The San Antonio Spurs, who suffered a huge loss against Golden State Warriors in their last game, are set to face Houston Rockets at the AT&T Center on Wednesday.
Spurs, despite their loss, have been one of the best teams in the NBA this season, with 38 wins and 7 losses, a record bettered only by Warriors. The Rockets, on the other hand, have had a decent season as they lie on seventh position in the Western Conference. They have registered 25 wins and 22 losses.
The Rockets must be a confident unit as they prepare for their clash with Spurs. The Rockets have won their last three games in the league against good teams such as New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks.
However, the Rockets are aware of the huge task when they face Spurs, who are one of the favourites for the NBA title. The Spurs, prior to their loss to Warriors, were on a roll, defeating teams with relative ease. They had won 13 games on a trot, which just establishes the quality side they are in the NBA.
The Spurs, who were without their star player Tim Duncan in their last games against the Warriors, are once again going to miss the services of the experienced campaigner. Hence, they need other players such as LaMarcus Aldridge, Tony Parker and Kawhi Leoward to forget about their last loss and come up with a game to show their NBA title credentials.
Fans have been talking about the loss way too much, but Spurs player Manu Ginobli wants to focus on Rockets alone.
"It's the (45th) game of the season. It's not like we're eliminated," AP quoted Manu Ginobili. "We got our butts kicked, that's for sure. We need to be thinking more about Houston."
It is time for Ginobili to stand up and be counted.
If the Spurs do not want to suffer their first back-to-back defeats in the season, they need to come well prepared and stop Rockets' big guns James Harden and Trevor Ariza from delivering their A game.
Ariza, who has been playing some great basketball of late, averages 12.3 ppg while Harden, as always, has been their superstar with 27.7 ppg. Ariza believes that there is certain flow in their game, which is helping the team perform well.
''I'm just making shots,'' Ariza said. ''I don't think I am really doing anything different. What's been working for us is the game has more of a flow to it. The ball's been moving a lot better than it has previously.''
Where to watch live
San Antonio Spurs vs Houston Rockets live NBA game is scheduled for 8pm ET (6:30am IST, 1am GMT) start. There is no live coverage in India.
US viewers can watch the San Antonio Spurs vs Houston Rockets live NBA gamein the US on ESPN with live streamingon Watch ESPN
Viewers in Philippinescan watch the game live on NBA Premium.
Viewers around the world can watch all the NBA live action by live streaming on NBA Online.
