Houston Rockets guard Josh Christopher (foot soreness) and center Bruno Fernando (soreness) are listed as questionable for Thursday night’s road game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Kevin Porter Jr. (sore knee) is also listed as questionable. Christopher is averaging 2.9 points and 1.1 rebounds in 17 games off the bench this season. He is also shooting 43.8% from the floor and 21.4% from beyond the arc.
Based on NBA betting sites, the Rockets have the lowest odds to win the championship in 2023. However, a few sportsbooks have Jalen Green as the 14th-best odds for this season’s Improved Player of the Year.
Kevin Porter Jr. (sore knee), Josh Christopher (foot soreness) and Bruno Fernando (illness) are questionable for the Rockets tomorrow at San Antonio.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) December 7, 2022
The Rockets are also coming off an impressive 132-123 double overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Green led Houston with 27 points in 44 minutes. The Rockets have now won four of their last seven games.
Including the win over the Sixers, the Rockets are 7-17 (11-11-2 ATS) and are in 14th place in the Western Conference. The Spurs are 3-10 at home while they are 3-12 on the road this season.
Rockets guard Josh Christopher, center Bruno Fernando are questionable for Thursday night’s road game against the Spurs.
San Antonio is 0-6 in their last six games against Southwest Division opponents. The Spurs have also failed to cover the spread in their previous five home games. After upsetting the 76ers at home, Houston could play the worst team in the Western Conference record.
“It’s a big confidence thing for us,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said after his team upset the Sixers. “When you spend as much time teaching and developing as we do, you want to see the fruits of that.”
Rookie forward Tari Eason finished with 18 points, six boards and three steals. He shot 7-of-11 (63.6%) from the field and sank two three-pointers.
Spurs Eng. Representative. with House
Barlow (G Lg., Out)
Bates-Diop (leg sprain, out)
Poeltl (knee injury, out)
Sochan (four wounds, exodus)
Wesley (MCL Sprain, out)
Vasel (knee pain, doubt)
Langford (back tightness, prob).
McDermott (ankle sprain, problem)
Richardson (ankle sprain, prob)— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) December 7, 2022
“He’s always been around the basketball and from that comes more confidence and more minutes,” Silas said of Eason.
Three players are predictable on Spurs’ injury report: Doug McDermott (ankle), Josh Richardson (ankle) and Romeo Langford (back).
Keita Bates-Diop could miss Thursday’s home game with a foot injury. Of course, Jacob Poeltl (quad), Blake Wesley (MCL) and Jeremy Sochan (quad) are out indefinitely.
According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Rockets have a 50.4% chance of beating the Spurs at the AT&T Center. Houston entered this matchup as a 2.5-point favorite.
