Houston Rockets vs. Sacramento Kings game preview

Let’s run it back, shall we?

The Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings will play once again today at Golden 1 Center.

The Kings won the first matchup, and the Rockets will be looking to even the season series and the away-and-away series specifically.

It’s tempting to see the 18-27 Kings and think, “Oh this is a game Houston should win.” I think this was a dangerous two-game set, because Sacramento is basically tied with Portland for the final play-in spot. If Houston had swept the series (which obviously is an impossibility now), they might have seen the play-in as a possibility and pushed for it.

I’ve made it clear how I feel about tanking: if you’re going to do it, go all-in. I enjoyed Xiane’s piece about the four ways to be bad. I like how the Rockets are going about their tanking, but I definitely recognize that Development Hell is a potential destination for a team committed to losing for a while. We all want the Rockets to compete for championships. However, every team that has won a championship has taken their own unique path to the title. You never know how you’re going to get there, and looking at the past is only so helpful. The most important thing is picking a lane and sticking to it until it’s not viable, either because you’re too good or because you’re too bad.

Today’s game has an early tip-off, as the NBA is trying to avoid competing too much with Wild Card Weekend in the NFL.

Tip-off is at 5pm CT on AT&T SportsNet Southwest