The Rockets' next game is against the Kings, and unlike the Rockets, the Kings still retain a glimmer of hope in the playoffs. This young team seems to be rebuilding every year, from Cousins to today's "Little Fox" Daron Fox, the star of the family, although the strength is outstanding, but has not been able to get rid of the fate of the fish belly team. Although the Kings have a lot of talented newcomers this season, their record is not particularly good.
The Rockets, like the Kings, ended their losing streak with a win in the previous game. The difference is that the Rockets defeated the weak Spurs, while the Kings defeated the Thunder led by James and Westbrook, and the gold content was naturally different.
Unlike the Kings, however, the Rockets have given up on competition for playoff tickets, single-mindedly targeting this summer's draft picks. The Kings are ranked 11th in the West with 17 wins and 27 losses, although the winning percentage is not high, but the Kings are not far from the 10th Blazers, the gap is only 0.5 wins, if you can work harder, surpass the Blazers to get a playoff qualifier ticket, there is still great hope.
In this game, the rocket team's mentality is to win or lose, there is no pressure, and the kings are different, the rocket team is the "fat meat" sent to the mouth, as long as they can defeat the rocket team, the king team can maintain the pressure on the Blazers and wait for the opportunity to overtake.
Looking at the injury situation, the Rockets' rookie center Shen Jing has returned, and no other player is on the injury list, which can be said that all members can play. The Kings were different, with their players Damian Jones and Robert Woodard II sidelined. Center Tristan Thompson and Holmes are in doubt due to illness.
NBA expert Ben Dubus also gave the starting lineup prediction of the two teams, in his opinion, the Rockets' starting lineup is still the same as the previous game: point guard Porter Jr., shooting guard Jaylen Green, small forward Gordon, big forward Tate, center Wood. The Kings' starting 1-5 players are: Haliburton, Daron Fox, Harrison Barnes, Bagley and Meitu.
The Rockets want to win, one to see the two backcourt duos of Porter Jr. and Jaylen Green, the performance of Gordon, a veteran who bombed 31 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in the previous game, and third, whether Wood can pose a threat to the Kings' interior line, which is also very critical. In the end, the Rockets' Shen Jing can be called the miracle soldier of this game, if Shen Jing can usher in an outbreak, the Rockets won a win on the road, it should not be a problem. However, the Kings side because the morale of the front team after the victory over the Lakers is high, so the Rockets can not be underestimated, if the Rockets paper-level defense can not limit the Kings' inside and outside attacks, this game the Kings have a better chance of winning.