Houston Rockets At San Antonio Spurs: Round 2 | Game 5: Sneak Peek Analysis
The Houston Rockets got back into Game 1 mode and went to town on the San Antonio Spurs Sunday night.
The Houston Rockets got back into Game 1 mode and went to town on the San Antonio Spurs Sunday night.
Although it wasn’t at the level of Game 1 in terms of intensity, the Rockets certainly remained in front for most of the game and proved that when the offense clicking, they’re difficult to stop.
Will the same happen tonight?
That remains to be seen but they need to stick to guns and do what’s working with a few adjustments as needed on the fly.
So who’s leading the charge for the Spurs?
Kawhi Leonard leads the team in scoring (28.4 PPG), assists (4.8 APG), steals (1.7 SPG) and in rebounds (7.0 RPG) and LaMarcus Aldridge is in charge of the blocks (1.1 BPG).
Let’s talk about what the Spurs do well.
Their offense remains robust. The Spurs are 3rd in the playoffs in regard to offensive efficiency, averaging 113 points per 100 possessions.
They take care of the basketball quite well. The Spurs are 2nd in turnover ratio, with a meager 12.1 percent of their possessions ending with a turnover.
They’re still great on the boards. The Spurs are 1st in rebound rate, taking down 53.2 percent of missed shots.
Next: James Harden To Sign A Super-Max Deal In 2017?
Injuries:
Nene Hilario injured himself in the first half of Game 4 back May 7th. He was going up for a dunk and did not feel right after coming back down. After heading to locker room and been seen by the training staff, an MRI had to be done and it was found that he has a torn adductor muscle in his left thigh. He will miss the rest of the playoffs and the team still has yet to determine the best way to treat his injury. He’s not under contract next season so I know that has some type of role in their future decision.
Tony Parker injured himself while pulling up for jumper late in Game 2 back May 3rd. He landed awkwardly on his left leg and had to be carried off the court to the locker room by his teammates. He has been diagnosed with a ruptured left quad and is done for the rest of playoffs.
This is tough news to digest as he is one of my favorite players to watch and has been over the years.
As of last Friday, Parker had successful surgery on the quad and his recovery time is expected to be up to eight months.
I certainly hope he doesn’t have to retire but it’s long road ahead to recovery from an injury like this.
Source(s): Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, NBA.com, the San Antonio Express-News
Matchups to Watch:
- Patrick Beverley vs. Patty Mills
- James Harden vs. Danny Green
- Trevor Ariza vs. Kawhi Leonard
- Clint Capela vs. David Lee
- Ryan Anderson vs. LaMarcus Aldridge
Prediction:
121-112 in a Houston Rockets’ win!
The Rockets are back on the road to take on the Spurs at AT&T Center.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CDT.
The game will be televised on TNT and broadcast on NewsRadio 740 AM (KTRH), Sirius/XM/SiriusXM Internet 890 and La Ranchera 101.7 FM (KNTE) & 850 AM (KEYH) in Spanish.
Go Rockets.