It’s a Texas-sized Christmas Day matchup when the Rockets and Spurs meet for the first time this season. Houston climbed above .500 for the first time since early November with Monday’s win and look to stay there. It won’t be easy against the second-best team in the NBA.
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LOOK AHEAD
A few weeks back several reports surfaced mentioning how unhappy Dwight Howard was playing second fiddle to James Harden in Houston. It seemed ridiculous at the time, given how the two have been teammates for four years and taken the Rockets on some serious regular season and playoff runs. Howard quickly squelched those rumors after they surfaced and his actions recently are speaking much louder than words. Howard and Harden have been working more closely in practice as they attempt to build better chemistry. You might recall that Howard missed half of the last regular season with serious knee issues, leaving the Rockets to rely solely on Harden and his offensive prowess. The extra sessions have produced results, too. Houston beat Charlotte on Monday for its third straight, getting over the .500 mark for the first time since going 4-3. Houston might have a chance against the Spurs with the game being in the Toyota Center. All of San Antonio’s losses this season have come on the road.
INJURIES
With the Spurs hosting Denver on Saturday, we could see coach Gregg Popovich rest some of his veterans, which is customary. Pop routinely sits Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili when the team is faced with a back-to-back, he just doesn’t let us know which game.
The Rockets are healthy and at full strength after Ty Lawson served his two-game suspension. They remain without first-round pick Sam Dekker, who continues to mend from a back injury sustained during the first week of the season.
KEY MATCHUP
Kawhi Leonard takes as much pride in playing defense as any other part of his game. And the 2014-15 Defensive Player of the Year has been a driving force behind the Spurs leading the league in fewest points allowed per game. Their 89.0 average is on pace to be the lowest since Washington gave up an NBA record 85.9 during the 1961-62 season. The Spurs, off to the second-best start in team history, held Indiana to 42.2 percent shooting in Monday’s win. Leonard displayed every part of his game that night scoring 24 points with six rebounds, five assists and helped limit Paul George, who came in fifth in the league in scoring with 26.2 points per game, to a season-low seven. Leonard has held players he’s closely guarded to a 37.6 field goal percentage and 25.0 mark from three-point range while ranking near the top of the NBA among starters with 0.77 point allowed per possession. Leonard will spend some time defending Harden and will get plenty of help, so don’t expect a big night from the bearded one. It might be wise to consider the under on harden’s point total.
ODDS AND PREDICTION
The Spurs are simply amazing, winning games at an alarming rate year in and year out. We keep predicting their demise as the big three get long in the tooth, but Pop just rolls out a winner. The Spurs epitomize team basketball and they do it to perfection. The Golden State Warriors were modeled after San Antonio’s style and they are proof that the system works – not that we needed any after the Spurs’ five titles in 18 seasons under Popovich. The transition from the big three is underway and running smoothly, with the Spurs off to the second-best start in franchise history. Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge are leading the way and 11 players on the current roster average over 10 minutes per game. The Rockets are hopeful they’ve turned a corner, winning 10 of 13 following a stretch that saw them drop six of seven and got Kevin McHale fired. Even at home I can’t see them beating the Spurs.
San Antonio 101, Houston 93
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