Sacramento Kings vs Houston Rockets Prediction, 1/2/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Sacramento Kings vs Houston Rockets

Date: Saturday, January 2, 2021

Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX

TV: NBATV

Odds/Point Spread: Sacramento (+5)

The Sacramento Kings (3-2) are headed to Toyota Center on Saturday where they'll take on the Houston Rockets (1-2). Houston opens this matchup as 5-point favorites. The over/under opens at 233.

The Sacramento Kings took the court against the Rockets and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 122-119 in their last game. Sacramento ended the game having earned a 46.9% field goal percentage (45 of 96) and made 11 of their 33 shots from distance. At the free throw line, the Kings made 18 of 24 tries for a rate of 75.0%. In terms of grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 45 with 14 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 23 assists in this contest while getting 11 steals and 5 rejections. Regarding defense, Sacramento let their opponent shoot 52.3% from the floor on 45 out of 86 shooting. Houston doled out 26 dimes and had 10 steals in this contest. On top of that, the Rockets totaled 45 rebounds (10 offensive, 35 defensive) and earned 6 blocks. Houston finished shooting 76.0% at the free throw line by making 19 of 25 tries. They also made 13 out of their 36 shots from three-point range.

Harrison Barnes is someone who played a role in the game. He racked up 24 points on 8 of 14 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 37:04 minutes played and totaled 8 rebounds. Barnes finished the game shooting 57.1% from the floor and totaled 2 assists. An additional guy that was a contributor in this matchup for the Kings was Richaun Holmes. He snagged 13 boards and also earned 2 dimes. He finished the contest at 76.9% from the field in this matchup by hitting 10-of-13 (22 points). When this game wrapped up, Holmes was on the hardwood for 35:58 min.

Sacramento will enter this matchup with a mark of 3-2 this year. They turn the ball over 14.8 times per contest and as a basketball team they are committing 22.6 fouls per game. As a team, Sacramento is snagging 46.2 rebounds per game and has racked up 124 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 10th in basketball in terms of passing the ball. The Kings are shooting 36.4% on shots from beyond the arc (52 of 143) and 74.1% from the free throw line. They average 114.8 points per game (10th in basketball) while hitting 46.5% from the floor. When they are on defense, the Kings are forcing their opponents into 14.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 20.0 fouls. The Kings are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 48.8% (73 of 100) and they concede 42.8 rebounds per game as a squad. They are 30th in the NBA in allowing assists to their opponents with 140 conceded on the season. They are relinquishing 33.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 19th in basketball in opponents PPG (115.6).

When they last played the Kings, the Rockets collected 35 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 45 for the contest. They also blocked 6 shots while recording 10 steals in this game. The Kings earned 21 personal fouls in this game which got the Rockets to the charity stripe for a total of 25 attempts. They were able to bury 19 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 76.0%. With respect to three-point attempts, Houston converted 13 of their 36 tries (36.1%). Overall, the Rockets ended up shooting 45 for 86 from the field which had them shooting 52.3%. The Rockets permitted the Kings to convert 45 of 96 attempts from the field which left them shooting 46.9% in the matchup. They wrapped up this game 33.3% from three-point range by shooting 11 of 33 and finished the game at 18 out of 24 from the free throw line (75.0%). When discussing how they cleaned up the glass, Houston allowed Sacramento to collect 45 in total (14 offensive).

James Harden ended up having an impact for the Rockets in this contest. He made 10 of 24 in the matchup giving him a rate of 41.7%, which got him 33 points. Harden had 6 rebounds in his 38:18 mins of time on the hardwood and accumulated 8 dimes for this game. Another guy that was pivotal for Houston was John Wall. He accumulated 22 points in 36:34 mins on the hardwood by way of 8 of 20 from the floor in the matchup. Wall walked away from this one going 40.0% from the floor while also totaling 9 dimes and 6 boards.

Houston has a win-loss record of 1-2 on the year. Houston has totaled 359 pts this season (119.7 per game) and they grab 41.7 rebounds per game. The Rockets commit 20.3 fouls per game and they hit 76.3% from the charity stripe. On the offensive side of the court, the Rockets are shooting 49.8% from the field, which is ranked 4th in the NBA. Their rate of earning assists is at 26.0 times per contest (11th in basketball) and they are giving up possession 16.7 times per game. The Rockets are ranked 29th in the league in points given up per game with 123.7. They concede 27.0 assists and 47.3 rebounds per game, which is ranked 25th and 22nd in basketball. The Houston defense allows 40.4% on shots from beyond the arc (44 of 109) and their opponents are converting on 64.6% of their free throw attempts. They are forcing 15.0 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 48.4% from the field (24th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Sacramento (+5)

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