When: 7:00pm (pst)
Where: Sleep Train Arena
Broadcast Information:
TV – CSNCA
Comcast – 34/721
Dish – 453
Hopper – 412-41
DirecTV – 698-1
AT&T – 768/1768
Radio– KHTK Sports 1140 AM
Injury Report: DeMarcus Cousins (out) with a sore right Achilles.
Sacramento Kings Projected Starters:
Rajon Rondo
Ben McLemore
Rudy Gay
Willie Cauley-Stein
Kosta Koufos
Memphis Grizzlies Projected Starters:
Mike Conley
Courtney Lee
Jeff Green
Zach Randolph
Mark Gasol
Three Keys:
1: Contain the Bigs
With no Cousins in the lineup tonight, we will truly see the highly talked about, newly found depth of this Sacramento Kings team. They are facing-off against arguably the two biggest bruisers in the NBA with Gasol and Randolph.
Rookie Willie-Cauley Stein will draw his third consecutive start and will be tasked with either guarding last years dark horse for MVP or the NBA’s biggest “bully ball” player. This will be Koufos’ first of four matchups against his former team. With the limited minutes that he got, this could be a game in which he can have something to prove.
2: Keep the intensity
The Kings played with fire against the LA Clippers and came up a little bit short without Cousins in the second half. Losing two of their last three games, the Kings are looking to bounce back and reach .500 again. Rondo has come out swinging in the last two games, being the catalyst of the team’s offense and defense.
The players will need to all chip in and continue to bring that fire they had in Los Angeles. Memphis just got ran over last night against the reigning champs, so they are also looking to have a strong outing tonight.
3: Need Ben McLemore
Being able to play outside-in is going to need to be the game plan against this gritty Memphis team. McLemore has yet to really put a strong game together this season and has really seen his minutes disintegrate to Marco Belinelli.
McLemore needs to find his rhythm for the Kings to have a successful night. The thing is, he has the ability to knockdown 3-pointers in bunches, while also getting past you and soaring over you with his athleticism.
With the majority of opposing eyes focused on Gay and Rondo, having a breakout game tonight will help out a lot.
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