NBA Playoffs 2015: Houston Rockets look to advance, Los Angeles Clippers looking for any advantage

There are only two games tonight, and frankly, these are games you don't want to miss. The NBA Playoffs have been kind of boring so far, but now you have teams that seem to be adjusting to one another and making life very hard for each other. This is the hard nosed, actions have consequences play that we grew up watching as Utah Jazz fans. I've been harping about how making the playoffs is the relatively easy part, the hard part is showing that you belong there. We'll get two tests tonight. The Houston Rockets, up 3-1 on the Dallas Mavericks, will find out how hard it is to close out a team. Ending a series requires conviction and concentration -- the Rockets know that after losing a 1st round series, game seven on their court, to a green Utah Jazz club an eternity ago. They'll have to throw the knock out punch tonight against a team built for the playoffs, one with a core that has previously won a ring. James Harden, Dwight Howard and company are all smiles, but tonight Rick Carlisle 's club will be all scowls. If they can win, and they plan on it, they will have deserved it.

In the other game we have the Los Angeles Clippers biting and fouling and flopping their way to a 2-2 stalemate against the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are a class organization, while the Clippers are (or were) run by slum lords with sexual deviant behaviors. It was fake tough guys and star calls up against stoic plays and . . . uh . . . also star calls. If the Clippers lose this game it could be curtains for them.

• Game 5: DAL @ HOU -- 6:00 PM MT [TNT]
• Game 5: SAS @ LAC -- 8:30 PM MT [TNT]

These games show just how tough it is in the Western Conference. And this is partly why I'm in no rush to have our team decapitated on National TV, and rather have them in the playoffs when they are the ones doing the decapitations.