Sacramento Kings vs. LA Clippers game 41 preview
By Tyler Watts
The Sacramento Kings host the LA Clippers on Jan. 11 in a regular season game. This article previews that game from a Kings’ perspective.
The Sacramento Kings host the LA Clippers in the first of a home and home set. They travel to Los Angeles for the second half on Saturday. The Clippers also played last night in Oakland and defeated the Golden State Warriors.
Last time out, the Kings traveled to Los Angeles to face the rival Lakers. It was a sloppy game on Tuesday evening, and the Lakers came away victorious 99-86 behind a second-half defense that allowed just 34 Kings’ points. Below is a highlight video of that game.
Without further ado, here is the main thing to watch for and some final thoughts on the contest between the Sacramento Kings and the LA Clippers on Jan. 11.
Injuries
While reading this sentence, another Clipper just got injured. Okay, that is not true, but it may seem that way to their fans. LA has already ruled out key rotation pieces Danilo Gallinari, Austin Rivers, and Patrick Beverly. C.J. Williams who was playing a more extensive role because of injuries is out after rolling his ankle on Wednesday. Blake Griffin (concussion) and Milos Teodosic (foot) are also questionable and did not play against the Warriors. It is a long injury list for the Clippers this evening.
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The injuries will force LA to rely heavily on Lou Williams and DeAndre Jordan. Williams is coming off a 50 point game, and Jordan has to grab every rebound and play defensive stopper in the middle. Without Jordan’s defense, the Clippers leak points because of the inexperienced players who are now getting significant minutes. Williams will be the offensive spark and Jordan the defensive one against the Kings.
Sacramento needs Willie Cauley-Stein, Zach Randolph, and De’Aaron Fox to break the Clippers down this evening. WCS and Z-Bo will matchup against Jordan, and they must force him to foul and vacate the paint. Fox needs to continue to attack the rim aggressively. That will force Williams to burn energy on the defensive end and could throw a foul or two on Jordan’s ledger. The Kings have the firepower to win this game, but it will take a total team effort.
Final thoughts
Tonight’s game should be an exciting one for Kings fans. They are at home against an injury-riddled squad who is playing on the second of a back-to-back. NBA matchups do not get any better than that. It will not be an easy victory, though. The Clippers did go to Oakland and win on Wednesday evening. Please tune in and enjoy the game.
Keep an eye out for an update on Frank Mason. The team announced he would miss one week on Jan. 2. That time frame has passed, and an update is still nonexistent, so expect it is coming soon.
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