Houston Rockets vs San Antonio Spurs Preview (12/8/22): Prediction, Starting Lineups, Odds
Contents
The Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs, the two worst teams in the Western Conference, face off in a tanking battle for Victor Wembanaya. Regardless, there will still be plenty of entertainment value; Kevin Porter Jr, Jalen Green, and multiple other young guns will take the floor! Take a look at our betting picks for this matchup, including in-depth analysis and the injury reports and starting lineups for both teams!
Houston Rockets Vs. San Antonio Spurs Betting Odds
The Houston Rockets are favored by 2.5 points against the Spurs in San Antonio. The Spurs have a lengthy injury report that includes Jeremy Sochan, Jakob Poeltl, Blake Wesley, and Keita Bates-Diop. All of them will miss the Thursday night matchup. Meanwhile, Houston’s sole injury to report is Jae’Sean Tate, who will also miss the contest.
Houston Rockets Vs. San Antonio Spurs Prediction
The Spurs started the season with a completely unexpected bang but have since performed exactly how I anticipated they would: horribly. San Antonio has dropped 11 straight games on its way to boasting the worst record in the NBA. The tank for Victor Wembanyama is in full effect. Without Jakob Poeltl and Jeremy Sochan, it will be hard to maintain even a remotely respectable defense against this Houston squad. When the Spurs have been without Poeltl (four games), they have recorded a 122.5 defensive rating, which is impossibly bad for those that don’t know the implications of that statistic.
Houston’s defensive rating (28th) may not be much better than San Antonio’s (30th), but the Spurs don’t have nearly the talent on the other end of the floor. I’m struggling to see San Antonio stay in this game due to that reason. The Spurs have lost 11 straight, while Houston has won two of its past three, including a huge road win against the Phoenix Suns. I’m sticking with the Rockets against the spread.
Betting Trends
- Houston is 7-8 ATS on the road in 2022-23
- San Antonio is 5-8 ATS at home in 2022-23
- The combined over record of these two teams is 23-24-1 in 2022-23
Key Matchups
Two high-scoring shooting guards duke it out in our key matchup of the game! Jalen Green and Devin Vassell are two 20-point-per-game scorers capable of blowing up any night. Check out the analysis for which player has the advantage below!
Devin Vassell vs. Jalen Green
Vassell and Green have somewhat similarly styled games; they can create off-the-dribble, hit tough shots that few players are capable of making, and utilize their athleticism to finish above or around defenders! Additionally, neither of these players is much of a defender, as they each have an individual defensive rating of close to 120. As discussed briefly above, in a different context, this is an awful rating for any player to have, let alone two capable defenders.
For this matchup, I believe Devin Vassell has a slight advantage over Jalen Green. Vassell has shot at an impressive 42% clip from deep this season, and he should get plenty of clean looks against Houston, who allows the fifth-most three-pointers to opposing shooting guards. Conversely, Jalen Green has struggled mightily from deep in recent games. In the past five games, Green has shot 4-for-33 from behind the arc for a whopping 12%. Efficiency has not been on his side. Advantage: Vassell.
Houston Rockets Starting Lineup
PG: Kevin Porter Jr
SG: Jalen Green
SF: Eric Gordon
PF: Jabari Smith Jr
C: Alperen Sengun
San Antonio Spurs Starting Lineups
PG: Tre Jones
SG: Josh Richardson
SF: Devin Vassell
PF: Keldon Johnson
C: Zach Collins
Key Injuries
Houston Rockets Injuries: Jae’Sean Tate (Out)
San Antonio Spurs Injuries: Jeremy Sochan (Out), Jakob Poeltl (Out), Blake Wesley (Out), Josh Richardson (P), Doug McDermott (P), Romeo Langford (P), Devin Vassell (P), Keita Bates-Diop (Out)
