National Basketball Association

Houston Rockets Game 48 of 2015-16 Season vs Spurs

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Houston Rockets Game 48 of 2015-16 was the third meeting with division rival San Antonio Spurs who won in a blow-out.

Jan 27, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) is fouled by Houston Rockets center Josh Smith (5) during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Continuing SCS series of all 82 games from last season next up is the Houston Rockets Game 48 of 2015-16 versus the San Antonio Spurs.

The Houston Rockets added draft picks and signed free agents to improve upon an especially mediocre 41-41 campaign. Big man Dwight Howard left for Atlanta while free agents Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon, Nene Hilario and Pablo Prigioni joined Houston in free agency.

Hopes are these additions and the growth of existing assets will translate into a season similar to 2014-15. While fans wait for opening night on October 26th versus the Lakers hopefully this series will appease your cravings.

To that end, this series showcases the Rockets 82 games noting the pregame analysis, post game grades, and relevant video. Furthermore, SCS will highlight significant changes made by their opponents this summer. So, here it is – – enjoy all 82 posts as SCS takes you back over the 2015-16 season.

Game 48 – Spurs

HoustonRockets99

San AntonioSpurs130

Pregame Analysis:

Entering the game the pregame analysis pointed to the need for the Rockets to try and take an inter divisional win.

The teams have split the season series to date, but tonight’s match offers plenty of other plot lines for your perusal. This will be the Spurs first contest since their beat down Monday against the Warriors. Further the Spurs remain unbeaten at home so wishing for the Josh Smith unbeaten streak to outlast the Spurs 24-0 home win streak is asking for a lot.

Unlike the Warriors who hadn’t met the Spurs til this past Monday this is the third meeting between the two Texas teams and a month from tonight they’ll wrap up the series in Houston. Talk about getting a series over quickly!

Smith for his part seems to have instilled a joy that was missing in the locker room and more importantly on the court. While many are pointing to Ariza’s sudden break out production on offense it may simply be the addition of a play maker, ball handler and strong defender that is to thank for the 3-game win streak.

Post Game Analysis:

Coty Davis provided player grades and post game review which can viewed via this link.

Stat Leaders:

James Harden

SG, Houston Rockets

B-The Bearded one was heavily guarded by last year’s DPOY Kawhi Leonard and that’s never a good thing. James Harden could beat Leonard with his drives but got limited to this play. He couldn’t hit many three-point shots or share the ball efficiently with his teammates. 20 points for Harden.

LaMarcus Aldridge

PF, San Antonio Spurs

NBA.com provides full box score which can be viewed via this link.

Rockets Games vs Spurs in 2016-17

Draft Picks and Free Agents

With Tim Duncan retiring the Spurs enter the 2016-17 season for the first time in 20 years without him. It’s bound to be weird initially not seeing the Big Fundamental on the floor. To offset the loss San Antonio inked Pau Gasol to fill Duncan’s rather large shoes. Fortunately Manu Ginobili returns for another season, so the core remains basically intact.

Draft Picks:

Round 1: Dejounte Murray (29)

More from Space City Scoop

Round 2: None

Incoming Free Agents/trade:

Exiting Free Agents/traded:

Re-upping:

Unresolved:

More Free Agent News

Due to the large Houston Rockets fan base, SCS is always looking to add new talent to our writing team. To that end, we’re looking for individuals with a specialized focus. Specifically, the first area is perfect for someone who constantly surfs for breaking news on injuries, trades, insider info. Consequently this individual would select top news items providing timely quick hits to keep SCS readers in the loop.

The other writer would possess an especially strong social media background and would like to interact with Clutch City Fans. Therefore this person will promote SCS team content on facebook and twitter. As a result the successful candidate will make sure to promote the best content coming from H-Town fans. In conclusion, if you’re a budding writer who possesses these qualities vist the SCS link, and fill out an application

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