GameDay Notebook: Kings (15-21) vs. Cavaliers (19-18)

I think we learned something in Friday nights 118–108 loss the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets have been playing fast paced, up and down basketball for almost a decade now.

The Kings have been making an attempt to be that team for almost a month. In a lot of ways, the Kings gave the Nuggets the exact game they wanted. It’s so tough to install a new system mid-season, because the teams that already play that way have been doing it longer, and then you aren’t necessarily proficient enough to use it effectively on teams who don’t.

The Kings didn’t just change their coach mid-season. They changed their identity. That is a lot to overcome when most of the other NBA teams are finding their stride.

If you want to read more about Friday nights loss, you can check out our postgame coverage here.

But I digress. The Kings have another game tonight. The LeBron James-less Cleveland Cavaliers are in town.

Cleveland has had a disappointing season by any metric with LeBron James. He hasn’t played since December 28^th due to a strained left knee and a lower back issue. The Cavaliers are 1-7 since December 28^th, with their only win in that stretch coming against the Charlotte Hornets.

In addition to James, The Cavaliers will be without Shawn Marion, Anderson Varejao, and the newly acquired Iman Shumpert.

I don’t think anyone really knows what is going on in Cleveland. It seems like every other week a new story is coming out about how one player is unhappy, or that the coach is losing, has lost, or will lose the team.

Then there was that video that showed LeBron James telling Dwyane Wade something about potentially reuniting down the road if things don’t work out in Cleveland. That was odd.

Hey, it’s nice to know the Kings aren’t the only dysfunctional team out there!

The Kings have the talent to keep this one competitive. Kevin Love hasn’t been the same player he was in Minnesota as their leading man, but Love (and other three-point shooting big men) has really hurt the Kings in the past.

Jason Thompson is one of the leagues most underrated defenders. I still believe that despite the how poor the Kings have played lately, but defending perimeter power forwards is not his strong suite. The Kings usually ask Derrick Williams to cover shooters like Love, so, yeah. I’m expecting a big game for Kevin Love.

It’s sort of interesting that the Kings are playing the Cavaliers immediately after playing the Nuggets. We briefly talked about the trade that sent Timofey Mozgov to Cleveland from Denver in my last GameDay Notebook, and tonight he will be one of the men tasked with keeping DeMarcus Cousins in check.

This is why Cleveland surrendered two first-round picks to land Mozgov. Without him, the Cavaliers would have been at a serious interior size disadvantage tonight. I wouldn’t call Mozgov a Cousins-stopper, but he has size and six fouls. Sometimes, that’s good enough.

My gut tells me that the Kings squeak out a win tonight. Two dysfunction teams, but one of those teams is at home and at (relatively) full strength. I’d also expect a decent crowd at Sleep Train Arena because I’m sure a lot of folks bought tickets thinking they’d get to see LeBron James in action.

I think I’m going to keep promoting this until the All-Star Game, because Sacramento needs something to sing about. DeMarcus Cousins should be an All-Star, and you can help him get there. Just tweet out something that looks like this to cast your vote.

You can also text COUSINS to 69622 (MYNBA). Besides, look at the hustle!

As always, check back in to A Royal Pain after tonight’s game for our postgame coverage.

Sacramento Kings vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Where: Sleep Train Arena – Sacramento, CA

When: 6:00 PM Pacific, 9:00 PM Eastern

Broadcast: Comcast Sportsnet California

Radio: KHTK Sports 1140 AM