Preview and Prediction: San Antonio Spurs vs. Houston Rockets
Dejounte Murray and the San Antonio Spurs will look to rebound (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs (7-14) will look to upset the Houston Rockets (13-6) tonight in the AT&T Center. The Spurs are coming off a 132-98 loss to the Detroit Pistons, while the Rockets are coming off a 158-111 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. In that game for Houston, James Harden had 60 points — and he didn’t even play in the fourth quarter.
San Antonio Spurs Injury Update
LaMarcus Aldridge will miss his second straight game with a thigh injury. Coming into the day, he was officially listed as questionable. However, the Spurs have downgraded him to out.
Joining Aldridge on the sidelines will be Chimezie Metu, who will miss the game due to a foot injury. Metu, who is the team’s third string center behind Aldridge and Jakob Poeltl, will miss an opportunity for playing time tonight.
Houston Rockets Injury Update
Eric Gordon is still out after undergoing knee surgery. He will likely miss at least another three weeks. Clint Capela missed the Hawks game due to an illness but he is expected to play against the Spurs. The Rockets have done some load management with Russell Westbrook this season but he’ll be active for tonight’s game.
San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineup
The Spurs will likely start the same fivesome they did last game: Derrick White, Bryn Forbes, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay and Jakob Poeltl. Considering the Rockets are a smaller team, keeping Gay in the starting lineup makes sense.
Houston Rockets Starting Lineup
The Rockets will likely start Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Danuel House, Jr., PJ Tucker and Clint Capela. While the Spurs can match up size-wise, it’ll be interesting to see where they are able to hide Forbes on defense. San Antonio will want White on Harden and Poeltl on Capela … but after that, it’s not as clear.
Spurs vs. Rockets – Prediction
The Spurs are shorthanded and coming off of a demoralizing loss. The Rockets are red-hot, mostly healthy and coming off of one of Harden’s most impressive performances. Unless the Spurs recover some of the form they had against the Los Angeles Clippers, this could get ugly.
Houston Rockets – 124
San Antonio Spurs – 112