The Sacramento Kings host the Houston Rockets at Golden 1 Center on December 21, and this one feels like two teams living in totally different parts of the Western Conference right now.
The Kings are 6-21 and sit 13th in the West. The Rockets are 17-8 and sit 5th.
They’ve already seen each other once this season, and it was ugly for the Kings. The Rockets won 121-95 on December 3, powered by Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant.
Star power is still there, though. Durant is averaging 25.1 points per game while shooting 51.3% from the field, and Sengun has been a problem all year at 23.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 7.2 assists on 49.5% from the field.
For the Kings, the nightly shot creation basically falls on DeMar DeRozan, who has put up 18.2 points per game on 50.7% from the field, with Russell Westbrook still piloting the chaos at 7.4 assists per game.
Injury Report
Kings
Domantas Sabonis: Out (left knee, partially torn meniscus)
Zach LaVine: Out (left ankle, injury)
Drew Eubanks: Out (left thumb avulsion fracture)
Rockets
Tari Eason: Questionable (left lower leg, injury management)
Dorian Finney-Smith: Out (left ankle, surgery)
Fred VanVleet: Out (right knee, ACL repair)
Why The Kings Have The Advantage
It sounds insane because the Kings have struggled all season, but there’s one real angle here: this game can get weird fast, and weird games at Golden 1 Center sometimes turn into pure vibe basketball.
Start with the scheduling spot. The Rockets come in off a road win over the Nuggets, and that matters because it’s the kind of emotional win that can create a tiny letdown the next night if your legs aren’t there early.
Then there’s the simple reality that the Kings play with nothing to lose right now. Their defense has leaked points all season, but that also means they don’t need to “find themselves” to compete. If they can just hit shots and get the game into a scoring rhythm, they can at least force the Rockets into a fourth-quarter decision game instead of letting it turn into a comfortable cruise.
And that’s where the Kings can actually manufacture enough offense to hang around. The Rockets’ defense has been good, but the Kings can still create tough-shot possessions late with DeRozan living in the mid-range, and Westbrook pushing tempo.
The Kings also need to win the physical battle inside, and the one unexpected development lately is that Maxime Raynaud has shown he can produce real minutes with Domantas Sabonis out. The Kings cannot replace Sabonis, but they can survive specific stretches if they get competent center play and don’t get destroyed on the glass.
The most important “Kings advantage” is basically this: the Rockets can absolutely win this game by 15, but if they drag it into a messy, loud, emotionally charged fight, the Kings have just enough shot-making to steal a night.
Why The Rockets Have The Advantage
This is the easy part. The Rockets have been the better team by a mile, and the matchup leans even harder that way because the Kings walk into this one without their most important frontcourt engine.
The Rockets bring a top-tier floor because they score a ton and defend without gambling themselves into disaster. They average 121.1 points per game and allow 111.6, with real activity across the board at 9.1 steals per game.
The Kings sit at 111.7 points per game and allow 122.8, which is basically begging for a hot shooting team to turn you into a highlight reel.
That’s the nightmare for the Kings. The Rockets can space you out with shooting, punish you with Sengun’s passing, and still have Durant as the “fine, I’ll just score anyway” button when the possession breaks. And even if the Kings try to load up, the Rockets have had other guys pop lately, like Reed Sheppard giving them real juice in a bigger role.
The Rockets’ recent form is simply more trustworthy. They’re 6-4 in their last 10, and the Kings are 2-8. That’s not a small-sample blip, that’s a clear gap in consistency.
The only thing that would tighten this is if the Rockets lose another wing defender, and that’s where Tari Eason’s status matters. He has been trending closer to a return after extended time out, so even if he sits again, the Rockets at least look like they’re getting him back soon.
Bottom line, the Rockets have the better offense, the better defense, and the more stable identity. If they play a normal game, they win.
Kings vs. Rockets Prediction
The Kings can make it annoying for stretches, especially if the crowd gets into it and they hit early jumpers. But the math keeps pointing the same way: the Rockets generate cleaner looks, get stops more often, and have the best player on the floor.
Prediction: Rockets 125, Kings 106
