Greivis Vasquez will not be able to take his physical until tomorrow morning, meaning that we probably won't see Rudy Gay, Aaron Gray or Quincy Acy play tonight.

The Rudy Gay era is likely being delayed.

Per league rules, all 7 players in the trade have to pass physicals to be cleared to play for the team.  Greivis Vasquez has had issues with his visa and has been stuck in New York all day.  The hope was that he would be cleared to go to Toronto by today so that everyone would be available to play.

Alas, that is not the case.  Per Toronto's media relation department, Vasquez will arrive in Toronto tonight and take his physical tomorrow morning, likely meaning that we won't be seeing any of the new guys play tonight.  That's unfortunate for fans excited to see the new guys in action.

If this is the case, the Kings will again be forced to dress just 10 players.  All 10 saw action in Monday's blowout win over the Dallas Mavericks.  Meanwhile the Utah Jazz are expecting to bring Derrick Favors and Marvin Williams back to action.  Neither played in last week's game in Utah.

If Gay, Gray, and Acy do not play tonight, they will likely make their debut Friday in Phoenix when the Kings take on the Suns.  Their next game at home is Sunday against the Rockets.

UPDATE:

Greivis Vasquez has landed in Toronto.  Maybe there's still a chance.  We'll keep you posted.

Wheels down in Toronto!!

— Greivis Vasquez (@greivisvasquez) December 11, 2013

Looks like the Raptors are "TRYING" to get this done.  The suspense is mounting.

Just spoke to Raptors PR...still TRYING to get physical done tonight, not sure if it will be done by game time. I'll keep you posted.

— Jodi Bacon (@jodibaconbits) December 12, 2013

Update from Raptors' Media Relations: Vasquez WILL have his physical tonight but the results won't be available until tomorrow. Looks like the new guys won't be playing.

Update: Vasquez has landed & is in immigration. Expected to have physical tonight, however, results won't be final until a.m.

— RaptorsMR (@RaptorsMR) December 12, 2013

Canada can't seem to get anything right tonight!

No #espn in the room...

— Patrick Patterson (@pdpatt) December 12, 2013

It's official.

"Rudy, Quincy and Aaron will not play tonight. They will be on the bench supporting us." - Coach Malone #ForeverPurple

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) December 12, 2013

More from Sactown Royalty

Follow @sactownroyaltyFollow @SBNationNBA

• Santa Cuz Is Comin' To Town!
• Kings vs. Jazz Fan Predictions
• Kings vs. Jazz preview: The debut of Rudy Gay
• Isaiah Thomas given the green light at point guard
• S.T.O.P turns in 35,000 arena petitions to City Hall

Game #24 -- Jazz (4-19) @ Sacramento Kings (6-13)

Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, CA

8:00 pm (MT) -- TV: ROOT Sports, RADIO: 1280 AM / 97.5 FM

NBA Regular Season Game #24:

Utah Jazz (4-16) @ Sacramento Kings (6-13)

December Game Streams /  Sactown Royalty (SBN) / Jazz vs Kings coverage

I still appreciate the Kings fans for their standing ovation for John Stockton

.

You may or may not have heard, but the Sacramento Kings beat us the last time we played, and that was a whole three nights ago. (Preview / Game Thread / Recap) It was an overtime loss at home, where the Jazz were outscored by 10 points in the 5 minute extra frame. Back then both teams had 4 wins. Since that time we've remained at that level; while the Kings went out and made a big trade -- and then won another game (against the Dallas Mavericks) for good measure before they could add their new players. And let's be honest, they still haven't added their new players yet because all teams in a trade can't do that until all players involved in the trade pass their physicals.

@Aykis16 any word yet on is those hobos passed their physical yet, and are able to go tonight? #UTAatSAC

— Amar (@AllThatAmar) December 11, 2013

@AllThatAmar No word yet, might not know till 5 PM Pacific. Nobody can play till all 7 clear and Vasquez is having Visa issues.

— Akis Yerocostas (@Aykis16) December 11, 2013

So thank Vasquez for not having to face Rudy Gay tonight. Anyway, the bottom line is that we'll know if their new guys can play by about 5 pm PST. In the meantime, if you wanted to learn more about the whole Rudy Gay + Aaron Gray + Quincy Acy for John Salmons + Greivis Vasquez + Patrick Patterson + Chuck Hayes trade you can just read this handy stream here. This totally works out in our favor tonight because last time we played Chuck Hayes beasted us, and Rudy Gay always seems to dominate us with his driving ability. Sacramento is a tough place to eek out a win, but it's possible if they are running out of juice after the trade was announced but not yet capitulated upon. While the Jazz will probably be in a fight of flight state as well, off-court things seem to rile up a group -- and the Jazz assistant coach Sidney Lowe just pleaded guilty to something something, so maybe we'll see some fight from both teams tonight?

Well, we Jazz fans hope to see some fight from our group for sure because both Marvin Williams and Derrick Favors are game time decisions for #UTAatSAC. They missed the last game between these two clubs and could have a difference I believe. Marvin is a legit NBA player who can rebound and hit the three. Favors is a potential star in the making. Both of them would probably have meant that DeMarcus Cousins wouldn't have gone off for 28 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals in 27 minutes. And let's be honest here, having Mad Dog Marvin and Favors back also means, implicitly, less minutes to give to Andris Biedrins (13:51) and Mike Harris (17:38). So if we can field a semi-healthy lineup and re-integrate two guys who should be starting this year we should see a much better performance from our squad.

Tonight game is a winable game despite the Jazz being 1-10 on the road this year, and a lousy 32-53 record in Sacramento all-time. For one, the Kings aren't that much better than us, and are 4-9 at home. They are missing a bunch of players that helped them win against us last time, and haven't yet replaced them with players they can use tonight either. We're out for revenge for losing in OT on our home floor. While they are on a two game win-streak and averaging 112 points per game let's not blow things out of proportion. Their defense is almost as bad as ours -- and I have to state this once again, they gave up their #4, #7, #8 MPG guys in this trade. They're weak, and shallow. Heck, Jimmer Fredette played in their last game!

And tonight calls for regicide. Well, it should call for it. I don't know if we're going to see it. DeMarcus is balling right now (against the Mavs he put up 32/19/3/3/1), Isiah Thomas is finally starting again (he put up 23 and 12 with 2 turn overs), and Derrick Williams ibn al-jafaar even had a 31 point night with 5 boards and 5 steals. Sometimes a few good players can beat a legion of average players. If we don't have Derrick Favors and Marvin Williams tonight and have to lean heavily upon a bunch of vets on expiring deals we are going to battle with a legion of average players.

I suspect a win tonight if we're healthy. We need to control the defensive glass, and counter attack in transition. I hope we can do it. This franchise can't lose TWICE to the Kings in the same month can they? We had to suffer through two losses to the Phoenix Suns last month!

Not only are the Sacramento Kings the new holders of The Belt, they are also a whole new team.

Sacramento will have their first game with Rudy Gay tonight, as the new Belt holders have their first defense against the Jazz.  Seattle native Isaiah Thomas is the new starter in Sacramento and had a big first game in that role.  The Kings don't really have a reliable backup, however, with rookie Ray McCallum the most likely candidate.  Can Trey Burke lead the Jazz past the Kings and bring the Belt back to Salt Lake?

Tale of the Tape
	@
4-19 (1-10 road) Lost 4		6-13 (4-9 home) Won 2
November 11, 2013
Sleep Train Arena
7:00 PM
TV: CSCA
Possible Starters
Trey Burke	PG	Isaiah Thomas
Gordon Hayward	SG	Marcus Thornton
Richard Jefferson	SF	Rudy Gay
Derrick Favors	PF	Jason Thompson
Enes Kanter	C	DeMarcus Cousins
2012/13 Advanced Stats
94.7 (24th)	Pace	96.6 (T-17th)
95.6 (27th)	ORtg	101.0 (17th)
107.8 (30th)	DRtg	103.3 (T-23rd)

Boy, that one was sure an ugly one.

The Kings lost the to Utah Jazz 122-101.  Yes, those Utah Jazz.  Yes, the game was in Sacramento.  Nope, it wasn't a back to back.  No, the score doesn't misrepresent the game.

The only reasonable excuse to be made for this game is that the Kings were once again short handed.  Greivis Vasquez had visa issues, delaying his physical with the Toronto Raptors.  Because of the delay, the Kings were without Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy, and Aaron Gray.

Ultimately, though, the Kings were without effort.  The Kings came out without the spark that they demonstrated in Monday's game.  In fact, this was pretty much the opposite of Monday in every conceivable way.

DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas were the only Kings who really seemed to show up ready to play.  Even Cousins started slow, though.  Cousins finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds.  Isaiah finished with 20 points and seven assists.

Akis will have a full recap tomorrow.  In the meantime, let's argue about what went wrong.  Rabble rabble rabble!

Both teams started out slow, and the game was tied 0-0 at the first timeout. The Jazz forced the Kings to call a timeout at 3:36 mark (22-13) when Kanter hit a 18 footer of the pick and roll. The Kings finished the quarter on an 8-0 run bringing them within three 26-23 Jazz. Brandon Rush hit his first three of the season to give the the Jazz a 38-29 lead. Kanter showed his improving footwork and Rush blocked a one on one fast break bucket before the under six timeout. Jazz led 43-32 at this point.  DMC stayed on the bench and the Jazz had their way pushing the lead to 58-46 at halftime.  The second half continued right where it left off. The Jazz pushed the lead to 20 (79-59) at the 6:29 mark. The Kings head coach got a tech with 2:50 left in the third as he saw hit team fall down by 25 points. The Jazz had a  24 point lead as they headed into the fourth quarter (96-72). The Jazz continued to play well during the fourth quarter. The lead fluctuated between 20-25 throughout the rest of the game. The final score Utah Jazz 122 Sacramento Kings 101.

Positives

1) Favors Aggressiveness. He frustrated Cousins early and often. Defensively he was in position and helped anchor the paint. Offensively, he was active on the boards and it was apparent he was trying to score early.  He had some great shots in third quarter as well a 10 foot jumper and huge dunk on the PNR from Hayward.

2) Passing  The Utah Jazz had 19 assists on 24 made baskets in the first half. Extra passes, PNR, interior passing, hitting the curl. It's amazing what happens when teams hit 50% of their shots.

3) Shooting from three was unbelievable... no really shot chart below.

Negatives (Just one tonight)

1) The end of the first quarter. As follows.

The Kings layed an egg and then stepped on it last night against the Jazz.

Just one game after playing perhaps their best game of the season, Sacramento played their worst game of the season.  They were dominated in every sense of the word by the Utah Jazz on their home court and there isn't much good to say about this game.

What went wrong?  For starters, the Kings couldn't defend worth a damn.  The rotations that were so sharp and crisp against the Mavericks were nowhere to be seen tonight.  The Jazz shot 53.9% but hovered at or above the 60% mark for most of the first three quarters.  Utah had a ridiculous 35 assists to just 6 turnovers, and hit 13-23 from three.  Four Jazz players scored 17 or more points, led by Richard Jefferson's 20 points in 21 minutes on 7-9 shooting.  All but three Jazz players scored at least 8 points.

The Kings dominated on Monday in part because of their success on the fastbreak.  They still managed to outscore Utah on the fastbreak (14 to 9) but when a team is allowed to (and the Jazz were allowed to) shoot that well, you can't get many fastbreak opportunities because the defense is already set.  Sacramento looked as slow and disinterested as the Mavericks team they beat two nights prior.

No one person can take the blame for this performance.  This is on the whole team, from the coach down.  DeMarcus Cousins is the franchise guy.  He should not miss the entire second quarter because he might pick up a third foul.  The reasoning was supposedly that Utah was going small so Cousins might have picked up a foul trying to guard a smaller player.  When I hear "other team went small" that means "nobody available to guard Cousins".  Make them play to your strengths rather than to theirs.

Still, it's not as if Cousins made a huge difference.  Yes, he scored 21 points and had 11 rebounds, but he wasn't putting in much effort on defense, and he picked up his 6th technical of the season.  He was part of the rotation in the third quarter that gave up 38 points to the Jazz.  Isaiah Thomas scored 20 points and had 7 assists, but it felt like he got outplayed by rookie Trey Burke, who had 11 and 9 in 15 less minutes.

Sacramento's shorthanded bench didn't fare much better, although I thought we saw a nice step up from Jimmer Fredette after a bad game against the Mavericks.  Fredette scored 13 points in 12 minutes, compared to Marcus Thornton's 11 points (on 11 shots) in 34 minutes.  Thornton's production and value has fallen off a cliff this season, and that's unfortunate, because it's forcing rookie Ben McLemore to be thrown in the fire much sooner than the team probably wanted to do.  McLemore is struggling mightily in terms of shooting the ball, one of his strengths coming out of college.  Currently he's at 35.7% from the field for the year, an abysmal percentage.  But when the alternative is Marcus Thornton and his 36.4%, you have to go with developing the rookie. (By the way, for those worried about McLemore's shooting percentage, it takes a while for shooters to get a feel for the game. Kevin Martin and Peja Stojakovic were both below 38% for their rookie seasons)

If anything, this game is a reminder that we can't take one or even two game sample sizes too seriously.  I'll admit that I myself got lost a little bit in the excitement of the Mavericks game.  We need to see this team play well over a period of weeks rather than days before we can truly say that they've improved.

Regardless, Friday is essentially the beginning of a new period of Kings basketball, as the Kings will be welcoming Rudy Gay to the rotation as they take on the Suns.  Gay, Gray and Acy were supposed to be available against the Jazz, but Greivis Vasquez did not arrive in Toronto in time to take his physical before the game (even when he's not on our team, he's slowing down our offense!).  Gay will up the talent level of this team on both ends of the court if he buys in, and I for one can't wait to see how he performs.

There's a new number one in the power rankings, but it's not what you expect.

The power rankings have been thrown into complete disarray.  Every time I was about to publish an update, a trade would drop.  I figured I'd be able to write an update today adding in our newest acquisitions, but Greivis Vasquez's visa issues threw that out the window.

But it's been too long. The last power rankings still included Luc Mbah a Moute,for crying out loud.  So we're charging forward and, like the Kings, we're dressing 10 guys here.  Until they are officially on the roster for games, I won't be including Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy, or Aaron Gray.

1. DeMarcus Cousins (Previous rank: 1)

DeMarcus Cousins hurt the team against the Jazz by getting into early foul trouble, but was still one of two Kings who actually showed up for the game.  Cousins points totals for the last 6 games are 25, 24, 20, 28, 32, and 21.  He's been a monster.  I'd like to see him getting double digit rebounds more often, but 19 rebounds against Dallas was really impressive.  Overall, Cousins is absolutely showing he's worth a max extension.

1. Isaiah Thomas (Previous rank: 2)

I'm calling it a tie.  I can no longer justify ranking Isaiah Thomas behind anyone, but I can't yet rank him ahead of Cousins.  The Pizza Guy has been spectacular.  Isaiah's play is a big reason the Kings could feel comfortable trading away Greivis Vasquez.  And all Isaiah did in his first game as a starter was drop 24 points and a career-high 12 assists.  The last four games Isaiah has posted assist totals of 9, 8, 12, and 7.  Considering his career average is 4.2 per game, 5.7 per 36 minutes, I'm pretty happy with those totals.  Here's hoping he can keep it up with his increased minutes.

3. Derrick Williams (Previous rank: N/A)

Is Derrick Williams a perfect player?  No.  Is he a fun player?  Hell yes.  I think it's safe to say that Thrilly D Williams has already exceeded every expectation we had following his acquisition.  His alley-oop chemistry with Isaiah Thomas has been a joy to watch, and these guys haven't been teammates very long.  And Derrick Williams is the third youngest player on the roster.  He's a month older than Ray McCallum.  I'm excited.

4. Jason Thompson (Previous Rank: 9)

JT has struggled to start this season, but regained a bit of his consistency over the past week or so.  He's back to giving around 10 points and 5 rebounds per game.  He still need to get better, but with the Kings current lack of depth he finds himself fourth.

5. Ben McLemore (Previous Rank: 4)

McLemore has struggled with his shot and his consistency.  He's had some really fun scoring outbursts, and I really enjoy watching him play, but the inconsistency is really frustrating.  As Akis mentioned in his recap of the Jazz loss, McLemore is being thrown to the fire because our other shooting guards are so atrocious.  It's not Ben's fault, and I see enough good things that I'm not worried about him long term, but I can't place him any higher than this.  Actually, the fact that he's even this high tells you just how shallow the Kings depth chart is right now.

6. Travis Outlaw (Previous Rank: 5)

Outlaw hasn't produced much lately, but also has had an odd lack of opportunity.  Before the Williams and Gay trades, Outlaw often looked like the team's best small forward.  He fell out of the rotation for Mbah a Moute, John Salmons, and then Derrick Williams.  With Rudy Gay and Quincy Acy joining the fold, it'll be interesting to see what happens to Outlaw's minutes going forward.

7. Jimmer Fredette (Previous Rank: 8)

7-10 on this list are pretty interchangeable.  They are all guys who haven't done much lately, despite opportunities to do so.  It's incredibly frustrating watching players being given an opportunity and failing to do anything with it.  Jimmer gets the 7^th spot strictly because he had a decent game against the Jazz.

8. Hamady N'Diaye (Previous Rank: 12)

The Comedy Ninja gets the nod because he's at least filling his expected role.  Sure, it would be great if he was a better player, but he's at least meeting our expectations for him.

9. Marcus Thornton (Previous Rank: 7)

I really considered putting Thornton dead last on this list.  It's so frustrating to see how far he's fallen.  I'm not going to pretend I understand what's going on with him.  I'm not going to try to interpret body language.  I'm just going to say he's been a massive disappointment this year.

10. Ray McCallum (Previous Rank: N/A)

I was really hoping McCallum would do a little more with his opportunity over the past couple of games.  With Vasquez gone, it seemed like McCallum would get the nod as the backup point guard.  Instead, McCallum saw 7 total minutes of floor time against Dallas and Utah, and finished with a combined stat line of two points, 25% FG, one rebound, zero assists, and one turnover.  Certainly not writing the kid off yet, but I'd hoped for a little more.

More from Sactown Royalty

Follow @sactownroyaltyFollow @SBNationNBA

• Just in case you forgot, we're still not a good team
• Kings lose to Jazz 122-101 with lackluster effort
• Rudy Gay's Debut Likely Delayed
• Santa Cuz Is Comin' To Town!
• Kings vs. Jazz Fan Predictions

Remember shooting hoops on the driveway with your friends?  Dribbling the ball around the concrete, avoiding your Dad's car, counting down the shot clock in your head, and pretending to hit the game winning shot over your favorite NBA players?  Well a couple of insanely brave kids in Sacramento figured out a way to make it happen for real.

It's probably awesome enough living down the street from the former NCAA Player of the Year and Sacramento Kings shooting guard… but imagine the bragging rights you'd have on the playground if you could say, "The Jimmer came over to play!!"  For these 4 kids, all it took was a simple knock on the door to ask Jimmer Fredette if he wanted to come shoot around.  Jimmer is apparently the coolest guy...

While there was almost no shakeup this week, we do finally see a new face.

Rank	Prev	Player	Reason
1	1	Michael Carter-Williams, Philadelphia 76ers	Despite not playing the last 3 games, MCW's number still have yet to be challenged. He still leads all rookies in points (17.7), rebounds (5.8), assists (7.3) and steals (3.1). He also has the highest PER at 20.1.
2	2	Victor Oladipo, Orlando Magic	Oladipo seems to have slowed down since his triple double, as in the last 3 games he has averaged only 9.3 points (below his season average of 13.4) and 1.7 assists (below his average of 3.5).
3	3	Trey Burke, Utah Jazz	Burke is headed the opposite direction. In the last 3 games, he has averaged 15 points (he averages 12.9 on the season), 7 assists (up from 4.2), 6 rebounds (up from 3.8) and 1.3 steals (up from 0.8). He was 3 assists way from his first career triple double on Saturday.
4	4	Ben McLemore, Sacramento Kings	The one consistent about McLemore is his inconsistency. This week he scored a career high 20 points against the Lakers, and was able to follow it up with 15 against Utah. He then went on to score 3 and 4 in the next two games. His averages currently sit at 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists.
5	n/a	Tim Hardaway Jr.,New York Knicks	Hardaway makes his first appearance on the list, averaging 8.1 points on 46.5% shooting and 41.8% from downtown. The downside is that Hardaway doesn't seem do to much besides score, as he is only averaging 1.0 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.2 blocks.

More from Sonics Rising

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• Adam Silver Should Not Eliminate Divisions, He Should Eliminate Conferences
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Matt Moore returns to the show to talk about Rudy Gay and more.

The Sactown Royalty Show is back! This week I'm joined by Matt Moore of CBSSports.com. Aside from being able to entertainingly discuss anything and everything NBA, Matt is a Grizzlies fan. As such, we spent a lot of time talking about all things Rudy Gay, and what Kings fans should expect.

The show is a lot of Rudy Gay, but covered so much more.  We talked about Isaiah Thomas as an All-Star candidate, Ben McLemore's early struggles, Jason Thompson's trade value, whether or not Jimmer Fredette can be salvaged, Quincy Acy, Aaron Gray, and so much more.  Matt is one of my favorite guests to have on the show, and this episode did not disappoint.

Like the show? Subscribe to us on iTunes or on Stitcher! Leave us ratings, leave comments, let us know how we're doing. Ratings and comments on iTunes really help us out with promoting the show. And of course, continue the discussion in the comments below.

As always, thanks for listening.

More from Sactown Royalty

Follow @sactownroyaltyFollow @SBNationNBA

• Mrs. Fredette, Can Jimmer Come Out And Play?
• Sacramento Kings Player Power Rankings: A New Number One
• Just in case you forgot, we're still not a good team
• Kings lose to Jazz 122-101 with lackluster effort
• Rudy Gay's Debut Likely Delayed
• Isaiah Thomas given the green light at point guard

The petitions have been turned in, so what's next? The validation process and Mayor Kevin Johnson's coalition, The4000.

The anti-arena group's petitions have been turned in.

The pro-arena group's petition removal forms have been turned in.

So what's next? Here are some details on what's happening and what will happen moving forward as it relates to Sacramento's proposed downtown arena.

• The 35,300 signatures petitions turned in by S.T.O.P. (Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork) is about 5,000 fewer than the group had originally aimed for.
• The pro-arena group, downtownarena.org, turned in 15,277 petition withdrawal forms. The group is responsible for showing S.T.O.P. signature gatherers on video earlier this year fabricating details about the city's arena financing plan in order to get signatures.
• S.T.O.P.'s signatures, which are intended to put the city's contribution of $258 million (largely generated from parking revenues) toward the proposed downtown arena on the ballot next year, are currently being counted by the City Clerk's office. This is just the raw count of signatures to determine whether S.T.O.P. turned in the correct number of signatures.
• 22,000 valid signatures are needed for it to make the ballot.
• If the City Clerk's office determines there is enough signatures on paper, the petitions will be sent to the county of Sacramento where a validation process of the signatures will occur. The county will have 30 business days to validate the signatures. This would likely begin sometime next week if the City Clerk finds the numbers to be there.
• The county will validate the signatures either by reviewing a 3 percent sample of the petitions or by reviewing every signature. The option to comb through all of the signatures is likely because of the matching that may have to take place with the 15,000+ petition withdrawal forms turned in by downtownarena.org.
• Given the 30 business-day window for the county, we will likely know if there are enough valid signatures for it to be put on the ballot by the third week of January, but it could happen sooner.
• If it qualifies, it would qualify for the June ballot and if that passes, there would likely be a vote on the arena financing in November.

Should the project proceed as planned (and there is no reason to believe it won't at this point), a draft environmental review of the arena is expected to be available soon. It is looking like the city council would vote on the final environmental review document in early April. Everything would become binding at that point in terms of the financing, and demolition could begin in June, followed by the first phases of construction in September/October.

The New Coalition

Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Thursday the creation of a new coalition called The4000 as a response to the S.T.O.P. group. The coalition will advocate for the downtown arena and the 4,000 jobs it is projected to create.

Mayor Kj - we're launching @The4000Arena today because we're committed to protecting 4000 arena jobs. #The4000pic.twitter.com/c8kE3hj9pS

— The 4000 (@The4000Arena) December 12, 2013

Mayor Johnson had some choice words earlier this week in regard to S.T.O.P.'s petitions and this being the third time (Anaheim and Seattle were the last two) Sacramento has been tested in this fight to keep the Kings and build a new downtown arena.

Via The Sacramento Bee:

"Here we are again for a third time." "Interests not in Sacramento are trying to do something that adversely impacts our community." - Mayor Kevin Johnson

S.T.O.P. received $100,000 from Chris Hansen, the hedge fund manager from Seattle who tried to purchase the Kings and turn them into the Seattle Sonics earlier this year, which, in turn, helped the group collect a large majority of its 35,000+ signatures.

Darrell Steinberg, whose bill, SB 743, was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown to protect the arena project from being delayed by lawsuits, will serve as co-chair of the coalition.

Sacramentans have defeated outside money before; we’ll do it again #BiggerThanBasketballpic.twitter.com/u9ykJ52ubJ

— Darrell Steinberg (@proTemSteinberg) December 12, 2013

Sen. Ted Gaines also will be a co-chair of the coalition and Joshua Wood of Region Builders and downtownarena.org will serve as the executive director.

For previous stories on the effort to build a new downtown arena, click here.

More from Sactown Royalty

Follow @sactownroyaltyFollow @SBNationNBA

• The Sactown Royalty Show Ep 27: CBS Sports' Matt Moore talking Rudy Gay
• Mrs. Fredette, Can Jimmer Come Out And Play?
• Sacramento Kings Player Power Rankings: A New Number One
• Just in case you forgot, we're still not a good team
• Kings lose to Jazz 122-101 with lackluster effort

Let's try this again.

Alright, Rudy Gay is going to debut for the Kings for real this time. The Kings are in Phoenix to take on the Suns. The game tips at 6 p.m. Pacific.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Goran Dragic vs. Isaiah Thomas

I'm most concerned about Eric Bledsoe vs. Ben McLemore given the rook's recent shooting woes and the fact that Bledsoe missed the Kings' two wins over Phoenix in November. But I'm most excited to watch the physical Dragic vs. the athletic and speedy Pizza Guy. Dragic was a holy terror on Tuesday when the Suns beat the Lakers; Goran had 31 points.

3 THINGS

1. I'll repeat one from Wednesday: what kind of looks and how many will Rudy Gay get? I really want he's used a lot differently in Sacramento than he was in Toronto.

2. Can McLemore contribute if the shot's not falling? I'd prefer the shot fell. But he's usually shown an ability to contribute when it isn't. Need to keep seeing that, or he's going to lose minutes to Marcus Thornton.

3. Is Jimmer Fredette's shot at the back-up point guard spot going to continue? I've been surprised that Ray McCallum hasn't gotten more of a look based on Michael Malone's comments on Jimmer's position earlier this season. Jimmer can take the spot and those minutes if he does well while he has the opportunity. Doing it well would really help his free agent chances, too.

START FOUR

I'm now ranked No. 27 on the leaderboard. But that's mostly because I set a lineup every game. I've been pretty horrible all told.

PREGAME HAIKU

Now Rudy can play.
The question is, Can he play?
Gee, I sure hope so.

PREDICTION

Kings 100, Suns 99.

It's Prediction Time!

Link to The Leaderboard

Below are a series of prediction questions for tonight's game. The first four questions will be asked every game, while the 5th will change each game.

Point value for predictions are listed next to the questions. If you believe that more than one player will lead a category, you can vote for multiple players, and this is worth double points if you are correct, but zero if you are wrong. Alternately, if you only guess one player when multiple players are tied, you get zero points.

All submissions must be input before tip-off. Any submissions after tip-off will not count. You are allowed only one submission and may not change unless specifically stated.

Questions:

1. Who do you think will win the game, and what will the final score be? (1 point for guessing winner. 2 points for guessing winner and correct score of one team. 5 points for guessing winner and exact score)

2. Who will be the game's leading scorer? (1 point for guessing scorer, 2 points for guessing exact points scored)

3. Who will be the game's leading rebounder? (1 point for guessing rebounder, 2 points for guessing exact rebounds)

4. Who will be the game's leading assist man? (1 point for guessing assist man, 2 points for guessing exact assists)

5. Predict Rudy Gay's Points, Rebounds and Three Pointers Made in his Kings debut (1 point for one right answer, 3 points for two right answers, 5 points for all right answers)

6. Because Question 5 was knocked out for last game, we get a bonus prediction today: Predict Eric Bledsoe's Points, Rebounds and Assists (1 point for one right answer, 3 points for two right answers, 5 points for all right answers)

The Kings had no answer for Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe as they combined for 67 points and 11 assists. Rudy Gay had a good debut with 24 points on 8-12 shooting.

Sacramento welcomed Rudy Gay to their lineup for the first time tonight but was not able to pull out a victory against the Phoenix Suns.  Sacramento had absolutely no answer for Phoenix's guards.  Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe combined for 67 points and 11 assists, shooting a combined 70% from the field.

Isaiah Thomas led the way for the Kings with 29 points of his own, but dished out just 2 assists to 3 turnovers.  The Kings as a team had just 12 assists and 15 turnovers.  The Suns were also able to get a lot of clean outside looks from downtown, hitting 12-24 of their attempts.  Sacramento was just 6-19 from three.

Rudy Gay played perhaps his best game of the year in his debut, scoring 24 points on a very efficient 8-12 shooting, along with 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal and a couple blocks in 36 minutes.  Newcomer Aaron Gray was effective in his short time on the court as well, chipping in 7 points, 9 rebounds and some of the best screens Sacramento has seen in a long time.

DeMarcus Cousins struggled from the field, scoring 15 points on 5-16 shooting to go along with 16 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals.  He was bothered all night by Miles Plumlee's athleticism and length, and lost him too often on defense as well.  Plumlee finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks in what was a fantastic all-around game for the up-and-coming big man.

The Kings got very little production from their shooting guards.  Ben McLemore and Marcus Thornton combined for 7 points on 2-13 shooting.  Derrick Williams led the bench with 14 points and 4 rebounds, but shot just 4-10.

Sacramento will now return home on Sunday to face the Rockets before heading East for a four game road trip.

For the Phoenix perspective, visit Bright Side Of The Sun.  We'll have a full recap on the game tomorrow morning.

The Suns had a short, but impressive week going 2-0 against the Lakers on the road, and the Kings at home. Many players had a part in both of the wins, but there were two in particular that stood out from the rest. Rather than narrowing it down to just one player of the week this time around, it's only right to nominate the dynamic duo in the Suns' back-court who both helped carry the Suns to victory.

Rudy Gay had a great game in his first stint as a King, but the Kings defense (or lack thereof) continues to let the team down.

When Michael Malone was hired this summer, the biggest focus for the team was improving the defense. The Kings were the 29th worst defensive team in the league last season and making that better was made a top priority.

21 games into the season, the Kings are basically right back where they were last year, 28th in the league in Defensive Rating after a 116-107 shellacking by the Suns that seemed a lot closer than it really was.

Now, part of the problem is the ever changing personnel and the lack of time the new guys have had to study the defense. Rudy Gay had practiced with the team just once before this game. However, it's not like the Kings have played good defense at all this season. The problem is team-wide. Rotations are slow. Help comes too late or stays too long. Guards read screens poorly. Everything that can go wrong on defense is going wrong for Sacramento.

Last night, Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe were like butchers at a meat market, slicing and dicing their way into the paint to get whatever they wanted. Rookie Ben McLemore has been asked to do a lot on defense and he isn't up to it just yet. The options behind him, Marcus Thornton, Jimmer Fredette, and Ray McCallum, aren't great alternatives. Isaiah Thomas is probably the only plus defender the Kings have on that end, and even he is guilty of playing poorly on that end. That was especially the case last night, when he wasn't able to stymie either Dragic or Bledsoe for any meaningful stretch of time.

Defense has to start at the top though. DeMarcus Cousins has been anointed the franchise guy and he's one of the players who deserves a lot of criticism for his effort on that end. I think Cousins has shown a lot of improvement as an individual defender, but as a team defender, he's still lost, especially in the Pick & Roll. When the opposing big man isn't a featured scorer, like Miles Plumlee or Robert Sacre, I think Cousins loses track of his man too often, and opposing teams exploit that by running Pick & Roll after Pick & Roll. If you want free points on the Kings, just run a Pick & Roll if Cousins is in the game. He overhelps on the guard and his man is usually left wide open at the basket. Cousins has shown a lot of improvement this season, especially on the offensive side of things, but if he truly wants to be a star in this league, he has to show the same effort and intensity on the defensive end. He has to lead by example. I think he has both the talent, size and athleticism to be a good defender. He just needs the focus.

Another player who has contributed to Sacramento's defensive woes is Jason Thompson. To say Thompson's play this season has been sub-par would be an understatement. The last couple years we saw some growth from Jason, as he seemed more patient and polished than ever. I don't know what happened over the summer, but this year he looks more and more like rookie JT, rushing everything and playing defense with his hands and not his feet. Perhaps most frustrating is all the whining. Jason has always been a big complainer, but when he continues to do it after every possession, when he clearly fouled someone, it's like nails on a chalkboard for me. I would much rather have Thompson coming off the bench with Derrick Williams starting. Williams isn't a plus defender either, but he's playing much better right now and the Kings need their best players to be playing a lot.

The Rudy Gay trade should help Sacramento's defense in the long run, especially after the new guys get more experience with Coach Malone's schemes. Gay is a superb athlete and an above average defender. He's not a lockdown guy, but he'll stay in front of his man and not give up easy shots. He showed that tonight on a few occasions, although he did look lost a few times.

As a fan, I couldn't have asked for a better debut for Gay. He rarely forced a shot, and he made several good decisions to attack the basket rather than settle for jumpers. He hadn't shot 50% in any game as a Raptor this season, and came out and hit 8-12 for Sacramento along with 8-9 from the line. That's a supremely efficient line, and while I don't expect that to be replicated every night, I don't expect his shooting to be as bad as it was in Toronto. Having DeMarcus Cousins in the post and Isaiah Thomas penetrating will open a lot of things up for Gay, and he in turn will open things up for others.

Another new King also had a great debut. Aaron Gray played 13 minutes and looked like a more than solid backup center. He scored 7 points on opportunistic shots, and snatched 9 rebounds. More importantly, he set amazing screens that ended up turning into great looks for Sacramento's offense. Gray is a roleplayer who understands exactly what he is and what he needs to do and doesn't try to do more than that, and that's perfect for a bench big. For those of us (like myself) who had hoped the Kings would re-sign Cole Aldrich this summer, Gray seems like he'll be that type of guy for us.

Derrick Williams continues to look like a steal for the Kings. Thriller contributed 14 points off the bench, and while he shot just 4-10, a few of those were good looks. He also hit 2-3 from downtown. He and Gray were the only real contributors off Sacramento's bench tonight.

Sacramento was able to keep the game in play most of the night because they were able to score almost as much as Phoenix, at least until a stretch in the 3rd quarter where the Suns went into a zone and completely stymied Sacramento. For the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter, the Suns went on a 19-4 run to take a 12 point lead after being down 3 at the half. Considering the Kings lost by 9, that stretch was a defining moment of the game. Sacramento's ball movement came to a standstill as they couldn't figure out how to break the zone (penetrate). Every time Sacramento dumped the ball into Cousins, Phoenix was ready with a double, and the lack of off-ball movement resulted in forced, low percentage shots, usually late in the shot clock.

Sacramento will have to go through an adjustment period with Gay on the team, but the biggest adjustment will have to be the entire team committing anew to defense. That hasn't happened yet, and perhaps the Kings don't have the personnel for it yet. Offensively, the Kings have a lot of weapons, but it won't make a bit of difference if they can't stop other teams from scoring at will.

Random Observations:

• Dragic (#1) and Bledsoe (#2) might have the most appropriate uniform numbers in the league. It's easy to see why the Suns have been so surprisingly good this year. Those guys are hard to game plan against. Not many teams, if any, have two athletic guards who can handle, score and defend. They can play with or without the ball in their hands, and the supporting cast is buying into their roles to a tee.
• The Marcin Gortat trade was so good for Phoenix in that it opened up minutes for Miles Plumlee, who looks like a real keeper at Center. He seems like a real fun guy to root for, if you're a Suns fan. He plays with a lot of heart and energy. His fastbreak denial of DeMarcus Cousins was jaw-dropping.
• I don't think I've ever seen a good shooter become a bad shooter as fast as Marcus Thornton this year. He had never been consistent, but he was always dangerous if left open. This year, he might as well be shooting from halfcourt the way his shots are going.
• Ben McLemore needs to spend the upcoming summer working on a softer touch around the rim, along with his ball-handling. I feel like his outside shot will come eventually, but he needs to be able to score close to the basket too.
• Heard quite a few StR nicknames from Jerry: "The Great Rudini", "If there's D-Will, there's D-Way", but perhaps the best one was when Jerry said "that was all 50 shades of Gray".

The Suns have won four straight games, and the play of P.J. Tucker has been a big factor in that success.

A year-and-a-half ago, P.J. Tucker was just looking for a job in the NBA. He blew his first chance as a second round pick by Toronto in 2006, and spent the next five years playing overseas.

Last summer, Tucker got a second chance as the Suns invited him to Summer League. He impressed the Suns brass with his hustle, and made the team despite not lighting up Las Vegas statistically. Most of us figured he was a bottom of the bench guy who wouldn't be much of a factor. Most of us were wrong, as not only was he part of the rotation, he actually earned his way into the starting line-up and was one of the bright spots in an otherwise nightmarish season.

Tucker's aggressive style of defense and relentless hustle on the boards made him a valuable part of the rotation despite his offensive limitations. Tucker wasn't content with just getting back into the NBA, however, and put the work in this summer to improve his game.

He's started all 22 games this year, and is up from 24 minutes to 31 minutes per game this season. He's putting up 9.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game in addition to being the Suns' best wing defender. Most importantly, and perhaps most surprisingly for those that watched him play last year, he's shooting 47.4 percent from the 3-point line.

Tucker is coming off a tremendous four-game stretch, in which he showcased all the things he does well. He opened the Suns' four-game winning streak by scoring 18 points on 8-13 shooting to go with his six rebounds, four assists and four steals. Oh, he also completely shut down Houston's star shooting guard James Harden, who finished with 14 points on 3-17 shooting and five turnovers.

Next, he put up a double-double against the Toronto Raptors with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Against the Los Angeles Lakers, Tucker struggled offensively but still managed to contribute with 11 rebounds, including a clutch offensive rebound late that basically sealed the game. Finally, he nearly put up another double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds in the Suns' first win in three tries against the Sacramento Kings.

Let's take a look at how Tucker has been so effective.

This first play is a really simple one from early in the Houston game, showcasing Tucker's technique and strength on the offensive glass.

In the above picture, Miles Plumlee is posting up on the right block while Tucker is on the baseline on the other side of the lane.

Plumlee goes up with the hook shot, and right away Tucker begins fighting for position. Originally he was sealed along the baseline, but he slides in front of his man and begins pushing him back.

Tucker simply overpowers his man, pushing him far enough back to give himself space to jump up and secure the board. He goes back up with it and gets fouled.

This next play shows off a couple of the things he is best at as defense leads to offense.

Tucker is playing tight defense on Harden as Dwight Howard has the ball out on the perimeter. Dwight is looking to hand off to Harden, but Tucker can see it coming with his peripheral vision.

Tucker stays right with Harden as he goes to take the hand-off, and punches it loose when Howard exposes the ball.

Tucker out-hustles Harden and beats him to the loose ball ...

Then takes it in for a nice reverse layup as Harden flies past him.

Finishing at the rim in transition is one of Tucker's strengths. He had another play very similar to this one in the Toronto game where he stole the ball and took it all the way for two points.

This final play from the Houston game shows off Tucker's aggressive style of defense, which is what he is most known for.

Here, Harden is bringing the ball down in semi-transition, and Tucker is waiting for him.

Harden keeps coming at him, but Tucker stays in front of him and Harden leaves his feet.

Tucker didn't give him any room to get off a shot, and he had to kick it out to the perimeter,

Harden goes out to either set a screen or take a hand-off, and Tucker jumps on the Rocket with the ball to trap him on the sideline.

Harden gets the ball back, and Tucker recovers and gets back in front of him.

Tucker jumps out and gets right in Harden's face. He prevents Harden from driving middle and instead pushes him to the outside.

Harden gets past Tucker, but Tucker sticks with the play to make sure Harden can't get back to the middle while Markieff Morris slides over to protect the rim. Harden leaves his feet with nowhere to go and charges into Keef. Offensive foul.

This is the kind of defense Tucker played all game against Harden, and the defense he plays against everyone he faces. He made Harden work all game long just to get open, and was a big reason why Harden settled for 10 3-pointers (all of them misses).

This next play from the Toronto game shows the area he has most improved this season: as a shooter.

The play begins as Miles Plumlee misses a free throw. Tucker reads where the ball is going, goes up and gets a hand on it, keeping the play alive.

As the ball is tipped up and around and finally secured by the Suns, Tucker relocates to his favorite spot on the court: the left corner.

He gets the ball in his sweet spot and his improved stroke pays off as he drills the three.

This season, Tucker is shooting 14-25 (56 percent from that corner). He's 10-24 from the other corner for 41.7 percent. He's only taken eight total above the break 3-pointers (making three of them). It looks like Tucker spent almost the entire summer working exclusively on that corner three shot, and it is paying off in a big way for the Suns this year.

Let's look at one more play, another offensive rebound. Suns fans should remember this one fondly as it was perhaps the clinching play in the win against the Lakers.

It is a two-possession game with a minute remaining, and Channing Frye lets loose a 3-ball. Tucker is in his favorite corner, and when he sees the ball going up he runs to the rim...

And right by one Mr. Kobe Bryant, who fails to box him out. There are three Lakers in the paint, but Tucker has pu himself in good position.

He beats all three Lakers and is the first one to touch the ball ...

Then secures it for the Suns and gets the ball out to Goran Dragic, effectively ending the game. Thanks for letting it happen Kobe.

P.J. Tucker is not an All-Star, but his contributions have been invaluable to this Suns team's surprising success. Whether you call him "The Garbage Man" as he was dubbed by Suns.com's Greg Esposito or "Padlock" as one of our own Bright Siders have named him, P.J. Tucker's strength and effort have allowed him to succeed despite not having prototypical height or athleticism. After five years playing overseas, he has proven that he belongs in the NBA and is here to stay.

The Rockets face the Kings in an early Sunday afternoon matchup after escaping Oakland with a victory over the Warriors.

The Rockets went 1-1 in Sacramento last year. In the first matchup, the Rockets played extremely well but Sacramento refused to miss anything down the stretch despite some uncharacteristically good-looking defense from the Rockets. Francisco Garcia was especially a thorn in the side of the good guys.

In the second matchup, the Rockets held on for dear life as the Kings made multiple runs to try to take back the lead. Thanks to a 14/12 effort from little-used Terrence Jones, the Rockets escaped with a 112-102 win.

Rockets vs Kings | Lin ( 15 pts, 10 ast ) + Team Highlights (4-3-2013) (via Blaiyan)

Tonight is an early game, so make sure you don't wait until 9:30pm. Otherwise, you'll miss it.

Tip off is at 5:00pm CST.

It's Prediction Time!

Link to The Leaderboard

Below are a series of prediction questions for tonight's game. The first four questions will be asked every game, while the 5th will change each game.

Point value for predictions are listed next to the questions. If you believe that more than one player will lead a category, you can vote for multiple players, and this is worth double points if you are correct, but zero if you are wrong. Alternately, if you only guess one player when multiple players are tied, you get zero points.

All submissions must be input before tip-off. Any submissions after tip-off will not count. You are allowed only one submission and may not change unless specifically stated.

Questions:

1. Who do you think will win the game, and what will the final score be? (1 point for guessing winner. 2 points for guessing winner and correct score of one team. 5 points for guessing winner and exact score)

2. Who will be the game's leading scorer? (1 point for guessing scorer, 2 points for guessing exact points scored)

3. Who will be the game's leading rebounder? (1 point for guessing rebounder, 2 points for guessing exact rebounds)

4. Who will be the game's leading assist man? (1 point for guessing assist man, 2 points for guessing exact assists)

5. Predict James Harden's Points, Dwight Howard's Rebounds and Francisco Garcia's 3PM (1 point for one right answer, 3 points for two right answers, 5 points for all right answers)

Another afternoon game in Sacramento, this one starring The Great Rudini.

Good news: Rudy Gay was awesome and efficient in his Kings debut. Bad news: the Kings lost because the team defense was amazingly bad. Worse news: Gay's home debut comes against an even tougher team. The Kings meet the Rockets at 3 p.m. Pacific at Sleep Train Arena. The Rockets are currently 16-8 with the No. 3 offense in the NBA. You'll be unsurprised to learn that the Kings have the No. 28 defense, unless you are surprised that the Kings' defense is ranked that highly.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

DeMarcus Cousins vs. Dwight Howard.

Howard's status has fallen over the past year plus, but he's still among the best defenders in the NBA, especially in the post. Though Cousins hasn't been shooting too well from the perimeter, I wonder if Michael Malone will station him out at the elbows more to pull Howard away from the rim and give the slashers (Isaiah Thomas, Gay) more space to attack.

On the other end, keeping Howard off of the offensive glass and preventing him from feasting on dunks is the key. Might see some early Aaron Gray if Cousins isn't handling it.

3 THINGS

1. Ben McLemore and Marcus Thornton are now a combined 8-43 (.186) over the Kings' past three games. The good news is that each will get some time against James Harden, who makes Kevin Martin look like Thabo Sefolosha defensively. The bad news is that Mac and Thornton have been struggling on defense, too.

2. Cousins' technical foul situation is getting a little crazy again. He's up to seven techs in 21 games, or one every third game. He's on pace for a suspension by February 3. February 3!

3. Those danged open threes. The Suns hit 12-24 on Friday. Sacramento is No. 29 in opponent three-point shooting. Houston takes more threes than anyone. Yikesville.

START FOUR

Here's the group leaderboard. You'll find me at No. 30. I made some bad choices against the Suns. Yikes. That all changes now! (Well, maybe. As of 5 a.m., the lineups weren't available.)

PREGAME HAIKU

Swish! Swish! All the threes
rip the net. Well, all the threes
the other guys shoot.

PREDICTION

Rockets 110, Kings 105.

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