Sacramento Kings: Game 57 Preview at Golden State Warriors
By Tyler Watts
What to Watch for Tonight
Free the Boogie
DeMarcus Cousins first two games this season against the Warriors are in stark contrast to each other. In the first meeting on January 8th, Cousins scored 17 points, shot poorly from the field (4 makes of 11attemtps), and played only 29 minutes in the Warriors destruction of the Kings. Fast forward to second meeting and Cousins went off for 32 points and 12 rebounds with 8 assists in the Kings overtime win against Golden State.
Cousins will need to have another big game tonight if the Kings want to walk out of ORACLE Arena victorious. Boogie played great against the Lakers on Tuesday and is riding a streak of three statistically significant games in a row since his suspension. Hopefully, that carries over into tonight’s game and both he and the Kings get the job done.
Defending Curry and Durant
Steph Curry has torched the Kings in both meetings this season. Curry is averaging 32.5 points, 6.5 three-pointers made, 4.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 2.5 steals per game against Sacramento this season. The Kings need to do a better job of guarding Steph Curry tonight.
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A key to the game may be defending Kevin Durant, though. Durant struggled mightily in the Kings victory over Golden State. He had just 10 points on 10 field goal attempts and failed to make a three-pointer in 6 attempts. He was great against the Kings in the first meeting scoring 28 points on 15 shot attempts. If the Kings can keep Kevin Durant in check tonight that could go a long way in pulling the upset.
Don’t Count it Out
I mentioned in the introduction that the schedule makers were not kind to the Kings tonight. That is true, but these are the games the Kings have pulled out all season long. It looks bleak and the deck seems to be stacked in the other team’s favor, but the Kings answer the bell and muster up the gusto to pull out a victory. I cannot give you a ton of statistics to support my claim, but tune in and believe because the Kings can and just might win tonight’s game.