Three Sacramento Kings Players To Watch Against The Pelicans
By Rafe Wong
The Sacramento Kings are about to play arguably one of the most important games of their season. Here are three players to look out for while watching the contest.
Tonight, the Sacramento Kings will step on the hardwood against the New Orleans Pelicans, a team led by the former King himself, DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings played against Cousins once last season after trading him in February, but tonight will be the first time Boogie will face his former team in Sacramento.
Obviously, every game should be important for the Kings. But if there was a game the purple and white should win in front of their fans, this would be the match due to the previous history.
In order for the Kings to be victorious tonight, here are three players on their team that need to step up and have great performances.
1) George Hill
A good argument can be made that George Hill is the best player on the Kings due to his talent and previous success, and he will need to prove that tonight to help his team.
Prior to signing with Sacramento, Hill was a proven two-way player in the league. Hill needs to live up to that reputation tonight by being able to hit his shots, assist others in the scoring, and play solid defense.
Most likely, Hill will be matched up against Jrue Holiday who is also a proven player himself. So this game should be filled with great guard play on both sides.
2) De’Aaron Fox
De’Aaron Fox was not the best player on the Kings prior to the opener, but he sure played like he was in the first week of the season. So far, Fox is the leading scorer and distributor on the Kings, as well as having the highest PER (Player Efficiency Rating) on the team.
As long as Fox continues to play the way he has been, the Kings should be able to outplay the Pelicans’ guards. With the game being broadcasted on the national stage, this will be a great opportunity for Fox to show the world how good of a player he has been.
3) Willie Cauley-Stein/Zach Randolph
Ok, there are four players in this piece. But these two have the same goal, in my opinion.
As the Kings’ starting big men, Willie Cauley-Stein and Zach Randolph will have the hefty task of defending Cousins. With emotions likely to hit the roof this evening, Cousins looks to be on a mission to put an on-court whooping towards his former team.
With Anthony Davis questionable to play, it possibly leaves Cousins as the lone alpha for the Pelicans tonight. If Cauley-Stein and Z-Bo are able to at least maintain Cousins, it would be huge for Sacramento’s defense.
Their defense should be the main focus for them tonight. Anything else they do on the offensive end would just be icing on the cake.