NBA 2022/23, on Friday, 09.12.2022
Just before the quarter-finals are played at the World Cup in Qatar, there are three NBA games in the USA tonight, one of which is San Antonio Spurs vs Houston Rockets.
In my Spurs Rockets tip, I will not only explain why this duel is also called the “I-10 Rivalry Match”.
I will also discuss why the visitors’ spotty defence should not stand in their way on the way to victory for once.
Between 7 February and 21 March 2021, the Houston Rockets were the last team to string together the most consecutive NBA defeats – 20 at the time.
Currently, the Spurs seem to be hot on their rivals’ heels in this respect, at least to set the record for the most consecutive defeats this season. After the defeat against Suns, it is now eleven.
To speak of a mere defeat, however, would not do justice to the severity of the defeat. In the Suns’ 133-95 triumph at the AT&T Centre, San Antonio was shown up through the teeth. This team seems to have lost faith in itself!
The loss to Phoenix marked the seventh time this season that the Spurs have lost by more than 30 points. The only bright spot from the Texans’ point of view was the performance of Keldon Johnson.
After all, Johnson was able to score 27 points on 11 of 23 attempts from the field against Phoenix, when he had only been able to convert 28% of his total of 140 throws during his previous seven NBA games.
However, this slight boost from one Spurs player alone won’t be enough to win tonight’s matchup against the Rockets, which is also called the I-10 Rivalry because the two Texas cities are connected by Interstate 10.
Now, the Rockets’ season so far has also been nothing short of an embarrassment. For during their last four NBA games, the Texans have allowed 126.9 points per 100 possessions, the worst rate of any team.
At the same time, their opponents – all of whom are ranked in the league’s top seven – have converted an average of 47% of their shots from beyond the three-point line. No question, Houston has enormous problems defensively.
And yet they managed to beat the Suns by a razor-thin 122-121 last Saturday. The same Suns who – as already mentioned – embarrassed San Antonio to the bone in their last appearance so far.
The Rockets truly don’t have a defence that will take them far this season.
Nevertheless, I trust them to keep the upper hand in this basement duel – also because the mentality seems to be the right one.
Just yesterday, for example, they celebrated a 132-123 overtime win over the powerful Sixers that convinced me that the Texans are currently putting themselves and their diamonds in the rough in position to make a run at the playoff ranks in the coming years.
If you want to know the reasons why everything seems to be going haywire in San Antonio at the moment, you only have to look at the long list of absences that are massively affecting the flow of the game.
McDermott, Primo, Richardson, Sochan, Wesley and the Austrian Poeltl will all continue to sit in the stands tonight.
Another plus point for my Spurs Rockets tip is the last meeting on 3 October this year.
During the pre-season, the Rockets really blew away their rivals from San Antonio with 134:98.
The main drivers on that night were Tari Eason and Jabari Smith, who each scored 21 points and grabbed over 8 rebounds to show San Antonio who was in charge on the boards.
Total: In this Texas derby, sportsbooks are trading a win by the home side at around 2.20.
This should surprise no one, because even though the Rockets have by far the most away defeats in the Western Conference (12), they can still be expected to do better tonight.
Houston is struggling and has beaten two outstanding teams like the Sixers and Suns in the space of a few days, while the home side, shorthanded, is heading for its 12th consecutive defeat.
My Spurs Rockets tip: The visitors win.
