This Thursday, the (7-17) Houston Rockets will travel to San Antonio, TX to take on the (6-18) San Antonio Spurs. Tipoff will be at 8:30 PM EST inside the AT&T Center. Neither of these teams has had the start to the season that they were hoping for, but they will be looking to turn it around in this game.

The Houston Rockets are coming into this one after taking down the Philadelphia 76ers, 132-123. Houston looked awesome on the offensive end of the court, as they continued to score throughout that game. They will have to stay hot in this one if they want to challenge the Spurs on the road.

The San Antonio Spurs are entering this matchup after losing to the Phoenix Suns, 133-95. The Spurs were awful on both ends of the court, as they will have to get more stops in this game if they want to compete with the Rockets at home.

The Houston Rockets are currently in 14th place in the Western Conference standings, as they trail the first-place Phoenix Suns by nine games. They will have to get hot if they want to inch their way back into playoff contention. On offense, the Rockets are scoring 110.9 points per game and they have shot 44.4% from the field. This is the lowest team shooting percentage and the 21st most points scored per contest. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Rockets have an adjusted offensive rating of 112.9, which is the 13th-highest rating in the league. Jalen Green has continued to lead the way for the Rockets, as he is scoring 21.6 points per game on 41.5% shooting from the field. Houston’s also struggled to consistently knock down shots from behind the arc, as they have only made 34.3% of their shots from deep. This is the 19th-highest team three-point shooting percentage in the NBA, as they don’t have a ton of players that can light up the scoreboard from three. They have also struggled at the charity stripe, as they have only made 78.1% of their shots at the line. This is the 18th-highest free-throw shooting percentage in the NBA. They can’t continue to miss these free looks at the basket and still expect to win these games.

On defense, the Rockets have consistently given up points. They are surrendering 117.2 points per game and their opponents have shot 48.4% from the field. This is the 27th most points allowed per contest and the 27th lowest shooting percentage allowed. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Rockets have an adjusted defensive rating of 111.5, which is the 12th lowest rating in the NBA. Their perimeter defense has let them down at different times, though, They have allowed their opponents to shoot 37.4% from deep, which is the 27th lowest three-point shooting percentage surrendered from the floor. They have to close out and defend more shots on the outside if they want to consistently win these games. Houston is also snatching 46 rebounds per game, which is the fourth most in the league. They have to secure the ball after missed shots if they want to keep the Spurs from crashing the offensive glass.

Injury Report: Jae’Sean Tate SF (Ankle) is listed as out for this game.

The San Antonio Spurs are currently in 15th place in the Western Conference standings, as they trail the first-place Suns by 10 games. They are also (0-10) in their last 10 games played, as they have now lost 11 games in a row. On offense, San Antonio is scoring 109.5 points per game and they have shot 45.7% from the floor. This is the 25th most points scored per contest and the 23rd-highest shooting percentage from the field. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Spurs have an adjusted offensive rating of 109.5, which is the 27th-highest rating in the NBA. Devin Vassell continues to lead the way for the Spurs, as he is scoring 20.5 points per game on 45.7% shooting from the field. San Antonio has also struggled to consistently knock down shots from behind the three-point arc. They have only made 33.8% of their deep-range jumpers, as this is the 21st-highest three-point shooting percentage in the league. The Spurs have been horrendous at the charity stripe, as well. They are only knocking down 72.2% of their shots at the stripe, which is the second-lowest free-throw shooting percentage in the NBA. They can’t continue to miss out on these free points and expect to stay competitive in these games.

On defense, the Spurs have also had a difficult time stopping their opponents. According to dunksandthrees.com, San Antonio has an adjusted defensive rating of 119.4, which is the highest rating in the league. They are allowing their opponents to score 121.3 points per game and they have shot 50.8% from the field. This is the highest shooting percentage allowed and the most points surrendered per contest. They have struggled to consistently contest shots near the rim and on the perimeter, as they have been giving up clean looks from all over the floor. Their opponents have also shot 39.9% from deep, which is the highest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the NBA. The Spurs are snatching 42.6 rebounds per game as well. This is the 22nd most in the league, as they have to clean the glass if they want to keep the Rockets from scoring second-chance points.

Injury Report: Doug McDermott SF (Ankle) and Romeo Langford SG (Back) are listed as questionable. Josh Richardson SG (Ankle) is listed as probable. Jeremy Sochan PF (Quad), Jakob Poeltl C (Knee), and Blake Wesley SG (knee) are listed as out.