Let’s talk Kings basketball!

When: Wednesday, February 6th, 7 PM PST

Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento CA

TV: NBCSCA

Radio: KHTK Sports 1140 AM

For Your Consideration

So You’re Saying There’s a Chance: With a win Monday night against the Spurs, the attitudes of the fanbase and franchise seemed to adjust yet again over the course of 48 minutes of basketball. I’ll be free to admit that I didn’t know if the Kings were truly good enough, truly ready for a playoff run in the Western Conference. Taking the lunch money of a bully that has long haunted the Sacramento Kings changes things. Suddenly there’s a bit of light in the playoff darkness and with the sounding of that fourth quarter buzzer, an 8th seed seemed a tad more tangible and a little less like a fantasy. Early Wednesday morning, everything changed; including the weight of the game this evening.

The Clippers have sent away Tobias Harris, this season’s leading scorer and should-have-been All Star, along with per minute great Boban Marjanovic for what basically amounts to Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler and some nice 1st rounders. Read more about it here, in Greg’s write up. With this move, two things have taken place: First, the Celtics just got a swirly from Jerry West. Owners of the Kings pick and the Clippers pick (top 14 protected), Los Angeles in one fell swoop announced that they’ll be tanking the rest of this season which lessens the chance of Boston ever getting their pick. It gives Philly a really special lineup that is poised for a deep Eastern Conference playoff run. But Jerry West also just depreciated the value of Sacramento’s pick this season even further, and kicked the Western Conference cellar door off of its hinges and shoved the Kings right toward the top of the stairs. The Kings are now absolutely in line for a playoff spot, and tonight’s game against the Rockets isn’t a test in whether or not the young, spry Kings can keep this home game hot-streak rolling, its an important game in getting position over the Clippers as soon as possible, so that the Kings can hold onto that eighth seed after the Lakers move whatever junk they’re moving for Anthony Davis.

So let’s talk about the Rockets then a little bit. The fifth seed in the Western Conference, the Rockets are in the middle of one of the greatest offensive stretches in NBA History with what James Harden has been doing of late. Currently Harden is on his 36th straight game of 30+ points or more, third longest streak in history behind Wilt Chamberlain doing it twice. For the season, Harden’s stuff gets even crazier: 36.5 points, 8 assists, 6.8 rebounds on 37% shooting from deep. He’s lost Chris Paul for extended periods of time, Clint Capela, the Rockets second lead scorer this season, has found himself on the bench for 4-6 weeks after a surgery on his thumb, but James Harden has been completely immune to these issues and has continued to will the franchise to victories in a season that looked disastrous even into the beginning of December. What NBA fans are witnessing is nothing short of Neo being shot to death, only to have him stand back up and stop a hail of bullets from a couple of Agents just by thinking “No”. Harden is doing something special, and I hope to heck the Kings stop him.

Don’t get me wrong here, the rest of the Rockets aren’t slouches. Playing at the 4th slowest pace in the NBA, the Rockets are just outside the top 10 in scoring per game at a tick below 113 a contest. The Rockets are once again the very highest in the league in three point attempts and makes, though the latter is achieved more by the former than by actually hitting them at a great percentage; they’re 21st this season in three point percentage and shoot under 35% from distance. Typical of the Rockets they also take and make the least amount of two pointers in the league but hit them at the second highest field goal percentage, 55.4%. They’re the fourth worst team in the NBA in rebounding, the second worst in the NBA in assists and get a little handsy as well, fouling the 5th most in the NBA. Someone to look out for this game is newcomer to the team Kenneth Faried, who was gifted by the Nets to the Rockets after the Capela injury, and has really taken off since he’s arrived; 16.5 points, 10 rebounds and 61.4% shooting from the field. If the Kings are going to win this game, they’re going to have to win it in an absolute offensive slugfest.

Prediction

The Kings score 150 and James Harden is so entirely tied up by Handcuffs Hield that he doesn’t score double digits. Chris Paul stays invisible, but every once in awhile you’ll hear a scream and something fall on the ground just inside the Rockets tunnel.

Kings 150, Rockets 139