After riding high for the first part of the season, both the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets have hit losing skids. With the Oklahoma City Thunder continuing to dominate, both teams are losing pace in the conference standings. As the Spurs attempt to avoid back-to-back losses, the Rockets are hoping to avoid a three-game losing streak in a Tuesday night matchup.
Both the Spurs and Rockets look poised for a postseason matchup as they occupy two of the top-five spots in the Western Conference. However, recent dips in play could see them falling back a spot or two as the Spurs hold a five-game lead over the Rockets in the Southwest Division. Both teams need to get back on track after the Spurs dropped three of their last five games and the Rockets lost back-to-back games to Memphis.
Injuries have really taken the Spurs by storm. Both Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green remain out with hand injuries while Tiago Splitter suffered an injured shoulder. All three players sitting out have seriously hurt San Antonio's defensive effort. The team is fresh off a 113-101 loss to Memphis where they were losing by as much as 29 points at one point. That comes after they allowed the Miami Heat to shoot 58.1 percent from the field while being outscored 33-21 in the third quarter alone.
The struggling Spurs defense could be a welcome presence for the Rockets. The team is one of the league's best shooting units going 47 percent overall. However, they shot just 38 percent overall during their last two home games including going 9-for-32 from beyond the arc.
Both Chandler Parsons and James Harden have struggled recently creating the offensive slump for the Rockets. Parsons went just 1 of 6 from the 3-point line after shooting 10 of 14 on Friday. Harden totaled just 26 points in the last two games after averaging 24.3 per game prior.
The Rockets and Spurs are having slumps at the wrong time. Two struggling teams going up against one another will help one get back on track.