The series heads back to Houston as the Rockets try and survive another day in the playoffs. The Spurs have a commanding 3-2 lead and are threatening to put their foot on the gas in this series.The Rockets missed a solid opportunity in game 5 to steal a game from San Antonio and come back home to win Game 6. But here we are as these two teams are ready to go to battle.
San Antonio keys
The biggest key for the Spurs is how healthy Kawhi Leonard is. He's currently listed as questionable, and it's a huge unknown on if he'll play or how much pain he'll be in.
Leonard had 22 points and 15 rebounds through 38 minutes of play in game 5. Once they figure out what is going on with Kawhi, the Spurs need to control the pace of the game. The Spurs need role players to step up. In game 5, it was Danny Green, who had 7 points in the overtime win. This confidence boost Danny Green now has could travel well all series. Green needs to step up in this game and help Kawhi so that he doesn't have to do it all on his ankle. The less Kawhi has to do the better while either he rests the ankle or just doesn't have to cut and make plays as much on it.
Houston keys
The speed of the game is a priority for Houston. They have to get out and run. They need energy on offense and on defense.
In game 5, it seemed like they didn't have as quick of a first step as they did in the beginning of the game. They need to have the energy otherwise San Antonio is just going to move the ball against them and find easy baskets. This starts with the perimeter defenders but ends with the bigs.
If they can get the speed of the game quick, a huge thing will be to simply make shots.
It's obvious how much better they are when they can hit shots. It opens up spacing because guys can't sag off shooters, it helps James Harden out for when he is trying to attack the rim, and it generates points.
At this point, the Rockets just need to get points on the board and if they do, that should be considered a win. They go through stretches that they just can't score.
It's bizarre, especially against the Spurs. Lastly, James Harden needs to trust the system and his teammates. Too often he tries to do it all himself. He can't do it all himself and the Spurs have made him pay for it. The Rockets placed tons of shooters around Harden and while not all of them have been shooting the ball particularly well, he has to trust the teammates he has.
This game comes down to execution and speed. If the speed of the game reaches the point that the Spurs can't adjust, it will put them in a terrible position and the Rockets will take advantage. IF the Spurs can execute well, they should be fine.
