Game 31: Houston Rockets Vs. San Antonio Spurs Preview

It’s Christmas Day and our Houston Rockets will be among the headliners for today’s slate of basketball games on national television.

This marks the first time the Rockets have ever played a game on Christmas Day at home.

That’s quite a feat because I thought we’d done something like that in year’s past.

So I could likely infer that although the Rockets fielded some great teams over the years, we weren’t necessarily box office as we are now.

But when you have James Harden and Dwight Howard featured in your lineup, that’s just something that comes along with their persona.

The Rockets have a first date with the 25-5 San Antonio Spurs and they better not be late or else they’re going to get stood up with a loss.

The Spurs were able to acquire big man LaMarcus Aldridge in the off season, beefing up their lineup for years to come.

It’s amazing how this team is able to remain resilient, scout well and always seem to find the right players for their coveted continuity and desire to be the best.

They’re humming along like a well-tuned machine and it appears that nobody will be able to stop that momentum.

Because of this, the Rockets will need to play damn near flawless to beat this team tonight but I’m afraid that the 16.8 turnovers that they average — currently good for 3rd in the league — will bite them hard tonight.

But you never know what can transpire in a NBA game and we can only hope for the best as fans of our beloved team.

So who’s leading the charge for the Spurs?

Kawhi Leonard is the team’s leading scorer (21.0 PPG) and chief of steals (2.00 SPG). LaMarcus Aldridge is the top board-getter (8.8 RPG), Tony Parker is in charge of the dimes (5.0 APG) and Tim Duncan is still the team’s reigning shot-blocker (1.50 BPG).

Let’s talk about what the Spurs do well.

There’s a lot that this team does well and that’s why they’ll continue to be favorites for the NBA Championship this year.

But what do they do?

They’re extremely well-balanced. The Spurs are the No. 1 team in the NBA as far as defensive efficiency, allowing a stingy 92.9 points per 100 possessions. The No. 2 team, the Boston Celtics is at 97.7 per 100, almost a full five points less. They’re also 3rd in the league as far as offensive efficiency, scoring 107.1 points per 100 possessions. Nobody seems to do it better than the Spurs which should be no surprise.

They’re excellent at moving the ball around. The Spurs are 2nd in the league as far as assist ratio with an incredible 19.4 percent of their possessions ending with an assist.

Injuries:

Sam Dekker had back surgery and is expected to miss about a couple more months.

There are no injuries to report for the San Antonio Spurs.

Sources: Jenny Dial Creech/Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle

Next: Ty Lawson Wants OUT Of H-Town

Three Things to Watch:

Trevor Ariza Vs. Kawhi Leonard
Patrick Beverley vs. Tony Parker
Clint Capela vs. LaMarcus Aldridge
(Bonus) Dwight Howard vs. Tim Duncan

Prediction:

110-102 in a Rockets’ loss.

The Rockets are back at home to take on the Spurs at Toyota Center.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST.

The game will be televised on ESPN/ROOT Sports Southwest and broadcast on SportsTalk 790 AM (KBME) and La Ranchera 850 AM (KEYH) in Spanish.

Go Rockets!

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