Rockets Rematch with Kings, Begin Season’s Second Half
A New Half. Part 2. Averting the Repeat.
The Rockets begin the second half of the NBA season right where the first half closed: a matchup with the Kings in Sacramento. In one of those oddities in the scheduling, these two squads will play in the same building for the second straight game. Houston slumps into the latter half of the season riding an 8-game losing streak. The Rockets will be without Kevin Porter Jr. tonight, who suffered a knee injury in the first quarter on Wednesday in Sacramento. Houston will need everyone to step up in Scoot’s absence. KJ Martin, coming off one of his best games of the year, will be the primary beneficiary in extra minutes in place of KPJ. Expect Jae’Sean Tate’s minutes to increase as well. Tate’s taken on the role of backup point guard, and could very well run the offense while KPJ is on the sidelines. The severity of Scoot’s injury isn’t known at the moment. It doesn’t appear to be anything serious, but expect KPJ to miss at least a few games in the coming days.
Houston will try and hold on for four quarters tonight, after playing a stellar three out of four quarters on Wednesday night in Part 1 of this matchup. If the Rockets want to win Part 2, they’re going to need smarter play down then stretch. Houston’s biggest weakness all season has been closing games. The Rockets can’t seem to slam the door shut on a team’s winning chances when the game’s on the line. Houston will look to put four efficient and productive quarters together to start the second half of the season.
The Kings will be trudging out the usual suspects the Rockets saw on Wednesday night. Expect Domantas Sabonis to be in line for another double-double, and De’Aaron Fox to one again eclipse the 20-point mark. However, if Houston can keep Sacramento’s All-Star duo from having breakout performances, the Rockets have a chance to pull the upset. Houston also needs to do a better job on Trey Lyles, Keegan Murray, and Harrison Barnes, who all had above-average games and were instrumental in dealing the Rockets a loss in the previous matchup. The Rockets shouldn’t be playing with any pressure over these final 41 games. They have nothing to lose, the squad is firmly a contender in the Victor Wembanyama Sweepstakes this summer. It’s time for Houston to show influential improvement on the court, starting tonight with a victory to close out their second game in Sacramento.
Golden 1 Center: Sacramento, California
Jersey Colors:
Houston Rockets (10-31): White
Sacramento Kings (22-18): Black
Tip-Off: 9:00 PM CT
TV: AT&T Sportsnet SW, NBA League Pass