NBA Free Premium Play 03/04: Los Angeles Clippers @ Houston Rockets

LA Clippers  at Houston

NBA - 809 Los Angeles Clippers @ 810 Houston Rockets Projected line: Houston by 6 points Houston confirmed against Denver their bad moment after the All-Star break. They have been outrebounded in their last 8 games and since the All-Star game, they have just grabbed 46, 43 and 41% of the boards in their last three games! Their frontcourt has been poor and in their last game against the Nuggets, they allowed the opposing frontcourt to squash them: Faried 7-12 FG 16pts 11reb, Koufos 5-5 FG and Mozgov 5pts and 8reb in 18 minutes! Now against the Clippers, who have a loaded frontcourt and who have been grabbing a lot of rebounds, I expect Houston to struggle again in this area. However, the Rockets may have some edge in the backcourt with Lowry and especially K-Martin against the undersized SG's from the Clippers. Due to their recent poor performances, Houston studied video and statistics revealing a simple but troubling lack of effort. They held a players-only meeting after the video session. They said again and again the damage was self-inflicted, then vowed things would change. “When we have games like we had yesterday, it’s embarrassing,” center Samuel Dalembert said after calling for the meeting of players. “It’s embarrassing to us, to the organization, to a lot of people, to the fans. “We’ve got to go out there, we’re not going to win every game, but we have to give it a fight.” On the other hand, the Clippers are coming from a loss at Phoenix, where the team showed no energy and lost against the Suns in an ugly game. Curiously, the Clippers are on a similar phase as the Rockets, as they have also been struggling on offense and CP3 is being inconsistent. The bad moment of Houston is explained by their lack of effort, as without hustle they lack the natural talent to be a good team. However, after the team meeting, I expect them to be fired up tonight in a home game against a top team. Even though Griffin will have a physical edge over Scola, the Argentinian player has a polished offensive game and he will cause a lot of problems to the Clippers frontcourt. I believe the Clippers are still in a phase where they need some time to gel, while Houston is a really strong home team and they will show an extra level of effort tonight. So, I'll be taking the Rockets tonight. Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 810 Houston Rockets (-2) @ -110 / 1.91 on Bookmaker