A Royal Pain
Fansided

Rested Sacramento Kings Begin Home Stand Against OKC Thunder

By Rafe Wong

SACRAMENTO, CA - NOVEMBER 19: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder handles the ball against De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings on November 19, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - NOVEMBER 19: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Oklahoma City Thunder handles the ball against De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings on November 19, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Sacramento Kings will start their three-game homestand tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Sacramento Kings displayed a poor performance when they played against the Minnesota Timberwolves last Monday, but they have the chance to redeem themselves tonight when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder.

For the Kings, they obviously are coming off a loss which has them at a record of 16-14. As for the Thunder, they have been rolling behind the play of Russell Westbrook and Paul George as they are currently the third seed in the Western Conference with a record of 19-10.

Even though the Thunder are better than the Kings based on their records, Sacramento does lead the series two games to zero. And with that said, they have a good chance to go up three games in the series tonight.

How The Kings Have The Advantage?

As I mentioned, the Kings are coming off their worst outing of the season. Their game against Minnesota was finito by halftime, and Dave Joerger noticed that as he played his second unit for the majority of the second half, giving his starters a lot of valuable rest.

Expect Sacramento’s starters to come out with some fire tonight after having to sit on the bench and see their team get steamrolled in the Twin Cities. Especially in front of their home crowd, the players and fans will feed off each other’s energy which will give them some needed momentum when competing against the Thunder.

Even without the services of Marvin Bagley III, and maybe Iman Shumpert and Bogdan Bogdanovic, the Kings still have the talent to win this game. As long as they continue to push the tempo on offense, make their open shots, and play solid defense, they definitely can give the Thunder a run for their money. Sacramento will need to rely on players like De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, and Willie Cauley-Stein to have good performances, as well as receive solid minutes from their second unit.

Why A Win Is Key For Sacramento?

If the Kings are able to win tonight’s contest, it will be huge for them in the upcoming future. The purple and white have a tough stretch of games which consists of only Western Conference teams until the seventh of January.

The good news, however, is that the Kings have their next three games at the Golden 1 Center. Even though it will be against tough competition, Sacramento still has the advantage of playing in front of their loyal and electric fans. A win tonight could definitely ignite the fuse of another surprising span of games for the Sacramento Kings.

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