You can’t keep the sharp-shooters down for long and James Harden got the Rockets in the win column by snapping out of his early-season shooting slump against the Thunder. He aims to continue filling it up when Houston visits Sacramento on Friday. The Kings are having a tough time picking up wins at the start of the season and it could be even more difficult if DeMarcus Cousins isn’t back in the lineup.
LOOK AHEAD
George Karl has the sixth-most wins of any coach in NBA history and he’s probably thinking twice about taking the job with the Kings. Sacramento begins a six-game homestand Friday that has them playing the top teams in the Western Conference with the first three coming in a span of four days. The defending champion Warriors visit Sleep Train Arena Saturday followed by the Spurs on Monday. Then it’s eight straight against the Eastern Conference with games against Detroit, Brooklyn and Toronto to close out the homestand. The Kings haven’t fared well against the West’s elite so far this season, and that’s when they had Cousins in the lineup. Sacramento has already lost twice to the Clippers and was handled by Memphis on Tuesday.
Friday’s game will be the first of a back-to-back for Houston with a game at the Clippers on Saturday. But an oddity in the schedule has the Rockets playing just these two games in a span of six days, so there should be no reason for coach Kevin McHale to hold back. Dwight Howard has been held out of one of the team’s back-to-back set as he continues to recover from surgery on his knee.
INJURIES
Howard sat out the first game of Houston’s back-to-back earlier this week and McHale is sticking with his routine of resting the big man. He will likely stay on the bench Friday while Clint Capela and Montrezl Harrell take up space in the paint.
DeMarcus Cousins said he hopes to return to the Kings lineup this weekend after missing two games with a strained right Achilles. Cousins came down awkwardly while going for a rebound Saturday against the Clippers and was immediately shut down as a precaution.
KEY MATCHUP
Harden is a much better player than what he’s shown in the first week of the season. On Monday he finally emerged from his scoring slump and that’s bad news for the rest of the NBA. Harden scored 37 points on 12 of 26 shooting leading the Rockets to their first win of the season, a 110-105 victory over Oklahoma City. “I’m sure all great shooters go through droughts,” Harden said. “Mine was pretty terrible, I admit. But it will change and it will all come around. It’s a long season and I’ve gone five-, six-, 10-game streaks when I’m on fire.” The Rockets are guided by Harden’s play. He finished second in the league in scoring last season leading the team to the NBA’s third-best record. His shooting struggles in the first three games when he was just 12 of 54 from the field, all resulted in losses and a disappointing start. But the bearded one is primed to go on one of his binges and whoever the Kings enlist to try and stop him will be helpless.
ODDS AND PREDICTION
Three straight losses all by exactly 20 points to open the season was enough to get McHale fired up. He had a few choice words for his team after the third defeat, 109-89, in Miami on Sunday when the Rockets blew a 21-point first half lead. Houston responded by knocking off OKC at home the next day for its first win of the year. While the Rockets have some outstanding players, Harden is the guy who steers the bus. His shooting difficulties during the first three games were concerning and so were the outcomes. He found his touch against his former team, going off for 37 while making more threes against the Thunder than he had in the first three. Like all great shooters, Harden is streaky and if he gets on a roll, look out. The Kings and the rest of the NBA will be in trouble. If you can name three players on the Kings not named DeMarcus Cousins, you should win free tickets to their games. Sacramento has several new players but Cousins is the star, and if he’s not playing the Kings are in trouble. His injury at the beginning of last NBA season started a vicious slide that eventually cost coach Mike Malone his job. Sac was 9-5 before losing 10 of the next 12 with Cousins sidelined for 10 of those games. His importance to the team is immeasurable. There’s a good chance he doesn’t play in this one and the Rockets roll without him on the court.
Houston 105, Sacramento 94
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The matchup between the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings will take place Friday, November 6, 2015, at 10:30 p.m. ET at Sleep Train Arena. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
