Houston Rockets @ Sacramento Kings: Game 16: Sneak Peek Analysis

Nov 6, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) celebrates after a basket against Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay (8) during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Houston Rockets defeated the Sacramento Kings 116-110. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 6, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) celebrates after a basket against Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay (8) during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Houston Rockets defeated the Sacramento Kings 116-110. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Who’s glad that terrible showing by the Houston Rockets Wednesday night is finally over?

Who’s glad that terrible showing by the Houston Rockets Wednesday night is finally over?

The performance that this team had against the Toronto Raptors was less than desired.

The Rockets hung in there but they the Raptors take them out of their element and forced this team to make bad decisions with the basketball.

And don’t just take my word for it — this team accumulated 26 turnovers the other night, something I did not envision for the basketball team at all.

But we all have to come to grips that there will be nights like this and it’s going to cause us to pull our hair out.

This team is still capable of winning a lot of games but it will be against heady teams like the Raptors where they’re going to struggle.

Now I do have to admit that the officiating was pretty damn bad throughout but we all know that they have to overcome things like that as a basketball team.

I know they will.

The Rockets will take on the 6-9 Sacramento Kings tonight in what will likely be a quality win over an up-and-coming team.

DeMarcus Cousins is a star and he’ll be shining brightly against our lineup tonight.

But keep an eye on how Clint Capela can effectively contain him in the paint.

We’ll have to see.

So who’s leading the charge for the Kings?

DeMarcus Cousins leads the Kings in points (27.5 PPG), rebounds (9.9 RPG) and blocks (0.9 BPG).  Darren Collison is in charge of the dimes (5.7 APG) and Rudy Gay is chief of steals (1.2 SPG).

Let’s talk about what the Kings do well.

They keep the basketball moving.  The Kings are ranked 11th in assist ratio, with 16.8 percent of their possessions ending with an assist.

They’re decent shooters collectively.  The Kings are ranked 12th in true shooting percentage (54.6).

Next: James Harden: A New Mindset, Attitude, A Breath Of Fresh Air

Injuries:

Patrick Beverley had successful surgery Oct. 25 — it was a minor knee scope to clean up some the damage that had occurred from his injury.  Bev made his debut last Thursday against the Portland Trail Blazers and posted 11 points, three blocks and three assists in 25 minutes of action. He was 5-for-8 from the field and 1-for-2 from behind-the-arc.  It’s expected from him to be on minutes-restriction up to 25 per for the time being as he knocks the rust and tests the knee.  He will continue to start as he had been doing in the past.

There are no injuries to report for the Sacramento Kings.

Source(s):  Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle

Four Things to Watch:

  1. James Harden vs. Arron Afflalo
  2. Patrick Beverley vs. Ty Lawson
  3. Clint Capela vs. DeMarcus Cousins
  4. Trevor Ariza vs. Rudy Gay

Prediction:

112-101 in a Houston Rockets’ win!

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

Tip-off is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CST.

The game will be televised on ROOT Sports Southwest and broadcast on SportsTalk 790 AM (KBME), Sirius/XM/SiriusXM Internet 890 and La Ranchera 101.7 FM (KNTE) & 850 AM (KEYH) in Spanish.

Go Rockets!