Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs preseason game preview

The Houston Rockets begin to wrap up their preseason tonight when they take on the San Antonio Spurs tonight. The teams will play again on Thursday for the finale of the games that don’t count.

Houston got a nice glimpse of what a John Wall-DeMarcus Cousins group can do against the Bulls. That team is fun but probably won’t be able to defend well. They’re liable to be blown out several times during the regular season and could be a playoff team if things fall right, but I doubt it.

Houston fans have wondered how Christian Wood will fit with this team, but he’s once again out tonight. The plan is for him to play on Thursday, so it appears that the team is being cautious with their free agent acquisition. There’s going to be an awkward transition period where Wood finds his way on a team with ball dominant players, but that’s why Houston shelled out the big bucks for the youngster.

The real story tonight is the return of James Harden, who returns to the team after passing the COVID-19 protocol that required him to test negative six consecutive times. Oh, and he kinda held out because he wants a trade. I’m still not sure how to handle that trade request in game previews, so I’ll direct you to the awesome coverage that others have had here on TDS. For now, I’ll say it will be nice to see Harden back in a Rockets jersey. Enjoy it, because it might be the last time you see it.

Oh, and uh...San Antonio is going to be way better than anyone expects. Don’t let them fly under the radar. You get it by now. And they are going for Giannis Antetokounmpo next summer too.

Tip-off is at 7pm CT on AT&T SportsNet Southwest