Sucks to be the Rockets right now. First they played the JV team of Texas, the Mavs, last night and lost their first game of the season and tonight they face the Varsity team of Texas and kings of the NBA in the San Antonio Spurs in Houston.
Though the Rockets (3-1) were tested last night against the Mavs, both teams will be tested when they face off. For the Spurs (3-0), they have not played a good team yet. Winning against the Blazers, Grizzlies and the under manned Sacramento “Queens”, tonight the Spurs will get a nice test against an up and coming Rockets squad.
The Rockets have Yao Ming, and Tracy McGrady. Both players have been tearing it up on the floor. T-Mac has been averaging 33.3 points so far and is leading the league in scoring and was named Western Conf. Player of the Week. In other words, Bruce Bowen will have his hands full. Also, Bonzi Wells kicked some Spurs ass in the playoffs a few season ago so watch out for that.
Another side-story will be the first time in the regular season that the Spurs will face Luis Scola, who held his rights since 2002. During the off-season, the Spurs got raped by the Rockets and traded one of the best forwards overseas for basically dirt. Scola was a fan favorite among Spurs fans who were dreaming of having him along side Duncan. Expect Scola to be gunning for some revenge.
As for the Spurs, they are undefeated and will face a hostile crowd in Houston, and will face a hungry Rockets team who want respect as a Western team to fear. T-Mac has dropped big time numbers on the Spurs in the past and expect more of the same. Yao will be a handful for Oberto and Elson. The big 3 of the Spurs, Duncan, Manu, and Parker are averaging 18, 17, and 18 respectively. The Spurs bench is also contributing with Udoka, Barry, Bonner chipping in with great play. For the Spurs, they will have to rely on their experience to win and will need Parker to destroy Luther Head. Parker is key for the Spurs to win tonight.
Key matchup for tonight will be Bowen vs. T-Mac. Bowen will have to contain T-Mac as best as he can if the Spurs want to win. In the past, T-Mac has demolished the Spurs and unfortunately he will continue to do this tonight. Perhaps Coach Pop will bring in Udoka to keep a great defender on T-Mac when Bowen is out. In other words, good luck Bowen.
This will be a great game to watch but expect the Spurs to drop their first game of the season.