Rockets Aim to Keep Firing as Kings Come to Town
Busy Week at the Office. Repeat the Sweep. Return for the Mac.
It wasn’t a royal beatdown, but the Rockets survived their previous game, a win over the pesky Suns on Saturday night. Tonight, Houston starts off a busy week with a Monday night matchup featuring the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are coming off an impressive win in Dallas last night, and finish their Texas-two step in Houston. The Rockets are clearly the better team, and are playing with a day of rest. Since 2016, Houston is 14-1 at home when facing teams playing the second night of a back-to-back. James Harden is coming off a game where he didn’t heat up until the final quarter. All signs point to Houston winning tonight’s contest. And they should. But the Rockets are predictably unpredictable. Monday’s tilt is the start of four games in six nights for Houston. They need to start this quad of games with a bang, as fatigue could come into play later in the week.
Last year, the Rockets swept the Kings in the regular season, 4-0. The Beard and company will aim to repeat just that starting tonight, as Russell Westbrook joins the mix trying to extend Houston’s streak over Sac-Town. Brodie’s had a triple double in the last three games for the Rockets. Expect, the Beard and Brodie to have big games tonight against a Kings team that simply can’t guard them. However, Houston can’t sleep on Sacramento. Despite their 9-13 record, the Kings are a game out of the final playoff spot. They improved on last season and have a bright future, but Harden and the Rockets should be too much for this young squad from Sacramento.
The Kings are also Ben McLemore’s former team. Benny Mac has been on fire the last four games for Houston and looks to keep it rolling tonight against his former squad. McLemore and the Rockets need to contain Buddy Hield, the Kings best player. De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley, Sacramento’s other bright stars, remain out with injuries Veteran Harrison Barnes is having a career year for the Kings, Bogdan Bogdanovic is a streaky shooter with the potential to catch fire. But this squad is thin is the post with Bagley sidelined a plus for Houston. Look for Clint Capela to return dominate again after his relatively quiet past two games. They call themselves the Kings, but Sacramento isn’t NBA royalty. Not this season. There’s still a lot of games left, and the playoffs are a different story, but the Rockets could be kings of the NBA this year. Tonight, Houston looks to make it five in a row against the Kings… and display what royalty looks like in the process.
Toyota Center: Houston, Texas
Jersey Colors:
Sacramento Kings (9-13): White
Houston Rockets (15-7): Red
TV: 7 PM CT – AT&T Sportsnet