Rockets Renew Rivalry, Face-Off Against Spurs
Second Helping. First Taste. Up.
Tonight, the NBA World gets a second serving of rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, as the Rockets visit his Spurs for the first time this season. Houston is coming off an embarrassing blowout loss in Orlando to the Magic in their opener. In their first game, San Antonio narrowly lost to the Dallas Mavericks at home, as Wembanyama scored 15 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in his highly-anticipated debut. As the Rockets get their first taste of facing the young phenom, Houston is looking to improve off a disastrous first game of the season. The first game of the Ime Udoka era didn’t go as planned for the Rockets, as they were blown away by a young, hungry Magic team.
Expect Jalen Green to have a more aggressive mindset entering tonight’s matchup. Green shot only 10 field goals, making just 2, as he struggled in the opener. Look for the Rockets young guard to bounce back on Friday night. Houston should play better with each game as the chemistry improves and they familiarize themselves with Ime Udoka’s system. Tonight, other than Wembanyama, the Spurs have a versatile young attacking core of players. San Antonio had 7 players score in double-figures in their first game. Guard Devin Vassell led the way for the Spurs with 23 points, and he’s someone the Rockets need to contain if they want any chance of victory tonight. Keldon Johnson, Zach Collins, Jeremy Sochan, and Tre Jones can also be threats offensively for the Spurs.
The good news for Houston is, after their first game, the only direction this team can head is up. San Antonio should prove to be tough matchup, and the crowd should to be more electric than Orlando’s. However, the Rockets can still win tonight if they focus on minimizing turnovers, and showing a more desired emphasis on rebounding the basketball. Houston got outmanned on the glass by the Magic in their opener, losing the rebounding battle, 56 to 31, on the boards. Regardless, don’t expect the Rockets to get blown out by 30 points tonight.
Ime Udoka is too disciplined of a coach to witness back-to-back blowouts to start his Rockets career. If Jalen Green can display more efficiency, and the Rockets do a better job rebounding as a team, they have a decent chance to split this early two-game road-trip. After tonight, the Rockets head back to Houston for their home opener on Sunday night against the Golden State Warriors, That matchup will tougher than tonight’s or Houston’s first game. If the Rockets want to avoid a potential 0-3 start to the season, they need to buckle down and focus on controlling the basketball, limiting their turnovers tonight. Their best chance to avoid starting the season in a hole is by getting a victory tonight, as they battle their in-state rival Spurs in the second game of this young season.
Frost Bank Center: San Antonio, Texas
Jersey Colors:
Houston Rockets (0-1): White
San Antonio Spurs (0-1): Black
Tip-Off: 7:00 PM CT
TV: Space City Home Network, NBA League Pass