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Fixture - Houston Rockets vs Sacramento Kings
Date & Time - August 8th, 8 PM ET (August 9th, 5:30 PM IST)
Where - HP Field House (WWOS), Orlando, Florida
With impressive comeback wins over the Dallas Mavericks and the Milwaukee Bucks, the Houston Rockets have put their best foot forward in the quest for 4th seed. The Sacramento Kings, on the other hand, have fallen to 13th in the West after a series of demoralizing losses.
Neither team has been great on defense, but the Houston Rockets have at least shown an ability to execute on that end in crunch time.
Houston Rockets Preview
The Houston Rockets will be looking to get Eric Gordon back in action as soon as possible. With both Gordon and Westbrook missing against the Lakers, their offense seemed to become a bit stale. Both of these Houston Rockets guards have been listed as tentative for the game against the Sacramento Kings.
Houston Rockets - Key Player
PJ Tucker has been the Houston Rockets' most reliable defender over the course of the entire season. The veteran is a beast on the boards in addition to this, and the Sacramento Kings have big men who can hurt him on the boards. Tucker will also be put to test against Bjelica on the perimeter. His performance will set the tone for the Houston Rockets' defense.
Houston Rockets Predicted Lineup
James Harden, Ben McLemore, Danuel House, PJ Tucker, Robert Covington
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Sacramento Kings Preview
Other than the encouraging offense provided by De'Aaron Fox, there have been few positive for the Sacramento Kings in the NBA bubble. Bogdan has not been consistent, while Buddy Hield is also a turnstile on defense. Harrison Barnes has flattered to deceive. They will need to get their act together to win their remaining games.
Sacramento Kings - Key Player
Being moved to the second unit seemed like a nice wrinkle for Buddy Hield in the scrimmages, but it has yet to work out in the actual games. It's time for the former Pelicans guard to show up as their 6th man and have a hot game. Hield is a nice player in pick-and-roll situations and will be used with Bjelica quite often.
Houston Rockets vs Sacramento Kings - Match Prediction
The Houston Rockets have enough motivation to go all out, considering that they'd rather play the Utah Jazz than the Thunder in the playoffs with the matchup advantage they have. The Sacramento Kings' hopes of making the playoffs are now virtually nonexistent.
This is going to be a shootout between the Rockets' perimeter guys and the Kings' perimeter guys. We will probably be writing home about a high-scoring win for the Rockets after the game. Expect a total of 230 or more points in this game.
Houston Rockets vs Sacramento Kings - Where to Watch
Unfortunately for viewers in the USA, this game is not available on national sports TV networks. Only locals of Texas and California can catch these games on SportsNet or NBC Sports California. International viewers can only view these games on the NBA League Pass.
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