Rockets Head to Sacramento for First of Two Against Kings
Part 1. Building a Streak. Fox Hunting.
Eric Gordon and the Rockets take their show into Sacramento for a weekend series, as they face the Kings this Friday and Sunday. Houston is coming off an impressive comeback win over the Spurs in San Antonio that kicked off their current five-game road trip. The Kings have a similar record to the Spurs. They just snapped a five-game losing streak with a win over the Lakers in their previous game. Sacramento’s a half game ahead of San Antonio in the standings, meaning the Rockets should have a decent chance to win at least one of these two upcoming games in Sac-Town.
Despite still sitting in last place in the Western Conference, Houston is only 5 games out of the final play-in spot. Despite losing streaks of 15 and 7 games this season, the Rockets still have a legitimate chance to make the playoffs. However, they’ll have to play with the desire and requisite composure they showed in San Antonio if they want to climb up in the standings. It’s still more unlikely Houston makes the playoffs, but, despite everything they’ve been through this season, the parity in the NBA hasn’t knocked any team out of contention yet. The Rockets have a chance to build a small winning streak in Sac-Town if they display the discipline they’ve yet to show after a morale-boosting win. Houston has suffered from the hangover of still basking in their previous victory when playing games that have come after big wins for the Rockets. The squad will look to avoid that hangover in Sacramento, before the road-trip becomes incredibly tough, with stops in Utah and the Bay Area.
Just like in their previous game, the best player for Houston’s opponent is their point guard. In this case, Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox is having another quietly solid season for the Kings, who get little national recognition, because of their location, and their lack of talent. Fox doesn’t lack talent, and Houston needs to maintain the Kings best player from having a big night. Similar to Dejounte Murray, Fox is capable of having a big triple-double, and single-handedly carrying the Kings. The Rockets need to hunt down Fox at every opportunity and force other Sacramento players to try and beat them. After several off-shooting nights, it’s time for Jalen Green to have a bounce-back performance for Houston. The Rockets roster gets a boost tonight, as Alperen Sengun returns to the lineup after missing several games with an ankle injury. Houston is only four games behind the Kings in the loss column, a measure they could potentially cut in half… if they conquer the Kings over the weekend.
Golden 1 Center: Sacramento, California
Jersey Colors:
Houston Rockets (12-31): White
Sacramento Kings (17-27): Black “City Edition”
Tip-Off: 9 PM CT
TV: AT&T Sportsnet SW, NBA League Pass