NBA Playoffs: Mavericks-Rockets, Spurs-Clippers

Mavs at Rockets
7:00 pm CDT
TNT

The Mavs managed to win game four when facing elimination, and will try to do the same thing tonight, but this time they are in Houston for game five. There hasn't exactly been an overabundance of defense in this series, and for the most part the Rockets have taken better advantage of that, dominating the glass and mixing their usual offensive brew of lots of threes and free throws, with James Harden leading the way. He had a poor game four, and will look to bounce back tonight. Meanwhile, they have gotten stellar scoring off the bench from Josh Smith and Corey Brewer, who is having the best series of his career, making threes and converting in transition. The Mavs will need to be more successful rebounding the ball and need big games from both Monta Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki if they want to send the series back to Dallas for a game six.

Spurs at Clippers
9:30 pm CDT
TNT

Really want to stay up for this one, a pivotal game five in a 2-2 series. These teams have split games in both cities and are back in Los Angeles tonight. In truth, the Clippers have looked the better team for the bulk of the series, forcing the Spurs into an unusual number of bad shots (it doesn't help that Tony Parker is nowhere near 100%), while Chris Paul and Blake Griffin have spent long periods dominating proceedings. The Spurs will have to hope their superior depth comes to the fore as the series continues, as it is now a best of three with the Clips holding home court advantage. This is a huge game and should be a fantastic watch.

Enjoy the games and chat about them here.