The Rockets, with three consecutive defeats, will go to the away game to challenge the Spurs at 9:30 a.m. Beijing time on January 13. Both teams are in the Southwest Division, and this match can also be seen as a "same state derby" battle between the two teams. Unlike the two strong teams led by Yao Ming and Duncan, both the Rockets and the Spurs are now in a very difficult reconstruction period. There are no supernovae on the Spurs side, but the Rockets side fortunately has Jaylen Green.
Spurs have always taken the "team basketball" route, Popovich is trying to build a new young Spurs lineup, just need to add 1 or 2 superstars to this lineup, the Spurs will soon be a championship-level strong team. The Rockets are not the same, although there are many new people on the team, but Silas's coaching ability and experience are far less than Popovich, and the current Rockets are a mess, either team infighting or defensive aberrations and consecutive losses. Even future stars like Jaylen Green don't have much ball power on the Rockets.
This game will be the first of the Rockets' 3 road trips, and the Spurs are relatively easy to deal with, and it is believed that the Rockets have set their sights on the Spurs and strive to take a win away from home. Let's look at the injuries of both teams before the game, the Rockets side is much simpler, except that Wall will not play, Garupa has returned in the previous game. The state of center Shen Jing and shooter Brooks in the next game is also "doubtful", which is much better than not being able to play. That said, the two have a 50% chance of playing in the next game.
Compared to the Rockets' neat lineup, the Spurs are in much worse shape. Spurs' Kelden Johnson, Trey Jones, McDermott, Devon Vassell and Derrick White all missed the game due to a health and safety agreement, while Zach Collins was absent due to a fractured left ankle and Jock Randell had back spasms in doubt. Home Spurs have at least six players out, which is a shame, but for the Rockets, it's also a good opportunity to end the losing streak.
NBA basketball expert Ben Dubos also made a preview and prediction for this game, and he expects the starting lineup of the two teams to be like this. Rockets: Potter Jr., Green, Gordon, Tate and Wood, the previous game with Wood to form a two-tower lineup, Theis will not appear in the starting lineup this game - it may even be directly hidden in the snow, this season Silas has not done so for the first time.
The Spurs are expected to start: Dejuntai Murray, Primo, Lonnie Walker IV, Keita Bates Diop, Pelter.
In some statistics, the Rockets' defensive data is at the bottom level throughout the league, so this time against the Spurs, which has strong defensive ability, the most important thing for the Rockets is to improve their defense in addition to maintaining the shooting rate. Only if the Rockets defend the line, Hugh city can win from the road and end the 3-game losing streak.