Sacramento Kings: How Can Backcourt Matchup With The Rockets?

The new-look Rockets now employ what is arguably the best backcourt in the NBA. How will the Sacramento Kings backcourt stack up?

Over the course of the off-season, the Sacramento Kings, as well as many NBA teams, bolstered their rosters with new talent, especially in the Western Conference. One of the most notable acquisitions was the Rockets trade that brought in Russell Westbrook to pair with James Harden.

The teaming up of two former MVPs is enough to strike fear in to any opposing team, even those that have formed other formidable duos around the league. Both the Clippers and Lakers will have better championship odds than the Rockets will, though neither of the Los Angeles teams has both of their stars playing the backcourt positions.

One of the teams that does have both of its best players in its backcourt is the Kings. Surprisingly, Sacramento will be a team that matches up well with the Rockets, something that can lead to seemingly unlikely victories.

Russell Westbrook

Aside from John Wall, the player that people compare De’Aaron Fox to the most is Russell Westbrook. The two share traits like explosiveness and blazing end-to-end speed to go along with their freakish athleticism. Westbrook is obviously far older and more seasoned than Fox, and has gotten the best of the youngster in their seven matchups thus far.

Westbrook has averaged gaudy stats in his meetings with Fox, though Fox seems to put up impressive assists numbers when he is matched up against his likeness. He averages just shy of ten dimes at 9.6 per game and had a 28 point, 12 assist performance in a loss to Oklahoma City last year. Fox also had 13 assists in their first meeting of the season, though his 1 for 10 shooting performance netted him only six points despite the Kings being victorious.

James Harden

It is difficult to compare anyone, from any era, to James Harden. His style is unique and he is close to offensively unstoppable. But you can make the argument that Buddy Hield is a poor man’s Harden.

While Harden was at the top of the leaderboard for nearly all 3-pt categories for the 2018-19 season, Hield was never far behind:

3-Pt Field Goals – 1. Harden 4. Hield
3-Pt Attempts – 1. Harden 5. Hield
3-Pt FG % – 7. Hield 60. Harden

However, Hield is average when he matches up against Harden while Harden is exquisite. In a contest against the Kings last year, he had arguably his best game of the season. Harden scored 50 points, nabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 10 assists for his final triple-double of the season. He was guarded by Hield for a portion of the game, who could not contain him in any way.

Final Thoughts

So how will the Kings fare against the Rockets this season as a team? The intriguing matchups do not end in the backcourt. Marvin Bagley is another player to watch when the two teams meet. He has hopes of being able to stretch the floor while also excelling in interior offense, which could give even good defenders like PJ Tucker fits.

The Sacramento Kings will play the Houston Rockets on December 9th, the first of three matchups this season.