Positives with January 1st Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings Matchup
HOU @ SAC
Keegan Murray has attempted 12.1 shots from the field per game this year, a significant increase from his 9.7 mark last year.
This year when they have the home court advantage, the other team’s starting SFs have totaled 2.4 3-pointers per game (28th-highest in the league) vs. the Houston Rockets, making this a favorable matchup.
The 9th-speediest pace-of-play home offense in the league this year has been the Kings.
The Rockets have played at the 3rd-quickest tempo in the league over the last 5 games away from their home stadium, which should raise possessions for the Kings.
The Sacramento Kings rank as the 2nd-best offensive rebounding offense in the league over the last 5 games (offensive rebounds maintain possession and can therefore create additional chances for scoring and assists).
Kevin Huerter has sunk 100.0% of his foul shots over the last 5 games at home, 19.6% higher than he’s sunk over the course of the year at home.
Kevin Huerter will have the benefit of the home court advantage in this matchup. Playing at home generally raises stat production across the board.
In contrast to last season’s 18.7 clip, De’Aaron Fox’s shots from the field have spiked this season to 21.1 per game.
De’Aaron Fox has attempted 7.6 3-pointers per game this season, significantly higher than his 5.4 rate last season.
This year when they are on their home court, opposing starting PGs have averaged 45.5% on shots from the field (22nd-highest in the league) vs. the Houston Rockets, making this a positive matchup.
The number of shots from behind the three-point arc attempted against Alex Len has been quite high (2.4 per game) when playing at home and matched up against other starting Cs this year (97th percentile).
The Rockets have played at the 3rd-quickest tempo in the league over the last 5 games as the road team.
The Houston Rockets are expected to get a boost in plays today from facing the 9th-speediest tempo home offense in the league this year (the Kings).
The Rockets have been the best offensive rebounding offense in the NBA over the last 25 games (offensive rebounds maintain possession and can therefore provide added opportunities for scoring and assists).
Domantas Sabonis has attempted 15.8 shots per game over the last 5 games, 2.5 higher than he’s attempted in all games this season.
Domantas Sabonis has sunk 75.0% of his shots from behind the three-point arc over the last 5 games at home, 32.3% more than he’s made from 3-point range in all games this year with the home court advantage.
Keegan Murray will likely see a rise in output in all stat categories considering owning the home court advantage in this contest.
Jabari Smith Jr. has converted 41.0% of his three-point shots over the last 5 games on the road, 12.4% higher than he’s made from three in all games this season without the home court advantage.
Jabari Smith Jr. has attempted 6.2 treys per game over the last 10 games, 1.4 higher than he’s attempted over the course of the season.
This year, opposing starting PFs have averaged 38.3% on threes (23rd-highest in the NBA) vs. the Kings, resulting in a favorable matchup.
Alperen Sengun has attempted 18.8 shots per game over the last 5 games, 3.2 higher than he’s attempted in all games this year.
Fred VanVleet has sunk 4.2 shots from downtown per game over the last 5 games, 1.2 more than he’s made over the course of the year.
The matchup vs. the Sacramento Kings may be a positive one for getting to the charity stripe; the opposing team’s starting PGs have attempted a massive 7.8 foul shots per game over the last 5 games (30th-most in the league).
This year, the opposition’s starting PFs have averaged 52.6% on shot attempts from the field (25th-best in the NBA) against the Kings, resulting in a good matchup.
Malik Monk has sunk 2.8 three-pointers per game over the last 5 games, 0.6 more than he’s converted from three over the course of the year.
Malik Monk stands to see an increase in performance in all stat categories due to holding the home court advantage in this contest.
Malik Monk has attempted 18.6 shots from the field per game over the last 5 games, 6.3 more than he’s attempted in all games this season.
Jalen Green has attempted 10.8 3-point shots per game over the last 5 games, 4.0 higher than he’s attempted overall this season.
Jalen Green has been on the court for 36.4 minutes per game over the last 5 games, 5.7 higher than he’s been on the court for over the course of the season.
The matchup vs. the Sacramento Kings is a strong one; they have allowed the 29th-most points per game in the league to the other team’s starting SGs this year (18.1).
The matchup against Houston is a strong one for 3-point shots; when the Rockets are on the road, the opposing team’s starting PGs have averaged the 21st-most three-point shots per game in the league this year (2.3).
Domantas Sabonis will enjoy the benefit of the home court advantage in this contest. Playing in your home stadium tends to raise stat production across the board.
Jalen Green has made 38.8% of his attempts from beyond the arc over the last 5 games on the road, 11.4% more than he’s converted from three over the course of the year while playing on the road.
Negatives with January 1st Matchup with the Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings
As a team, the Sacramento Kings have been bad at getting to the foul line of late: 4th-worst in the NBA over the last 10 games, tallying just 17.6 free throws per game.
Over the last 10 games when they are on their home court, the opposing team’s starting SFs have attempted 2.0 foul shots per game (29th-lowest in the league) vs. the Rockets, struggling to draw fouls.
Kevin Huerter has attempted a measly 9.0 shots from the field per game this year, a sizeable decrease from his 11.4 rate last year.
Kevin Huerter has committed 0.2 technical fouls per game over the last 10 games while at home, 0.1 higher than he’s committed overall this year at home.
De’Aaron Fox has accumulated 0.2 technical fouls per game over the last 5 games, 0.1 higher than he’s accumulated overall this year.
Alperen Sengun has been called for 0.4 technical fouls per game over the last 5 games, 0.3 higher than he’s been called for overall this season.
In regard to three-pointers, the Houston Rockets’s subpar 32.8% rate of sunk threes without the home court advantage rates worst in the NBA this year.
Alperen Sengun will not receive the benefit of the home court advantage in this contest. Playing away from your home city usually lowers stat production in all facets of the game.
This year, the opposing team’s starting PFs have shot 21.7% on three-pointers (30th-lowest in the NBA) vs. the Rockets, creating a tough matchup.
Jabari Smith Jr. has averaged 0.3 technical fouls per game over the last 15 games while playing on the road, 0.1 higher than he’s averaged in all games this season on the road.
Jabari Smith Jr. should see a decline in efficiency in all facets of the game considering being on the road in this contest.
The Rockets have been the 7th-lowest scoring offense in the league over the last 20 games when playing on the road.
The number of fouls drawn by opposing starting Cs against Alex Len has been quite low this year (2.8 free throw attempts per game: 23rd percentile).
Fred VanVleet has converted 39.7% of his field goal attempts this year, placing him in the 25th percentile among all players in the league.
Fred VanVleet has committed 0.2 technical fouls per game over the last 5 games, 0.1 higher than he’s committed overall this year.
The matchup against Sacramento is a challenging one for threes; when the Kings are on their home court, the other team’s starting PGs have shot for the 22nd-lowest 3-point rate in the NBA this year (30.6%).
Fred VanVleet will not have the benefit of the home court advantage in this matchup. Playing without the home court advantage tends to lower stat production in all stat categories.
Over the last 20 games, the opposing team’s starting PFs have attempted 2.4 foul shots per game (30th-fewest in the league) vs. the Sacramento Kings, facing an uphill battle to get to the foul line.
Over the last 20 games, the other team’s starting SGs have totaled 4.7 three attempts per game (30th-lowest in the league) against the Rockets, making this a tough matchup.
The matchup vs. Houston may be a challenging one for getting to the foul line; opposing starting SGs have attempted just 1.0 foul shots per game over the last 5 games when the Houston Rockets are away from home (27th-least in the league).
Jalen Green has tallied 0.2 technical fouls per game over the last 5 games, 0.2 more than he’s tallied in all games this year.
Relative to last year’s 4.8 mark, Jalen Green’s free throws drained have dropped this year to 3.4 per game.
Jalen Green will not possess the home court advantage in this matchup. Playing away from your home stadium generally reduces player performance in all facets of the game.
The matchup vs. the Sacramento Kings is a tough one for shots from behind the three-point arc; the opposition’s starting SGs have totaled the 27th-least 3-point attempts per game in the NBA over the last 15 games (4.7).
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