A Royal Pain
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Game Preview: Sacramento Kings (25-36) at New Orleans Pelicans (23-38)

By Rafe Wong

Jan 28, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Alonzo Gee (15) dunks the ball between Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) and center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) during the third quarter at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans won 114-105. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 28, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Alonzo Gee (15) dunks the ball between Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) and center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) during the third quarter at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans won 114-105. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tonight’s stop in New Orleans will conclude the Sacramento Kings four-game road trip as the purple and white will face the Pelicans.

Tonight’s game will also consist of two of the NBA’s best big man in the game today: DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis.

The Kings right sit at the 10th seed in the Western Conference standings and are 5 games behind the Houston Rockets who currently hold the 8th and final playoff seed.

In terms of injuries, it looks like the majority of the Kings roster will be healthy enough to be available for this game.

The only King that could be scratched due to injury is Seth Curry, who has sat out the last couple of games due to a foot injury. Also, Eric Moreland is still out while nursing a foot injury.

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On the Pelicans side, they have a couple of injuries that they have to deal with. Players like Norris Cole and Luke Babbit are listed as day-to-day, so their status is unknown.

But they also have other players like Eric Gordon, Alexis Ajinca, and Tyreke Evans who are either listed out indefinitely or for the rest of season.

The Pelicans have been short-handed all season and it looks that will continue tonight. This is a game that Sacramento must take advantage of in order for there to be any hope of the team making the playoffs this season.

In the last two meetings this season, the Kings lost both matchups in ugly fashion. For the Kings to be successful this time around they need players like DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, and Rajon Rondo to do their thing offensively.

If the Kings trio can each have productive nights on the offensive end, Sacramento should have no problem in putting up points on the board tonight.

The Kings will also need to be solid on the defensive end of the court as well. The Pelicans are short-staffed, but the Kings defense has proven to be so terrible in the past that practically anyone can score on  them at any time.

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So as a whole the Kings must stay focus, stick with their opponents, and switch properly on their rotations.

The Pelicans still have players like Ryan Anderson, Jrue Holiday, and or course Anthony Davis that can torch Sacramento if they get hot.

Overall this contest is vital for the Kings and their season. If the King are unable to come out with the victory they will definitely lose ground in the playoff race but also lose confidence in themselves going forward.

The Kings this season have aggravated their fans with boneheaded losses. Let’s not add tonight’s game to the list.

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