Tip-off: Wednesday, 9:35 p.m. ET
Line: San Antonio -7.5, Total: 210.5

The Rockets will be looking to make a statement with a win over the Spurs in San Antonio on Wednesday.

Houston has been solid to start the year, as the team is 4-3 both SU and ATS through seven games. The Rockets are not going to suffocate their opponents on the defensive end, but they will tire them out by getting up and down the floor in a hurry. The Spurs, meanwhile, are once again one of the best teams in the NBA. San Antonio is 5-2 both SU and ATS early on and its only losses are against the Jazz and Clippers. Both of those teams have been impressive thus far, so there’s no shame in those defeats for the Spurs. San Antonio is going to be a confident team when Houston is in town on Wednesday. The Spurs are 6-2 SU and 5-3 ATS when facing the Rockets over the past three seasons, and they’re an even better 4-0 both SU and ATS when playing in San Antonio in that span. One trend that seriously favors the Spurs in this game is the fact that Gregg Popovich is 65-36 ATS off an upset loss by 10 points or more as the coach of San Antonio. The Spurs are also facing a Rockets team that is just 4-16 ATS after covering in four or five of their past six games over the past two seasons. PG Patrick Beverley (Knee) remains out for the next few weeks for Houston, and San Antonio will likely have both SG Danny Green (Quad) and PG Tony Parker (Knee) in this one.

The Rockets are playing some incredible basketball offensively and PG James Harden (31.6 PPG, 12.7 APG, 7.1 RPG, 1.3 SPG) has pretty much everything to do with that. Head coach Mike D’Antoni decided to put Harden at the point because he felt there was no reason to put off the inevitable. Harden is going to get the ball and make plays, so why not have him bring it up? All Harden has done has made D’Antoni look like a genius. He is averaging career highs in points, assists and rebounds and he is doing all of this on 50.0% shooting from the field and 41.0% shooting from the outside. Look for him to play another good game on Wednesday, as the Spurs’ only good perimeter defender is Kawhi Leonard. Another guy to watch out for in this game is PF Ryan Anderson (13.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG). Anderson is going to be covered by LaMarcus Aldridge in this game, and Aldridge is far too slow to close out on him. That means that Anderson should have a field day from the outside, where he is 17-for-34 over the past four contests. He’ll also be able to close out when the Spurs get overzealous in trying to contest his shots.

The Spurs have lost two of their past three, but all is still well in San Antonio. The Spurs have the talent to contend this season and they’ll be looking forward to this matchup with the Rockets. SF Kawhi Leonard (26.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 3.4 APG, 2.4 SPG) is going to be the most important player for San Antonio in this one, but that’s no surprise. He is their most important player in general, and is going to need to bring it every night for the Spurs. Leonard scored just 14 points on 3-for-13 shooting against the Clippers last game and San Antonio lost 116-92. That shows how crucial Leonard is, as he can’t afford to play poorly this season. In this game, though, Leonard will need to play his spectacular brand of two-way basketball. He’ll likely see some time guarding James Harden, and he can’t afford to get torched by the Rockets’ superstar. San Antonio will also need big games from PF LaMarcus Aldridge (18.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG) and C Pau Gasol (9.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.3 BPG). The Rockets are weakest inside, and that is an area where San Antonio can really take advantage.