TLDR: The Spurs lost their opener to Oklahoma City and now bring Houston to Austin, at the Moody Center, for a Texas game on Friday, October 23. Kevin Durant says he doesn't care that people call his Rockets underdogs. The reigning West champs got pushed around by the Thunder in their first game, and they'd like to fix that.
San Antonio lost 116-104 to Oklahoma City in its opener after a 31-16 2nd quarter, while Wembanyama made only 1 field goal. The Spurs' frontcourt is thin with Tobias Harris out, and that's the main question against a Houston team whose center, Steven Adams, is questionable with a calf issue. The Rockets host Dallas on Wednesday first, and that game will give the first real read on Durant, VanVleet and this group.
Start with San Antonio's opener, since it's the only game either team has played. Oklahoma City won the 2nd quarter 31-16, led 65-44 at halftime and won 116-104. That was a rematch of last spring's 7-game Western Conference Finals, which San Antonio won. Victor Wembanyama finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds but made only 1 field goal. He missed his first 12 shots, the worst shooting start of his career, and his only bucket was a reverse dunk at the end of the 3rd quarter. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32. The Spurs did put up 36 in the 3rd to get within 13, so they didn't fold.
The lineup is the bigger question for San Antonio. With Tobias Harris out with a calf injury, the Spurs opened with 3 guards: De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper. That's a lot of speed and not much size around Wembanyama. Jayden Quaintance still hasn't been cleared for basketball activities, so there's no frontcourt help coming from him yet. Against the Thunder, the shortage of bigs is what cost them the first half.
Houston hasn't played yet. The Rockets open at home against Dallas on Wednesday, October 21, with Fred VanVleet expected back. Wednesday is the first look at how this Rockets group plays together with Durant. It will also show the minutes load and whether Steven Adams, listed questionable with a calf issue, actually plays. Everything said about Houston here describes a team that hasn't played a game yet, and that will change after Wednesday.
Adams is the name to watch for the Spurs' sake. San Antonio's weak spot right now is its thin frontcourt. A healthy Adams can go after that with offensive rebounds and second chances. A limited Adams can't, and that makes the Spurs' 3-guard lineup much easier to play. Julian Phillips moving to a two-way deal is roster housekeeping, not a factor in this game.
For Wembanyama, a 1-made-basket night is usually a one-off, not the start of a trend. The bounce-back chance comes against a Rockets team that will be playing its 2nd game in 3 days. San Antonio gets an extra day of rest after Tuesday's opener. Tipoff in Austin is 8:30 PM CT.
So there are 2 open questions going into Friday. Can the Spurs survive without Harris' size until he's back? And what kind of team does Houston turn out to be once it has actually played? Wednesday's game against Dallas starts answering the second one.
Rockets vs. Spurs: Polymarket Odds & Prediction (Oct. 23) — Spurs Take the Rockets to Austin After a Rough Opening Night · Barstool Bush
