A Royal Pain
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How Can The Sacramento Kings Defeat The Rockets?

By Rafe Wong

SACRAMENTO, CA - APRIL 11: Willie Cauley-Stein #00 of the Sacramento Kings goes up for the shot against the Houston Rockets on April 11, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - APRIL 11: Willie Cauley-Stein #00 of the Sacramento Kings goes up for the shot against the Houston Rockets on April 11, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Sacramento Kings are looking to steal a win away from the Houston Rockets tonight. What do the purple and white need to do in order to be successful?

Coming off a recent loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Sacramento Kings are hoping to rebound quickly as they play against the Houston Rockets tonight.

The numbers show that the Rockets would be an easy win for the Kings, but that is not the case. Instead, Houston looks like they are back on the rise. Since the team and Carmelo Anthony parted ways, the Rockets have been rejuvenated as they have won three of their last four games, the most recent game being against the Golden State Warriors where Houston thrashed them by a score of 107-86.

Pace Is How The Kings Will Win

For the Kings, this will be no easy contest. The Rockets look to be back and are hosting the game in their arena. In order for the Kings to pull off the upset, I believe the tempo of the game is going to be key for them.

The offense for Sacramento has been awesome this season. They currently are the 11th best team in terms of offensive efficiency and are averaging a staggering 114 points per game. A big reason for the Kings’ dominance on offense has been their pace. The Kings play at a lightning rate (second fastest in the league) which gives them lots of opportunities for easy scores as well as tiring out their opponents.

Last Thoughts

For the Kings to have a chance tonight, they need to control the pace of the game. The Rockets, to my surprise, are one of the slowest teams in the NBA as they have a pace factor of 99 which is ranked second to last in the league. The Kings need to get defensive stops and run the floor EVERY chance they get.

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This means the guards for Sacramento need to have a good game. Guys like De’Aaron Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Buddy Hield will be facing off against Chris Paul and James Harden. If the Kings can play at their tempo while giving the duo of Rocket All-Stars fits on the defensive end, they might be able to shock the NBA once again.

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