It’s hard to sweep an opponent for four games. Everything has to go right for it to happen, and even then it doesn’t always happen. Familiarity, learning offensive sets, random chance and varying level of mental engagement mean that anything can and does happen over four games. So far Houston leads the season series with Memphis 2-0. By Sunday, the series will be over. Sitting at 7-2 against the Southwest Division, the Houston Rockets seek to keep that division record up, especially given the tiebreaker implications. The problem is that tehre’s no reason to believe this will be easy.
With Marc Gasol back in at the center position, these Grizzlies are a much different animal than the one the Rockets beat twice. The inclusion of Courtney Lee as a three and d player also adds another wrinkle to an already difficult out. The Grizzlies have been gradually clawing their way back to the playoff picture, and they’d be happy to claw the Rockets a bit, too.
Of course, the Rockets are also in a better position. Chandler Parsons and Terrence Jones are exploding. Patrick Beverley is back from injury and defending like a maniac. For the first time since November, the Rockets are starting to come together and look like the team they hoped to be. Given, wins against teams like the Sacramento Kings and the Milwaukee Bucks don’t carry the same sort of cache that teams like the Portland Trail Blazers do, but every game counts, especially for a team finding itself.
As always, the watchword against the Grizzlies is defense. Gasol anchors a stingy squad, and Tony Allen remains one of the few players who can slow James Harden down. Harden vs Allen and Gasol vs Dwight Howard should be interesting matchups in a game that will serve as a preview for the same battle the following day. While not a hot matchup in a leaguewide sense, these two teams have a history and a desire to take each other down.
While the Rockets are fighting for playoff seeding, the Grizzlies are fighting for their playoff lives. A far sight from the 5th seed most expected them to rest at, Memphis began the year sluggishly. Still reeling from injuries to Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies need to prove that they can hang. The Rockets, as inconsistent as they are, need to prove they can dominate. It’s hard to dominate the same team, however, and Houston may learn that the hard way this weekend. With the same team as their opponent two nights in a row, it’s time for a newly-hot Rockets team to show that they can stay hot.
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