The Houston Rockets will have their chance to beat the Southwest’s best team when they take on the division rival San Antonio Spurs at the Toyota Center. Action gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 27 and will air on RSW and SA2.
The Rockets defeated the Trail Blazers 119-105 on Thursday. James Harden led all scorers on the team with 46 points on 16-for-26 shooting. The Spurs, meanwhile, are coming off a 96-78 win against the Jazz on Thursday. Kawhi Leonard led the game in scoring with 29 points on 10-for-15 shooting.
Harden has really been playing well over the last five games for the Rockets. During that stretch, he has averaged 37.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 2.4 steals, and 3.2 three-pointers.
Keep an eye on Houston’s ability to get to the charity stripe. The team ranks first in the league in free throw attempt rate (36.5), but San Antonio is among the best in the NBA at keeping opponents off the line (ranking third by allowing a free throw attempt rate of 24.3).
The Spurs have won two out of three against the Rockets this season, including a decisive 130-99 victory in their last matchup. LaMarcus Aldridge put up a double-double in the victory with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
The Rockets enter the game with records of 29-29 Straight Up (SU) and 25-32-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 8-2 SU and 7-3 ATS against teams from their own division. Houston’s defense has put it all together in the past 10 games. Its average points allowed per game dropped to 98.5 during that span, compared to its 106.8 season average. Houston is one of the league’s top scoring teams off turnovers with an average of 18.8 points per game.
On the other side, the Spurs have a record of 36-22 ATS and 49-9 SU. San Antonio has records of 6-6 SU and ATS against the Southwest. San Antonio is the top shooting team in the league, making .491 of its shots from the floor. The Spurs are an unselfish team with an average of 25.0 assists per game, ranking third in the NBA. The Spurs average 92.5 points allowed per game, but have damaged those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 110.3 points per game during that span. The San Antonio defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing .434 shooting from the field to its opponents. They average 5.9 blocks per game, good for fifth in the league. San Antonio may be taking trips to the free throw line early and often with the Rockets averaging 23.1 fouls per game, one of the highest marks in the NBA.
San Antonio won the last meeting this season between these two teams, taking the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over the past 10 meetings. However, the Rockets lead the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4.
Predictions: SU Winner – SA
Notes
The Rockets are a top-10 scoring team, averaging 105.6 points per game. San Antonio gives up just 92.5 points per game, best in the league.
Houston averages a solid 104.6 points per home game this season. However, San Antonio is the top-ranked team in points allowed on the road, giving up just 94.3 points per game.
In its last game, San Antonio won by an 18-point margin. Houston is 2-5 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. San Antonio has a 23-2 record in blowouts.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Spurs are 41-3 on the season. When the Rockets score fewer than 100, they are an underachieving 2-13.
San Antonio is 8-6 when allowing 100 or more points this season. The Rockets have a solid 27-16 record when hitting triple digits.
The Rockets have a defensive rating of 106.9 (ranked 25th), while the Spurs rank third for their offensive rating of 109.8.
The San Antonio Spurs have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking first in the league with a FG% of 49.1%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Houston Rockets have a subpar 2-13 record.
On average, Houston attempts 31.0 three pointers and San Antonio attempts 18.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Rockets have a 24-25 record while the Spurs are even at 1-1.
San Antonio ranks at the top of the league with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.94. Houston ranks 26th with an A/TO of 1.39.
The Houston Rockets rebound 42.7 times per game and are ranked 22nd. Ranked 10th, the San Antonio Spurs rebound 44.3 times per game.
The San Antonio Spurs rank 25th in offensive rebounding, while the Houston Rockets rank 28th in defensive rebounding.
On average, the Rockets force a turnover rate of 15.8%, ranked fifth in the NBA. When the Spurs turn over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a fantastic 12-4 record.
