3 Questions

2. Can the Kings finally defend the three ball? Houston loves shooting the three and will do so at every opportunity. The Kings give up a ton of three point attempts, the second-most in the league. This is not a matchup I particularly like for Sacramento, although ironically enough I think having Rondo out of the game will actually help the Kings defensively since Collison is probably one of Sacramento's better perimeter defenders.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

James Harden is a certified Kings-killer and the Kings have yet to figure out a solution for him. Ben McLemore is probably their best hope thanks to his athleticism, but he also has to defend Harden without fouling him since that is where Harden gets most of his rhythm and points from. Harden has the potential to catch fire even if you are playing good defense on him so it's critical to not jumpstart that process by giving him easy baskets or opportunities.

PREDICTION

Rockets 109, Kings 104. I really don't like this matchup for the Kings due to how much Houston likes to shoot the three and how much the Kings like to give up open threes.