Houston’s Christmas Day win over the Spurs just pissed them off. San Antonio gets a chance on Saturday for payback in their own gym where the Spurs have yet to lose this season, going 19-0, and have 28 straight wins dating back to last season.
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LOOK AHEAD
I wouldn’t want to be a Houston Rocket right now, that’s for sure. After a feel-good win over the Spurs on Christmas Day to get the Rockets one game over .500 at 16-15, they proceeded to lose their next two, again falling below the break-even point. Houston hasn’t been more than one game above .500 at any point this season and the reality is that they are a mediocre basketball team. At the start of the season the Rockets had the look of an elite team with at least a return trip to the Western Conference finals in mind. Now, they have the look of a floundering group holding onto a bottom seed in the conference. Sure, the rest of the conference behind Golden State, San Antonio and Oklahoma City is suspect, but from what we’ve seen, there is no reason to believe the Rockets will do any damage if they reach the postseason. Oh, and waiting for them Saturday are the Spurs, who are undefeated at home and looking to avenge that 88-84 loss on Christmas Day.
INJURIES
Spurs center Tim Duncan missed the last three games with right knee soreness and he really wasn’t needed in the last one, a 112-79 thumping of the Phoenix Suns. San Antonio had two days in between games to get him some extra rest.
KEY MATCHUP
LaMarcus Aldridge was the BMOC along with Damian Lillard during his time with Portland. In San Antonio he’s just another piece in coach Greg Popovich’s championship puzzle. With Duncan sidelined due to a bum knee the past few games, Aldridge has seen significant minutes at the post. But in the Spurs’ scheme, it isn’t a traditional center position. Aldridge is playing a higher percentage of minutes at center this season which helps his rebounding and field goal percentage numbers being so close to the rim. His growing familiarity with his new coach and teammates also explains an increase in production from the start of the year. In a win over the Clippers on Dec. 18, Aldridge had 26 points and 13 rebounds in a dominant effort, one that provided further evidence of his growing comfort level with the Spurs. He had a similar outing Wednesday with 21 points and 12 boards playing just 29 minutes in a win over Phoenix. As Tony Parker said, the Spurs will need more of those from Aldridge if the team is going to make any kind of run. The Spurs have altered his role slightly, but he is clearly a big reason why San Antonio is 28-6 this year.
ODDS AND PREDICTION
San Antonio is unbeatable at home – really, they are. The Spurs have won all 19 games this season and 28 straight going back to last season at ATT Center. They’ve hit a few potholes on the road, but you can’t win them all, just ask the Golden State Warriors. The Spurs had one of their worst outings at Houston on Christmas, losing for just the sixth time this season in an 88-84 snoozer. With a chance to avenge that loss and extend their home streak, look for the Spurs to again tighten the screws defensively while getting a few more chances from the free throw line. They had just eight attempts in that game, making seven of them, but were outscored by 10 from the stripe. San Antonio has 19 wins by double-digits and is 14-5 ATS at home. Like I said, it’s probably not a good time to be a Rocket.
San Antonio 108, Houston 98
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Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs will take place Saturday, January 2, 2016, at 8:30 p.m. ET at the ATT Center. You can watch the game live on NBA TV.
