Highs and Lows: Sacramento Kings Have Miserable Night in Houston
By Rafe Wong
The Sacramento Kings were defeated by the Houston Rockets last night by a score of 105-83. Listed down below are the highs and lows that happened in the game pertaining to the Kings.
HIGHS
Perimeter Defense: The Houston Rockets are one of the best teams in NBA when it comes to shooting the three-point shot. Based on the numbers, the Rockets are ranked 10th in the league in three-point percentage (36.6%) and are the best team in the league in three-point field goals made per game (14.5). But for some reason, the Rockets struggled to make shots beyond the arc against the Kings last night. For the game, the Rockets shot just 31.1% from the perimeter, which made them turn away from their bread-and-butter and look for other ways to score points.
Opportunities For The Youth: There weren’t many positives to take away from last night’s game for Sacramento, which lead to the team turning to their youth to finish out the game. Players like Malachi Richardson, Willie Cauley-Stein, Skal Labissiere, and Ben McLemore all had their numbers called during garbage time. Richardson finished the game with 8 points, Cauley-Stein with 10 points, Labissiere with 3 points, and McLemore with 2 points.
Their performances didn’t knock the socks out of anyone, but it was valuable for the young guys to get some run-time together yesterday. Hopefully, the experience will help them get more acclimated to the NBA level, and when the time comes where they get significant playing time, they can shine.
Kosta Koufos: He only played 17 minutes of ball, but Kosta Koufos had himself a solid game offensively. For the night, Kosta was able to record 12 points and 4 rebounds while shooting 85.7% from the floor. In the last few weeks, Koufos has been getting better at making his close-range shots and half-hooks, and he displayed that improvement last night.
LOWS
Offense: The Kings’ offense has been playing well in the last couple of games, but yesterday, they just stunk it up. For the night, the Kings were only able to score 83 points while shooting 34.9% from the floor, 27.6% from the perimeter, and 57.7% from the free-throw line. Maybe it’s because the team is gassed out from their eight-game road trip, but the offense was close to non-existent in last night’s contest.
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Stopping Anderson: Ryan Anderson, the Sacramento local, continues to torch his childhood team. In yesterday’s game, Anderson recorded 25 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 50% from the three-point line. In his NBA career, Anderson has been a nuisance towards the Kings. In the 19 games that he has faced the purple and white, Anderson has averaged 16.7 points a game while shooting 46.5% from the floor and 43.4% from the three-point line.
Garrett Temple: The performance of Garrett Temple last night wasn’t a negative. It was the fact that he left the game early due to a hamstring injury that makes him a low for yesterday’s game. If Temple’s injury is a serious one, then it is a big loss for the Kings. He was players that consistently played with effort on both ends of the court, and considering that he was the best defender on the team this season, it will be hard for the Kings to replace him going forward if they have to.