GAME: Sacramento Kings(30-12) at Houston Rockets(26-18) LOCATION: Toyota Center TIME: 8pm PROBABLE STARTERS: SF Jim Jackson/Peja Stojakovic PF Kelvin Cato/Brad Miller C Yao Ming/Kelvin Cato PG Steve Francis/Mike Bibby SG Cuttino Mobley/Doug Christie Team Leaders Houston: Steve Francis: 16.6ppg Yao Ming: 9.2rpg Steve Francis: 5.7apg Sacramento: Peja Stojakovic: 25.3ppg Brad Miller: 10.7rpg Mike Bibby: 5.3apg KEYS TO THE GAME FOR HOUSTON 1: Stop Peja: Stojakovic has lit up the league this year and is scoring at a rate of 25.3 points per game, good for third in the league. Jim Jackson will have a tough job tonight defending against his former teammate. However, if Peja is stopped, our chances of winning will be much higher. 2: D, D, D: The Kings score a league high 104.9 points per game. The Rockets, thanks to Jeff Van Gundy's defensive scheme, are holding opponents to a second-lowest 83.5 points per game in the league. If we can hold the Kings to 90 points, we can win because Sacramento don't play much defense. 3: Give It To Yao: Yao Ming has been on a tear recently and it will be vital for Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley to give him the ball down low. In the recent defeat against Miami, Yao only got off 9 shots. That will be unacceptable tonight. GAME OUTLOOK The Rockets beat the Kings twice in the Compaq Center last season, both times scoring over 100 points. They might not get there this time but the Kings likely won't as well. If Yao Ming has a huge game and Steve Francis and Jim Jackson regain their form, there is a pretty good chance of beating the Kings again tonight. GAME PREDICTION Rockets 95 Kings 91
Unfortunately, I do not think the Rockets will win this game. The Rockets are just far to inconsistant for people to predict a win. That being said, they might pull off one of the nights in which they are just dominate and destroy the opposing team. So you really never know. I think Miller and Divac will give the Rockets fits down low on defense. Expect Yao to be pushed, pumped, scratched and any other thing you can think of. It will be a physical game down low in the paint. Yao really needs to step up and play like he is a 7-6 freak of nature and not be scared. Overall, I think Christie and Jackson will take Cuttino out of his game and shut him down defensively. I also think Peja will light it up. He has unlimited range so Jackson needs to stick to him like glue. If we can control Peja and Yao/Stevie show up, then the Rockets have a good shot of winning this game. Kings by 8.
I do think the Rockets will win, due to their abilty to play awesome against the elite of the NBA. And I also think they'll win handily, strictly because of their "play up to the competition" style of playing this season... Rockets 88 Kings 79
Crazy game...I'm really surprised at the Rockets' lack of intensity and effort in the fourth quarter...and for some reason they stopped poundin the ball inside to Yao...jackson played a great game...11-12 shooting, 5-5 3s...its a shame not all the Rockets had his same grit and heart tonite...
Jim Jackson really lit it up in this one and I personally think that he did a good job of shutting Peja down. The Rockets led by 5 going into the fourth but ran out of fuel in the final minutes. It was a winnable one but too bad we let this one slip out of our hands. Yao Ming had a quiet but productive night with 12 points and 11 rebounds. I think that the main reason for this defeat was the ineffectiveness of Steve Francis. He was only 3-17 from the field and let Mike Bibby score 28. I would advise Van Gundy to play Jackson more if Francis is not feeling it.
The Rockets should have won this game. The Kings forced the Rockets to play at their pace and it is obvious that the Rockets didn't do a good job of playing like that. I need to look no further than one stat to determine the winner of this game. Turnovers: Houston 24, Sacramento 10 There is absolutely no excuse for committing 24 turnovers in a game. I don't care who you are.
24?. I overlooked that fact. The Rockets have really got to play Jackson more as he's a more calming presence than Francis.
Rockets had a chance at the final seconds of the game, it was the flagrant foul by Francis that caused Rockets the loss, but it's alright there will be other games. Great night by Jim Jackson. Turnover was the problem for the Rockets.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting franchise3:</div><div class="quote_post">24?. I overlooked that fact. The Rockets have really got to play Jackson more as he's a more calming presence than Francis.</div> Uh. Jackson had 4 turnovers in 12 minutes compared to Francis who had 4 turnovers in 44 minutes.
LOL my bad didn't see the game. I can see only about 10 Rockets' games in a season, and that's with satellite and all the sports channels. Still, 4 turnovers by any point guard is too much.
