San Antonio at Houston
Time: 8 PM EDT, Nov 6, 2014
TV: TNT
Spread: HOU -7
M/L: HOU -300; SAS +250
Total: 197
Betting odds courtesy of Bovada
The San Antonio Spurs played last night in Atlanta and emerged with a 94-92 victory over the Hawks. Here, one night later, the Spurs find themselves in Houston as 7-point underdogs according to NBA oddsmakers at Bovada.
To be fair, the Rockets have been playing some great basketball and are a perfect 5-0 thus far, but the only team of that five that was anywhere near decent was the LeBron-less Miami Heat. Even so, some standout stats are Trevor Ariza’s near-absurd 60 percent three-point shooting, and James Harden averaging over seven assists per game. Harden has already had two 10 assist efforts, and in the first of those, all 10 assists for for Rockets’ three-pointers.
Houston won all four matchups against the Spurs last season, and Terrence Jones in particular did well against Tim Duncan. Jones has been terribly inconsistent once again this season, with a 25 point, 10 rebound effort against Boston on Nov. 1, followed by a 3-of-11 shooting performance two nights later in Philly. Jones, however, will not suit up due to a leg injury he sustained early in the Heat matchup.
Donatas Motiejunas will start in place of Jones, and that could be problematic. Though D-Motiejuna is a big 7-footer, he lacks defensive presence and is weak rotating defensively. Dwight Howard covers a lot of blunders, but the Spurs pass the ball better than any team in the league. Motiejunas may get lost with all that ball swinging.
The Rockets will go small sometimes, too, though, with Kostas Papanikolaou having played some solid ball as a rookie out of Greece. He’s a versatile stat stuff with a natural, smooth game. In the opening night victory over the Utah Jazz, he hit four straight threes and ignited a Rockets team that otherwise got just 2-of-9 shooting from its second unit that half.
While the Rockets have a lot of developing talent on the bench, it is still a weak bench that will have trouble with San Antonio’s depth and experience. Bettors thus will be wise to back the Spurs, while a moneyline bet is still not good. San Antonio may cover the 7-point spread, but Houston gives the Spurs so many problems and is well rested after getting a night off and traveling back to the Toyota Center.
