The 2013-2014 NBA season is in full swing and thanks to some exciting early-season games, the highly anticipated year is off to another tremendous start. Whether you're a fan of the two-time defending champion Miami Heat or a supporter of the new-look Houston Rockets, this season in the National Basketball Association offers something for everyone, with multiple teams fully capable of competing at a high level deep into the season and on into the playoffs. Miami and the San Antonio Spurs capped off the 2012-2013 slate with a seven-game NBA Finals series for the ages and now that the league is underway for a clean slate, fans have tons of exiting action to look forward to for the next six months.
One of those high-flying match-ups coming up on the league schedule is a premier contest pitting the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets. Set to meet at the Staples Center, Chris Paul and the Clippers will be looking to hand the Rockets their first loss of the season as the new-look Western Conference affiliates come in with complete balance on both ends of the floor. While Los Angeles added head coach Doc Rivers in the offseason, the Houston Rockets made the biggest acquisition when they pulled the strings in order to land former Los Angeles Lakers star Dwight Howard. In three games this season, the seven-time NBA All-Star has averaged 15 points, 17 rebounds and nearly 2 blocks per game while guiding his new squad to a perfect 3-0 record.
Howard looks rejuvenated this season and because of that, the rest of the league has surely taken notice. Set to take on a Clippers team led by Chris Paul (27.7ppg, 12.0apg, 3.7spg), Blake Griffin (20.7ppg, 11.3rpg, 3.7apg) and DeAndre Jordan (11.3ppg, 12.0rpg, 2.0bpg), Houston will have an opportunity to reach the franchises best start in 17 seasons but they'll have to do it against one of the top offensive teams in the league. Los Angeles however, will have a tall order of their own in slowing Dwight Howard.
"He's definitely moving around a lot better than he was last year," DeAndre Jordan said recently. "I feel like he slimmed down a lot. I was watching a couple of their games and you can just tell that last year was still a little stiff and his back was giving him some problems. Hopefully, he'll be back to the 2010-2011 Dwight and that will be better for the league."
Los Angeles - 2-1 through 3 contests this season - won two of three meetings with the Rockets a year ago.
Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers: DATE, TIME & TV INFO
DATE: Monday, November 4
TIME: 10:30pm, ET
TV COVERAGE: NBA TV
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
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