北京時間4月10日，現在洛杉磯快船隊對一場勝利的渴望比以往任何時候都更為強烈。今日迎戰火箭隊，雖說火箭隊貴為西部第二的頂級強隊，但快船隊此役可謂精銳盡出，一心想要從火箭隊身上斬獲勝利。畢竟，快船隊現已攀升至西部第4位，若能戰勝火箭隊拿下一勝，對於穩固其西部第四的排名大有好處啊。

The Clippers want to keep fourth in the West for a simple reason: the top four in the West can sit on home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Although the Clippers may lose home-court advantage in the second round, for them, as long as Harden and Kawhi Leonard can lead the team through the first round, anything is possible. Even if the second round is mostly away from home, with the Clippers' rich experience and existing lineup, they are fully capable of passing the second round. Therefore, the only goal for the Clippers at the moment is to win more games, try to keep the fourth place in the West, and even attack the third place in the West.

In today's match between the Rockets and the Clippers, the lineups of the two teams are very different. On the Clippers' side, none of the starting five Tigers were absent and sent their strongest starting lineup. The Rockets, on the other hand, stepped onto the court with an extremely relaxed mentality. Moreover, the Rockets didn't seem to intend to win this game from the start, so they basically played with a remnant, Shin Jing, Amen Thompson, VanVleet and tough guy Dillon Brooks all did not play, and even Adams on the bench did not play.

In this game, the starting lineup of the Rockets is Shepard, Jalen Green, Whitmore, Eason and Landale. It can be said that except for Jalen Green, the remaining 20 people play a substitute role most of the time. Although Eason can occasionally start, several other players are basically in the Rockets' fringe rotation position, especially Shepard, a 0-year-old rookie guard, who has not been heavily used since the All-Star this season.

In this game, the Rockets took the initiative to play with the remnants, which is enough to show that they have no intention of defeating the Clippers at all, but seem to directly give the Clippers a victory and a big gift, so that the Clippers can continue to hold the fourth place in the West. On the one hand, there is no need for the Rockets to try to win anymore, after all, they are now firmly locked into the second place in the West; On the other hand, James Harden, the veteran of the Rockets, is leading the Clippers at the moment, and for the sake of Harden's affection, the Rockets are naturally willing to do a favor.

It can be seen that judging from the game scene and the direction of the score, the Rockets obviously intend to give the Clippers a "winning gift" in this game. This is also the key reason why rookie Shepard was able to go from being difficult to get a chance to play and suddenly rose to the starting lineup. If the Rockets really want to win, core players like Shin Kyung and VanVleet will definitely appear. The Rockets rested so many absolute anchors in order to allow the Clippers to win this game and secure their fourth place in the West.

If the Clippers win this game, it is no exaggeration to say that their fourth place in the West will be relatively secure. In this game, the Los Angeles Clippers should really thank the Rockets for this generous gift. However, whether the Clippers can win in the next few games depends on their own performance. Now, whether the Clippers can lock up fourth place in the West is entirely in their own hands.