on the board. The Houston Rockets have a giant talent gab between them and the Clippers.

PG-Paul vs Terry Huge advantage to the Clippers-Terry is 37 and Paul is a top 5 PG of all-time. They miss Beverley, but even he would be over-matched in this series.
SG-Redick vs Harden Houston's one win. Redick is a solid player, but no where near Harden.
SF-Barnes vs Ariza Interesting as both players play a similar game. Barnes is more efficient on offense so I would take him although this is extremely close. I love the defensive intensity and versatility from both.
PF-Griffin vs Jones Not close. Blake dominated the game so much it didn't matter that they lost a top 5 pg and replaced him with a guy who statistically is worse than a replacement player
C-Jordan vs Howard Deandre is Howard 10 years ago. He is more athletic than Howard and more efficient offensively (71% from the field is crazy). He gets more blocks, rebounds and steals than Howard. I do believe Howard has a better offensive repertoire, but overall I would take Jordan over Howard (although neither of them can shoot free throws).

Best guy off the bench for either team? Jamal Crawford. Josh Smith has played better in the playoffs, but there is a reason he is on his 3rd team in 3 years.

So how does Houston win? They are better 7-9, but does that really matter? Maybe, it certainly wasn't enough to overcome starters last night. Harden has to dominate. The problem is that if the Clippers double and don't foul Houston has a hard time taking advantage. They have no one over 40% from the 3-point line and other than Harden, Terry is the only regular in this series that shot over 35%. Houston's best hope is for Harden to jump into people ala Dwyane Wade in the finals and hope the refs start blowing the whistle.