What to Watch for Tonight
Opportunity to Knock
The way Kings’ Coach Dave Joerger is running things these days all of the young players are getting opportunities to shine. Last game, it was Georgios Papagiannis who took advantage of his 22 minutes to produce 14 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block.
Who will take advantage tonight? More than one player will get the opportunity. Buddy Hield and Willie Cauley-Stein should see big minutes. Skal Labissiere and Papagiannis will get some run. All will have the chance, but will they make the most of it?
I think Buddy Hield is the man behind the big performance tonight. Hield will attack the Spurs slight guard weakness and score 18 points while making 3 three-pointers in tonight’s game.
Expect Chaos
The Sacramento Kings minutes and rotations could be all over the map today. The Kings have been cautious on the second of back-to-backs all season and now with players completely missing games for rest the rotations tonight should be chaos. I expect the Kings to rest at least two players tonight and with the other injuries that could force players into larger than expected roles.
MUST READ: Are the Sacramento Kings, Without DeMarcus Cousins, a Team with a Future?
An interesting player to watch tonight is Langston Galloway. Galloway played 20 minutes on Saturday and played well. I could see Coach Joerger opening up some minutes for him to see if he can repeat the performance. Stay tuned and expect the unexpected tonight.
Defeating the Mighty Spurs
I mentioned that the Kings were zero for three against the Spurs this regular season, but the losing streak is much longer than that. The Kings have lost nine straight meetings against that mighty team. According to Land of Basketball, the last time the Kings beat the Spurs was November 15, 2014.
If you think that is a long time, the Kings have not won a game in San Antonio since January 20, 2012. It has been over five years since the Kings knocked off the Spurs in their home arena.
The numbers seem to favor the Spurs tonight, but they are riding a two-game losing streak and the Kings could be ready to strike and knock them tonight.