Game Day: Houston Rockets Look To Bounce Back vs. Sacramento

Dec 5, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) drives against Sacramento Kings center Kosta Koufos (41) in the first quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Game Day: Houston Rockets vs. Sacramento Kings

After suffering a season sweep to the Denver freaking Nuggets the Houston Rockets will look to quickly turn things around against the Sacramento Kings.

This will be Houston’s third game in four nights while Sacramento is coming off 4 days of rest.

The Details:

Venue: Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, CA

Game Time: 10:00 PM EST – 9:00 PM CT

TV: ROOT and CSN-CA, NBA TV

Radio: 790 AM and KHTK Sports 1140 AM

More from Space City Scoop

• Rockets: Time to return the slander towards Rachel Nichols
• What the Rockets must do with the second overall pick
• Houston Rockets: The case for, and against, trading Christian Wood
• NBA Rumors: Why the Houston Rockets shouldn’t trade up to no. 1 in NBA Draft
• 3 players that would be a perfect fit for the Houston Rockets at 23 or 24

Recent Meetings:

• 12/05 – SAC 113 @ HOU 120
• 11/06 – HOU 116 @ SAC 110

Walking Wounded:

Kings:

• Willie Caulie Stein – Finger, out 4-6 weeks

Rockets:

• Sam Dekker – back, will be out 3 months
• Clint Capela – illness, questionable

Projected Starters:

Kings:  Rajon Rondo, Ben McLemore, Rudy Gay, Omri Casspi, Demarcus Cousins

Rockets:  Patrick Beverley, James Harden, Trevor Ariza, Clint Capela, Dwight Howard

Key Reserves: 

Reserves: Marco Belinelli, Kosta Koufos

Rockets: Ty Lawson, Corey Brewer,  Montrezl Harrell

Keys to Winning:

• DEFENSIVE INTENSITY: Houston is finding themselves in the bottom of nearly every defensive statistical category there is and its been the main cause for such a wonky season. The Rockets must find a sense of urgency on this side of the floor to pull out some stops.
• WIN THE BATTLE IN THE TRENCHES: Like football, basketball is won where all the dirty work is being done. The Kings are first overall in Points in the Paint per game averaging 47.7 while Houston is dead last giving up 47.2 per game in that area of the floor. Houston must toughen up the interior defense if they want to stand any chance against Boogie Cousins.
• LIMIT TRANSITION OPPORTUNITIES: The Kings are third overall in Fast Break Points per Game averaging 17.1 (all stats per teamrankings.com). Rondo in the open court is scary enough now he’s surrounded with 4 wings who can fill it up from outside and athletic enough to finish in traffic.
  

The Pick:

The odds makers favor the home town Rockets by 2.5 points and an over/under of 219 points.

Just when we thought things were looking upward for the Rockets they visit Denver and put on an actual sh*t show. Sacramento has been flying under the radar as a team that has been sleepy good and Sleepy Train Arena has finally awaken after a few years of terrible basketball. Playing in the second leg of a back to back coming out of the Mile High City is never an easy task. You have a team that’s short winded going up against a team that is well rested who has also been home since December 8th with revenge looming in the air.

Prediction: Kings

For more in depth analysis of the Houston Rockets be sure to check out our latest piece on the defensive and offensive schemes.

Next: Houston Rockets: Behind The Schemes

Make sure you catch up on our entire Team Preview Series, our Houston Rockets Player Profile Series as well as our SCS Round Table Sessions to help you get through the season. Start your morning with SCS Rocket Science Daily and visit us throughout the day to keep abreast of all your Houston Rockets news and updates.