It’s time for game number 2 in this Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers second round matchup. The Clippers took game 1, even without point guard Chris Paul.

"Without Chris, everybody has to step up," Griffin said. "But it's not one person's job, it's everybody's job. And if you look at the stat sheet tonight, it was everybody."

Chris Paul had a hurt hamstring heading into this series. He fought through the injury in game 7 against the Spurs, to lead them to an eventual game-winning shot. Chris Paul is doubtful heading into game 2 tonight, according to Doc Rivers.

Let’s take a look at some of the things the Rockets need to do to turn this game around. Blake Griffin went off for a triple double with 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists.

For Game 2, the Rockets have to defend Griffin better. A lot of Griffin’s success comes on the block or in the mid-range where he has space to work, but Griffin in the pick-and-roll is deadly.

With Paul out, Griffin can facilitate the offense. Above, he took the ball himself on a P&R, but below you’ll see Griffin can get 3-point shooters open for the offense while attention is on him.

The Rockets had a balanced attack offensively, but since it’s a Harden and Howard show, they’ll need to really defend well. Josh Smith and Terrence Jones get torn up against Blake Griffin, the only answer could possibly be putting Howard on him. That begs the question: How can the Rockets get Deandre Jordan of the floor?

There is no easy answer to that question, Jordan played 34 minutes in game 1, which means the Rockets need to go up-tempo and fast-paced. They need fast-break threes to get Jordan off the floor.

The other option is to just play 1-on-1 with Griffin and not help on shooters. It’s a bit unorthodox but the Rockets had terrible help defense on Griffin and gave up too many open shots.

"I don't think we took them lightly (without Paul)," MVP runner-up James Harden said. "We've got to do a better job of just playing harder. It felt like we were in mud for four quarters. We've got to be better in Game 2 and I know we will."

Whatever the Rockets do, they cannot expect to win games giving up 115+ points. If Chris Paul is out, on his birthday for that matter, the Clippers chances of winning again are low, but clearly do-able as they did in game 1.

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Mitchell Evans
Mitchell Evans is an editor who covers League of Legends, Counter Strike, and many others.