Westphal tries something new.

According to the Sacramento Bee’s Jason Jones, via twitter, the Kings will start three new starters tonight against the Utah Jazz:

This is definitely something new, something different, something we haven’t seen before.  Jones tweeted earlier in the day that starting small forward, Omri Casspi, would miss tonight’s match-up with a stiff back, which explains Donté Greene getting the nod.  Casspi added a tweet of his own to confirm his absence tonight:

DeMarcus Cousins and Marcus Thornton are starting in place of Jason Thompson and Jermaine Taylor, which isn’t a complete shock after both Cousins and Thornton played unbelievably well in Wednesday’s 107-102 loss to Portland.  Against the Blazers, Cousins came off the bench for the third consecutive game, scoring 28 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and kicking in four assists.  In his first four games since coming over in the Carl Landry trade deadline deal, Marcus Thornton has provided a much needed scoring punch off the bench, averaging 21 points a game on 51.7% shooting.

The Kings should get veteran shooter Francisco Garcia back tonight after an extended lay-off due to a calf injury.  Garcia will need time to get back into playing shape so don’t expect him to play big minutes for a while.

On a personal note, I apologize for the recent hiatus.  I have been heavily involved in the Here We Stay movement, trying to keep the Kings in Sacramento.  Between press appearances, games and dealing with the comments from Mayor Kevin Johnson on Thursday, I have been preoccupied.  Look for me to return to my usual coverage going forward and thanks for your patience.