The Rockets are 7-4 since and have experienced the entire Westbrook roller coaster in that span. He followed the Clippers loss up with a miserable five-game stretch in which he shot under 36 percent from the field, but has since moved beyond that by averaging 27 points on 53 percent shooting in his last five games. 

Houston's championship hopes rest on Westbrook producing more games like the former than the latter. The odds of him doing so aren't great. Stylistically speaking, there haven't been any significant changes to his playing style. This looks more like a hot shooting streak than anything else, and while some regression from his downright putrid early-season numbers was to be expected, Westbrook just shouldn't be expected to score efficiently given his role this season. He has been unable to create value as an off-ball player in minutes shared with James Harden, and Houston's limited depth has hamstrung him in the minutes he has to himself. The Clippers aren't exactly the sort of opponent against which he can right the ship. Westbrook will be seeing plenty of old nemesis Patrick Beverley in this one. 

So let's dive into this matchup and break down five things to know -- and watch for -- as the Clippers and Rockets square off for the third time this season.

Viewing Information

  • Date: Thursday, Dec. 19 | Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
  • Location: Staples Center -- Los Angeles, California
  • TV: TNT | Stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
  • Odds: Rockets +190 | Clippers -240 | O/U: 235

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1. There is bad blood here

There is no shortage of animosity between the two sides here. The Beverley-Westbrook feud dates back to when Beverley played for the Rockets, and was renewed this season when Westbrook said "Pat Bev trick y'all like he play defense, he don't guard nobody" to reporters after the Nov. 13 matchup between these two teams. Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell are former Rockets as well. Austin Rivers spent several years with the Clippers, and if you're looking for a deep pull, Tyson Chandler was traded by the Clippers on draft night. 

The first two games these teams have played have had single-digit margins. That has typically been the case between these two teams dating back to the Lob City Era. Chris Paul has had time to get traded by both franchises since, but the rivalry has sustained itself. Expect another chippy, physical game in this one. 

2. All eyes on Clippers defending James Harden

The last time these two teams met, the Clippers partook in the then-growing trend of trapping James Harden whenever possible. The gambit failed. Harden racked up 12 assists, thanks to the open looks those double-teams produced. 

Teams have largely given up on this ultra-aggressive defense against Harden. The open shots were just too much to bear. It doesn't matter what Harden does when Ben McLemore and PJ Tucker combine to make more 3-pointers than your entire team (as the Raptors experienced firsthand). 

Some teams resorted to trapping out of necessity. The Clippers weren't one of them. In George, Leonard and Beverley, they have the manpower to handle Harden one-on-one. How they deploy it, though, is unknowable at this point. Beverley gets under Westbrook's skin so easily that moving him onto Harden would probably be counterproductive, but are the Clippers willing to sap Leonard or George's energy on offense in order to lock down Harden? Odds are, they'll give both looks, and even experiment with switching his screens in smaller lineups just to get a sense of how it might work in a playoff series, but the primary matchup is another matter entirely. 

3. Rockets face dilemma vs. Clippers' offense

The Rockets have a very different problem. They have precisely one forward on their roster capable of defending a superstar. The Clippers have two superstars who very badly need to be defended by any opponent actually hoping to beat them. Tucker will almost certainly draw the Kawhi assignment, but the Rockets have no apparent antidote for George. 

Montrezl Harrell makes switching against the Clippers a death sentence. Teams tried trapping Leonard early in the season, but even before George returned, his passing has improved enough to kill that strategy as well. As boring as it sounds, the only viable strategy for defending the Clippers might just be going man-to-man, hoping your perimeter players can fight through screens and praying for luck on their shots. The Rockets are totally ill-equipped to do that. They have two more regular-season games to find an alternative for the playoffs, and Mike D'Antoni will surely experiment in both of them. 

4. Finding a way to keep Harden off the free-throw line

If there is a weakness to be found in the Clippers' defense, it is how often they foul. They commit the sixth-most fouls in the NBA, and Harden has exploited that to great effect. In two games against the Clippers this season, he has taken 35 free throws. 

The primary offenders here are the Clippers' big men. Ivica Zubac averages 5.2 fouls per 36 minutes, and JaMychal Green's 4.1 are actually below his career average. This creates a conundrum for the Clippers. In this specific matchup, it might make sense to play Harrell early in quarters and rest him late to prevent Harden from racking up the early fouls that eventually get him into the bonus. Doing so would mess up the entire flow of their rotation, though, and splitting up Harrell and Williams is a non-starter. 

This probably won't be a look we get on Thursday, but it's one that will certainly be considered if these teams meet in the playoffs. Harrell is going to get his minutes either way, but when they come is surprisingly meaningful against the Rockets. 

5. The Clippers will control the terms of engagement

The Clippers are operating with an enormous roster advantage this season. Forget about their superstars for a moment. Their depth allows them nearly unbridled control over the manner in which a game will be played. 

Old Rockets teams would have downsized for this game, moving Tucker to center and forcing opponents to outshoot them. The Clippers have plenty of counters to that. Harrell is among the league's best switch-busters, but if he proved defensively problematic, the Clippers could fairly easily slide Patterson or Moe Harkless over to center and play five-out. If this were a playoff series, we'd likely even see the Clippers experiment with George in that spot, though he is famously averse to moving up on the positional spectrum. 

The reality of this matchup is an unusual one for the Rockets, who are so used to controlling the conditions of their games. They just don't have the players right now to do so against the Clippers. They will have to respond to what's thrown at them. Reacting rather than acting puts teams at an immediate disadvantage, but it is an edge the Clippers have over almost anyone. 

Prediction

The Clippers have a number of meaningful matchup advantages, but the Rockets have played them extremely well so far this season. A nine-point win against shorthanded Clippers team doesn't mean much on its own, but in combination with their three-point road loss nine days later, the Rockets have proven surprisingly adept against the NBA's best roster. Sample size plays into that, especially given the rarity of the defense that the Clippers played in their last game, but until they prove that they can shake the Rockets for good, a five-point spread is just a bit too high for a game of this magnitude: Pick: Clippers -5