San Antonio Spurs vs Houston Rockets Prediction & Match Preview - December 17th, 2020 | NBA Preseason 2020-21
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Match Details
Fixture: San Antonio Spurs vs Houston Rockets | NBA Preseason
Date & Time: Thursday, December 17th, 8 PM ET (Friday, 6:30 AM IST)
Venue: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
The Houston Rockets will be hoping to end their preseason on the right note by continuing with the fluidity and energy they displayed last time out. For the San Antonio Spurs, they are still quite far from any sort of efficiency.
San Antonio Spurs Preview
The San Antonio Spurs have been rather haywire on both ends of the court. They've really struggled on defense and given up a total of 233 points in their two preseason games so far. Ball-handling, especially in transition, needs a lot of work too.
San Antonio Spurs' backcourt did show some promise in their last encounter. Lonnie Walker showed some penetration and energy going forward while Dejounte Murray's playmaking ability was on display. Rookie Devin Vassell has impressed on both ends of the court too.
Key Player - DeMar DeRozan
If he doesn't get traded, DeMar DeRozan will have a huge role to play in terms of where the San Antonio Spurs finish in the standings this season. We haven't seen much of DeRozan in the past two games but expect Gregg Popovich to give him a healthy chunk of minutes on Thursday.
San Antonio Spurs Predicted Lineup
Dejounte Murray, Lonnie Walker IV, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, LaMarcus Aldridge
Houston Rockets Preview
The biggest update coming out of the Houston Rockets' most recent preseason game is that James Harden is finally back and he seems to be engaged. Harden looked in good touch in the 21 minutes he played on Tuesday and there was some visible chemistry between him and John Wall.
Rookie Jea'Sean Tate has played with all his heart so far in the preseason and will be hoping to bring that energy again. Shooting accuracy is still far from perfect for the Houston Rockets, but it's fairly evident that they will be sticking to high volume attempts from downtown for the time being.
Key Player - James Harden
James Harden checked all tickboxes in his Houston Rockets' preseason debut. His stepback three was on point, his court vision was lethal as usual, and he was giving his teammates a piece of his mind fairly regularly. Expect Harden to play more minutes on Thursday and score big.
Houston Rockets Predicted Lineup
John Wall, James Harden, Eric Gordon, PJ Tucker, DeMarcus Cousins
Spurs vs Rockets Match Prediction
Considering that this is the final preseason game for Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs, expect them both to employ their usual rotations. As such, the outcome will boil down to who's the better side and the Rockets are miles ahead on paper right now. James Harden and co. are likely to win this one.
Where to watch Spurs vs Rockets?
Local coverage of the game will be available on KMYS and AT&T SportsNet Southwest. You can also live stream the same via the NBA League Pass.
Also read: NBA News - Houston Rockets player Chris Clemons confirmed to have suffered an injury to the right Achilles tendon