Rockets vs. Kings Preview - December 10, 2002

TALE OF THE TAPE
VS. 11-8 RECORD 18-5 W1 STREAK W6 5-5 LAST 10 9-1 89.8 PTS. SCORED 99.4 86.8 PTS. ALLOWED 91.5 44.1 REBOUNDS 42.7 18.3 ASSISTS 23.8 .440 FG% .462 .418 OPP. FG% .425

Rockets vs. Kings
December 10, 2002
Compaq Center, 7:30 p.m.
TV: KNWS Channel 51
Radio: SportsRadio 610 (English); KYST 920 AM (Spanish)

by Trevor Mitchell, rockets.com

The Rockets will try to avenge their worst loss of the season when they take on the Pacific Division-leading Sacramento Kings tonight at Compaq Center.

Sacramento routed Houston 103-84 on December 1 as six of the nine Kings who saw action scored in double figures. At 18-5 the Kings currently have a firm grip on the NBA's second best record, trailing only the hot-shooting Dallas Mavericks. The surprising part about Sacramento's start is that they have managed to play at a high level without three key components to their team. Point guard Mike Bibby, forward Peja Stojakovic, and reserve Hedo Turkoglu have all been out due to injury. Center Vlade Divac and Chris Webber, who recently returned from injury as well, have done a great job holding the team together and getting their young players involved.

PROBABLE STARTERS
ROCKETS KINGS RICE 9.1 ppg F WALLACE 7.2 ppg THOMAS 10.2 ppg F WEBBER 21.8 ppg YAO 11.1 ppg C DIVAC 10.6 ppg FRANCIS 23.7 ppg G B. JACKSON 19.9 ppg MOBLEY 17.4 ppg G CHRISTIE 13.3 ppg

Houston is coming off an impressive 97-72 win against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Rockets offense seems to have broken out of its early season funk. All five starters posted double figures for the Rockets and the team finished with 27 assists, well above their season average. Steve Francis and Yao Ming will look to bring the inside-outside game tonight against the Kings. Glen Rice, who scored all 10 of his points in the first quarter, should also be a factor tonight with his outside shot.

Sacramento stormed through San Antonio on Sunday night, beating the Spurs 104-80. The Rockets will hope their defense comes to the forefront tonight and disrupts the flow of the Kings offense.

"They're really good," said Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich. "Webber and Vlade make the game real easy for people because they can pass so well and score. When they get in that open floor, there is no one like them."

The key to tonight's contest will be to stop Kings guard Bobby Jackson. Jackson, who is starting in place of Bibby, has been playing amazing basketball this season. He torched Houston for 20 points in their earlier meeting and ignited Sacramento's offense. If the Rockets can limit his scoring, they will have one less King to worry about. The difficult part is the Kings play excellent team basketball and different players seem to lead the scoring every night. Second-year player Gerald Wallace led the Kings with 21 points against Houston on December 1.

"He's a great athlete and is making the most of his opportunity," said Tomjanovich of Wallace.

The Rockets hope their home court and their recent hot shooting will be enough to carry them against the Kings tonight. Look for a free-flowing, fast-paced game. The team contributing the most points off the bench should come out on top. Also, keep an eye on the Yao-Divac matchup. Divac has years of experience on Yao and is notorious for flopping occasionally to get his opponents into early foul trouble.

Rockets - Steve Francis led the Rockets with 20 points, five rebounds and seven assists and made four of five 3-pointers against Philadelphia ..... Yao Ming had another big game as well finishing with 18 points and 12 boards ..... Kenny Thomas has scored 43 points in the last two games ..... Glen Rice scored 10 points in the first quarter Saturday night.
Kings - Chris Webber has returned to form, finishing with 23 points agaisnt the Spurs ..... Bobby Jackson has filled in well for the Kings and is averaging a blistering 19.9 ppg ..... The Kings offense has six players who average double figures in scoring ..... Doug Christie is shooting .413 from three-point range ..... Recently signed Jim Jackson scored 23 points Sunday night in San Antonio.

Rockets - Forward Maurice Taylor received a DNP-CD against the 76ers.
Kings - Gerald Wallace did not score against the Spurs.

YAO MING VS. VLADE DIVAC Tonight Yao Ming faces veteran Kings center Vlade Divac for the second time this season. These two International post men are two of the NBA's best passers and can also shoot effectively from the perimater. Yao's shot attempts were limited in his first meeting as the Kings were in control from the tip. However, this time should be different as Yao is becoming one of the top options in the Rockets offense. Divac should have his hands full tonight trying to contain Yao's various pivot moves. Look for the Kings center to use his experience to try and get the 7-6 rookie in early foul trouble.

Keep up to the minute on all the latest Rockets injury news by visiting our Injury Report page. We get daily reports directly from the basketball staff, giving you the inside scoop on who's playing and who's sitting every night.