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Houston Rockets At Sacramento Kings: Game 80: Sneak Peek Analysis

By Brian K. Patterson

Nov 25, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) controls the ball against the Houston Rockets during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. The Houston Rockets defeated the Sacramento Kings 117-104. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Darren Collison (7) controls the ball against the Houston Rockets during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. The Houston Rockets defeated the Sacramento Kings 117-104. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Houston Rockets are coasting until the end of the season which will be this Wednesday.

The Houston Rockets are coasting until the end of the season which will be this Wednesday.

The team is now locked in with the Oklahoma City Thunder as their first-round match up starting likely either next Saturday or Sunday.

It will be a nice series to watch and it will gauge who will be the real MVP — between James Harden and Russell Westbrook — long after the votes have been tallied.

So as that is on the horizon, they have to finish up the season and they’ll face the 31-48 Sacramento Kings tonight.

This team does have a few talented pieces but everything else is in such disarray, it’s not surprising that they’ve won only 31 games.

This should be a nice win for the Rockets but I’m positive the starters won’t be playing full minutes tonight as they rest up.

So what’s next?

So who’s leading the charge for the Kings?

Rudy Gay leads the team in scoring (18.7 PPG), rebounds (5.2 RPG) and steals (1.5 SPG) and blocks (0.9 BPG).  Darren Collison and Ty Lawson are in charge of the dimes (4.6 APG).

Let’s talk about what the Kings do well.

There’s not too much this team does well but there are a few things they’re decent at, here they are:

They decently move the ball around.  The Kings are tied for 12th in assist ratio — with the Cleveland Cavaliers — with 17.3 percent of their possessions ending with an assist.

They shoot solidly as a team.  The Kings are 13th in effective field goal percentage (51.5) and they’re also tied for 14th in true shooting percentage (55.5).

Next: James Harden To Sign A Super-Max Deal In 2017?

Injuries:

Ryan Anderson sprained his right ankle after getting tangled up with DeMarcus Cousins March 24 against the New Orleans Pelicans. Ryan Anderson returned to the lineup Friday night and scored nine points and three rebounds — including going 3-for-5 from behind-the-arc — in 13 minutes of action, being extremely efficient.  He has been cleared to play tonight and the plan is slowly work his minutes back up over these last three games.

Sam Dekker injured his left hand after getting tangled up with Chris Dudley and Patrick Beverley for a loose ball in the 2nd half of Sunday’s match up with the Suns.  It has been categorized as a broken hand and is estimated to be out for the next three to four weeks.  He did have successful surgery to repair the damage Monday and will be re-evaluated in a week.

As for the Kings, Rudy Gay (Achilles) has been shut down for the rest of the season.

Source(s): Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com, CBS Sports

Matchups to Watch:

  1. Patrick Beverley vs. Darren Collison
  2. James Harden vs. Buddy Hield
  3. Ryan Anderson/Montrezl Harrell vs. Skal Labissiere

Prediction:

114-102 in a Houston Rockets’ win!

The Rockets are back on the road to take on the Kings at Golden 1 Center.

Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. CDT.

The game will be televised on ROOT Sports Southwest/NBA TV and broadcast on NewsRadio 740AM (KTRH), Sirius/XM/SiriusXM Internet 890 and La Ranchera 101.7 FM (KNTE) & 850 AM (KEYH) in Spanish.

Go Rockets.

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