 |
 |
|
| 35-22 | 26-28 | |
| Amway Arena | ||
| 6:00 PM | ||
| Sun Sports HD | ||
| Probable starters: | ||
| Jameer Nelson | PG | Beno Udrih |
| Maurice Evans | SG | Kevin Martin |
| Hedo Turkoglu | SF | Ron Artest |
| Rashard Lewis | PF | Mikki Moore |
| Dwight Howard | C | Brad Miller |
The Kings may be talented enough to make the playoffs. That's what section214 concludes after this Sactown Royalty article about the players earning fewer than $2 million who give the most bang for their buck; Jameer Nelson makes an appearance. So why don't the Kings stand a chance? Because they have $21 million tied-up in unproductive power forwards. Sounds like a problem we could stand to have, no?
The last time these two teams played, the Kings totally embarrassed us on their home floor. As the GameFlow tells us, we never had a lead after the opening minutes of the game, and we were down by as many as 19 points in the fourth quarter; the respectable final margin, 104-100, was largely due to J.J. Redick scoring 10 points in the final 8 minutes.
Since then, the Kings have shaken up their roster. They traded Mike Bibby to Atlanta, a division rival of ours, for Shelden Williams and Cap Space. Bibby's replacement at point guard, Beno Udrih, produces almost the exact same level. Additionally, the Kings will have Ron Artest and Kevin Martin available this evening. Those two players sat out the first time we played the Kings.
For us to win, we're going to have to keep Kevin Martin off the foul line, which is much easier said than done. "Speed Racer" is capable of scoring 15 points without making more than five shots. Consider what Martin did to us the last time the Kings were here, a loss so infuriating it caused some deluded moron to start a website: in 30 minutes, he made only one-of-eight shots, yet still scored 20 points. The Kings managed to win despite shooting .338 from the field. That's got to be some sort of record.
Other Kings who could kill us: Brad Miller, whom Rashard Lewis had trouble guarding in these teams' first meeting this season; Francisco Garcia, who is en fuego this month, shooting .600 from three-point range(!); and Quincy Douby, a rambunctious combo-guard who can join Paul Millsap and Anthony Carter in the "Obscure Players Who Absolutely F---ing Destroyed Us" Club.
Be sure to mosey on over to Sactown Royalty for some brilliant Kings blogging. Tipoff tonight is at 6 PM instead of 7, and the first 5000 fans at the Amway Arena will receive a Jameer Nelson action figure. No word on if the concession stands are serving turnovers to commemorate the event.
Post your pre-, in-, and post-game comments in here. Go Magic.