Sacremento at Houston. Sacramento Kings (30 - 12) <font size="1">Road: 9-9 Last 10: 6-4</font> Houston Rockets (26 - 18) <font size="1">Home: 14-5 Last 10: 7-3</font> Previous Game Sacramento 99 @ Dallas 108 Houston 81 @ Miami 95 Team History Last time these two met, Sacramento scorched them at Arco, 103-74. And guess what? It wasn't Peja doing the scorching... it was Brad Miller. Dropped 29 on them. Probable Starters Mike Bibby (SK) against Steve Francis (HR) Doug Christie (SK) against Cuttino Mobley (HR) Peja Stojakovic (SK) against Jim Jackson (HR) Brad Miller (SK) against Kelvin Cato (HR) Vlade Divac (SK) against Yao Ming (HR) Key Matchup vs. Brad Miller: 14.4 PPG (.510 FG%), 10.70 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.38 BPG Kelvin Cato: 6.3 PPG (.424 FG%), 7.80 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.37 BPG Injuries <u>Sacramento Kings</u> Chris Webber <u>Houston Rockets</u> Adrian Griffin Keys to the Game: <u>Sacramento Kings</u> <ul> [*]Force Mobley and Francis to shoot [*]Run both ends of the floor [*]Play man to man [*]Contain Yao Ming [*]Dominate the glass [/list] <u>Houston Rockets</u> <ul> [*]Zone defense [*]Stop Brad Miller [*]Run both ends of the floor [*]Force turnovers and bad shots [*]Make Peja go right [/list] Just a reminder... Peja shot horribly against them last time they played, but Brad Miller killed both Yao Ming and Kelvin Cato on the inside. To win, the Rockets will need both of them to have a bad night. Crossover's Prediction It's really a battle of offense versus defense. Last time, the offense prevailed, but if Houston can get Yao Ming going early and contain Brad Miller and Peja, then they should win this game. Although Houston plays a lot of man to man defense and does it well, I would recommend that they play zone against them. They don't respond well to it and it was effective for Dallas. Peja was horribly ineffective with Steve Nash on him, so if they play Francis on Stojakovic, it'll take away his movement and essentially take him out of the game. Sacramento by 12.
I think Peja will have a great game and will score over 30 points,however the Kings have to keep Yao off the boards or they will lose. Winner will win by 9 at the most.
Not too sure, Rockets seem to have the overall rebounding and defensive advantage. Miller's gonna kill them though I think. The Kings being one of the best teams, plus in chemistry, although the Rockets are the "Kings" of Defense will most likely stunt their production. Tough call, but I'll be with a team with more players I like, Rockets by at least 3. Wait nevermind, scratch that, Kings by 9. Kill 'em Peja and Miller.
Hey Crossover, the Rockets won the past two meeting between them, preseason though. About the game, I'd say Rockets by 4.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Crossover:</div><div class="quote_post">But the Kings won in the season, which is what really counts. </div> So true, great win, I was really scared though, this one had so much hype, that's for sure. The Kings and TimberWolves are who I want to see in the Finals. If not a full rostered and healthy Lakers.
The Kings are winning the games that they should, which is a great indicator for the rest of the season. Whereas the Rockets didn't need this win, not for what they're aiming for. This is a Rockets team that didn't even make the postseason last year, so with that goal in mind, they can easily afford to drop a game vs. the Kings, though I'm sure none of them were happy about it.
