A few hours before game time, it was determined the Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul wasn't available because of the hamstring injury he suffered in Game 7 of the first round. Instead of having an MVP candidate (he finished sixth in voting) running the show on the road against a rested Houston Rockets team, the Clippers were going to have to rely on Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford and Lester Hudson. To begin the game, it looked like this was destined for a disaster.
However, the Clippers rallied. They rode their other superstar Blake Griffin like he was the KIA and they were in the period piece war movie. The Clippers dominated the Rockets in the second half and by the end of the game, you were left with a feeling that this Rockets team was possibly more smoke and mirrors in the first round than we really knew. That's quite possibly overreacting to them losing Game 1 at home to a Chris Paul-less Clippers team by a score of 117-101, but Houston has some regrouping to do and fast.
Here's what we learned from Rockets-Clippers Game 1:
1. BLAKE GRIFFIN IS YOUR NEW INTERIM POINT GOD NOW
Quietly, Blake Griffin had a triple-double in Game 7 of Chris Paul's heroic display of basketball grit and perseverance. It seemed to be a shocking moment in the distant moments after the game when people looked over the box score and realized he had racked up the triple dip in an almost incognito way. Without CP3 in the lineup in Game 1 against the Rockets, it was probably too much to ask Griffin to be that guy once again and lead the Clippers to a road victory. Even if it was too much to ask, Blake racked up another triple-double.
He finished with 26 points (9-of-19 from the field, 8-of-10 from the line), 14 rebounds, and 13 assists. He almost had a triple-double in the second half alone, as he picked apart the Rockets' defense and just obliterated Houston in the half court. His second half gave him 10 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds. He did have four turnovers in the second half and five total in the game, but it seems like that's forgivable. The Clippers needed to run their offense through their power forward too. It just wasn't working with Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford, and Lester Hudson initiating so much of the offense in the first half.
It was on Griffin to take the reins and he allowed those other guys to play more off-ball and maximize scoring opportunities. His 13 assists turned into 35 points for the Clippers with Blake assisting on nine made 3-pointers. He didn't just pick them apart; he roasted them with his passing ability.
2. WHERE WAS JAMES HARDEN FOR MOST OF THIS GAME?
Through the first three quarters of the Rockets' effort (or lack thereof), James Harden almost seemed non-existent in this game. To his credit, he was passing quite a bit and accumulated 11 assists by the time we were headed into the third quarter. But as well as he found teammates in this game, it seemed like he wasn't nearly assertive enough with trying to score the ball as you would expect him to be. Considering Steph Curry was named the MVP on the same day that Harden had the opportunity to go out and prove why he feels it was the wrong choice, he came out flat as a scorer and didn't make a case for himself at all.
Those 11 assists in the first three quarters were great, but Harden had scored just 15 points on 10 shots, only three free throw attempts, and he had turned the ball over eight times. Those are just horrible ratios for him no matter how you want to dissect it. It didn't play out like a James Harden type of game, and he wasn't even close to making this a game in the fourth quarter where he's been so good all season.
The troubling part of all of this is the Rockets wasted a peak Dwight Howard game. Dwight was a monster inside, scoring 22 points on 9-of-13 to go with 10 rebounds and five blocks. They should have probably gone to him more considering Harden wasn't finding ways to take over the contest. The Rockets needed more Harden and less trying to get Josh Smith (3-of-12) and Corey Brewer (3-of-12) going.
3. HOW HUGE IS A WIN ON THE ROAD WITHOUT CHRIS PAUL?
It seems almost impossible to state how huge this victory was for the Clippers. They didn't have much time to prepare for CP3's absence and they didn't have enough depth to absorb such a blow. But they made it work, even when it looked initially to be headed toward disaster. Rivers had 17 points, hit four huge 3-pointers, and had four steals. Crawford came off the bench to score 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting. And running everything through Griffin worked out for the best.
If the Clippers get CP3 back for Game 2, they have a great chance at stopping whatever adjustments Kevin McHale has for his team and take a commanding 2-0 lead heading back to the Staples Center.
Game 2 is Wednesday in Houston.
SERIES SCHEDULE, RESULTS
Game 1 -- Mon May 4
L.A. Clippers 117, Houston 101 -- Clippers lead series 1-0
Game 2 -- Wed May 6
L.A. Clippers at Houston, 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 3 -- Fri May 8
Houston at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Game 4 -- Sun May 10
Houston at L.A. Clippers, 8:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Game 5 * Tue May 12
L.A. Clippers at Houston TBD
Game 6 * Thu May 14
Houston at L.A. Clippers TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 17
L.A. Clippers at Houston TBD