A Royal Pain
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Sacramento Kings: Game 44 Preview at the Detroit Pistons

By Tyler Watts

Jan 10, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) fouls Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Detroit Pistons 100-94. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 10, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) fouls Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Detroit Pistons 100-94. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 10, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) keeps the ball in play against Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 10, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) keeps the ball in play against Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

What to Watch for Tonight

Cousins versus Drummond

The Kings started with Anthony Tolliver at the four and DeMarcus Cousins at the five in the first meeting to ensure this matchup played itself out.  I would not be surprised if the Kings followed suit tonight because Drummond did not have his best game save the 7 blocks he recorded and Cousins played well despite having his minutes slightly limited by fouls.

In 30 minutes in that meeting, Cousins managed to record 24 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 three-pointers made, 1 steal, and 1 block.  He was also a plus 7 in the plus/minus category.  Clearly, it was a good showing for Boogie and I expect him to play an even bigger role tonight without Rudy Gay in the fold.

If you want to see the statistical line I predicted for DeMarcus Cousins or any other Kings’ player then check out my predicting the box score column found here.  It is a fast, informative, and a heavily researched column about this game, so please give it a look.  Thank you.

Playing Some Young Blood

More from A Royal Pain

Coach Dave Joerger has finally reintroduced some of the Kings’ young talent back into the rotation.  Willie Cauley-Stein has seen minutes in each of the last 5 King’s games and Malachi Richardson has played minutes in both games since the Rudy Gay injury.  Both players have only seen limited minutes with the maximum being Cauley-Stein’s 13 minutes against the Bulls.

I am monitoring this trend going forward.  Will Coach Joerger stick with playing the youngsters even if it is just the end of the bench minutes?  Will Coach play them more as the season progresses?

Coach Joerger is always a difficult man to predict when it comes to his rotations, but I will be monitoring what he does going forward with the young players.

Breaking the Losing Streaks

The Sacramento Kings have numerous losing streaks they are looking to break tonight.  They have lost 5 straight games and 2 straight road games.  They Pistons have also defeated the Kings 6 straight games in Detroit.  According to Land of Basketball, the Kings have not been victorious in Detroit since February 10, 2010.  It has been almost 7 full years since a Kings’ victory in Detroit.

The Kings will need to play mistake-free basketball tonight and bring the same energy and intensity they brought against the Bulls on Saturday to walk away victorious tonight.  Here is to hoping the Kings can make it happen and end all of those losing streaks tonight.

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