The Houston Rockets will take on the Sacramento Kings once again on Sunday night at Golden 1 Center. This is a rematch of Friday's game which saw Sacramento come away with the 126-114 win. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes our Rockets-Kings prediction and pick we have laid out below.
The Rockets lost their previous outing to the Kings. Christian Wood led the way for Houston with 26 points and eight rebounds, while Jae'Sean Tate almost notched a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists.
Meanwhile, De'Aaron Fox scored 27 points to go along with six rebounds and eight assists to lead the Kings to their second consecutive win. Fourth-year big man Marvin Bagley III also had a monster double-double of 26 points and 13 rebounds, which was easily his best game of the 2021-22 season.
Here is how FanDuel has set the Rockets-Kings NBA odds for this Saturday night NBA matchup.
NBA odds: Rockets-Kings Odds
Houston Rockets: +5.5 (-110)
Sacramento Kings: -5.5 (-110)
Over: 239 (-110)
Under: 239 (-110)
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Why the Rockets could cover the spread
The Houston Rockets should be the underdogs once again on this one, considering they've been one of the worst teams in the NBA this season. Houston did race out to a 40-31 lead after the first quarter last Friday. But that 9-point after the first 12 minutes quickly dissipated as Sacramento countered with a 34-20 second quarter to take a 5-point lead at the half.
As seen with their win last Friday, the Kings are the more experienced team. Still, Sacramento is very much beatable for a team like Houston, which has had some surprise wins on the road this year. Some of them include Wednesday's win over the San Antonio Spurs and a 3-point victory over the Washington Wizards earlier this month. Anyone of their young studs from Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr., to their veterans Christian Wood or Eric Gordon, are capable of going off on any given day and leading the Rockets to victory. Being the 5th best 3-point shooting in the league percentage-wise, it's hard to count out a team that can get it going from beyond the arc.
With Houston at full strength, they sent their youngsters Usman Garuba, Daishen Nix, Trevelin Queen to its NBA G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers to get more reps. Rookie Alperen Sengun also recently returned to the lineup on Friday against the Kings following a two-week absence. The skilled Turkish center should give Houston added an front-court boost to matchup against Sacramento's big men.
Houston holds the worst record in the West at 12-32. They are 5-19 on the road and 5-18 against their fellow Western Conference teams. Against the spread, the Rockets have an 18-25 mark.
Why the Kings could cover the spread
The Sacramento Kings have the advantage heading into Sunday's matchup. They already know what it's going to take to beat Houston, as evidenced by their win last Friday. Still, for an inconsistent team like Sacramento, it's hard to be comfortable in a matchup against a young and energetic Rockets team. On paper, the Kings have the more talented squad.
They managed to climb out of an early hole on Friday and easily erased a 9-point deficit after the first quarter. The Kings won the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters and handily beat Houston by 12. They shot 50 percent from the field and drained 13 3-pointers on the evening. Led by Fox's 27 and Bagley's 26, Sacramento had three other players in double-figures. Sophomore guard Tyrese Haliburton also had another all-around outing with nine points, six rebounds, and 12 assists.
Kings center Richaun Holmes has yet to suit up in 2022 after he entered the league's health and safety protocols. He was already cleared from protocols prior to Friday's game but ultimately sat out for conditioning. Sacramento has listed him as questionable heading into Sunday's game, per the latest injury report. We should get an update if he's ready to go sometime in the afternoon. Like Holmes, Damian Jones is also working his way back from protocols and is also questionable against Houston. Meanwhile, the Kings will be without veteran big man Tristan Thompson as he is dealing with a non-COVID illness.
Sacramento is just outside the play-in picture with an 18-27 mark, which is just a half-game behind the 10th seeded Portland Trail Blazers. They have a 12-14 record at Golden 1 Center and are 13-19 against the West. Sacramento also has a 20-25 record against the spread.
Final Rockets-Kings prediction and pick
The Kings should be the safer bet here. They played three solid quarters of basketball against the Rockets on Friday and that should give them more confidence to duplicate their performance on Sunday. Still, Houston has enough firepower to have an explosive game from 3-point country. They could also make the necessary adjustments to play better than they did last Friday.
Final Rockets-Kings Prediction & Pick: Kings: -6 (-110)
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