The Pacers tip off a five-game road trip against Western Conference teams with a late start at Golden State.

Fortunately, NBA players are creatures of the night, so a 10:30 p.m. ET tip time in Golden State tonight will actually be better than a local afternoon start. Ready or not, the Pacers will have to maintain their high-level of defense against the lethal offensive weapons the Dubs have to throw at them.

Guarding the arc is always an emphasis for the Pacers but it is strictly a win or lose proposition against the Warriors with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson available to snap off threes in a blink of an eye after the ball crosses half court. But for as shiny and fun to watch as Golden State's offense can be, their defense under Mark Jackson is among the tops in the league which is why they are not just fun to watch anymore, but instead a legit contender in the West.

The road trip bounces around the Western Conference for eight days after leaving the Bay Area. Here's the schedule:

- Monday, Jan. 20 at Golden State

- Wednesday, Jan. 22 at Phoenix

- Friday, Jan. 24 at Sacramento

- Saturday, Jan. 25 at Denver

- Tuesday, Jan. 28 at L.A. Lakers

The Pacers will do a bit of zig zagging but will likely face their toughest game tonight to begin things at Golden State. The other challenge will be handling two full off days in Los Angeles with the various distractions available to NBA players.

But the Pacers seem to thrive on creating and working through challenges this year, so no doubt they are thinking winning game one is the only way they can go 5-0 on this trip, so the Warriors are the focus for now.

Check out the links:

Game Preview: Pacers at Warriors | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE INDIANA PACERS

George invited to participate in All-Star events, but hasn’t made final decision yet | Pacers Blogs

Pacers' defense will travel with them on West Coast trip | Indianapolis Star | indystar.com

Pacers-Warriors Preview - AP

Pacers open 5-game trip at Golden State - 1070 The Fan

Crawford finding his comfort zone - SFGate

Andrew Bogut plays in crunch time of victory over Pelicans - Golden State Of Mind

Warriors' Lee gets squeezed out in the All-Star numbers game - SFGate

Golden State Warriors get quick fix from Jordan Crawford - San Jose Mercury News

Danny Granger Comeback | 8 Points, 9 Seconds

Paul George undecided on dunk contest, DeAndre Jordan gauging All-Star status first | The Point Forward - SI.com

First Bitcoin, Now In-Game Google Glass: The Sacramento Kings Sure Do Like Technology | Extra Mustard - SI.com

The Kings almost came away with two road wins this week, but terrible late game execution cost them one (and nearly both)

The Good:

1. Isaiah Thomas

See Player of the Week

2. Carl Landry is back

I'm honestly a bit surprised that Carl Landry is back as early as he is. I wasn't expecting him to rejoin the team until either right before or after the All-Star break, but now we will have him with us the majority of the season. That's good news for a team with a bench that has been inconsistent all year. Landry will hopefully provide a steady presence down low and reliable scoring both off the bench and in the 4th quarter.

3. Jason Thompson's Energy

JT has really been playing well these past few weeks, and I love how he's been fighting on the defensive end and on the glass. Against the Grizzlies in particular, he more than held his own against Zach Randolph, even with Z-Bo getting away with some fouls.

4. Ben getting some confidence back?

Ben McLemore has been uneven all year but the last couple games he's looked a bit better from the field. I don't even want or need Ben to develop into a star; I think if he can become a reliable 3 and D shooting guard (a la Danny Green), that's exactly what this team needs. With how much attention Cousins, Gay and Thomas draw, there will be open looks available.

5. Beating the Wolves and competing with the Grizz

The Kings nearly came away with two wins against two very solid Western Conference opponents this week, but poor late game execution almost cost them both (and did cost them one). Still, for the majority of both those games, the Kings looked and played like the better team. It was a team effort too. Rudy Gay went off against Minnesota, but we got big games from Isaiah, Cousins and D-Will too.

6. Kings Innovation

It was cool to open the Wall Street Journal this week and see the Kings on the front page because they had struck a deal to become the first professional sports franchise to accept bitcoin. The Kings will also be using Google Glass in an upcoming game to provide fans with a unique view of the game.

The Bad:

1. Rotational weirdness

As this road trip has progressed, there have been some interesting trends in terms of the rotation. For one, Jimmer Fredette, who had been having a solid amount of games as a backup PG, has seen his minutes and role diminished in the past three games. Isaiah has been playing nearly 40 minutes a night because of it. There was also the perplexing decision to reinsert Marcus Thornton for Derrick Williams against the Grizzlies in the final minutes.

2. Cousins slows down

DeMarcus Cousins got off to a great start on this road trip, absolutely dominating Roy Hibbert in the first game and then out-battling Pekovic in the next one. But his games against the Grizzlies and the Thunder were subpar from what we've come to expect of him, with lines that remind of years past (12-37 combined shooting in those two games). If Cousins truly is an All-Star, he can't have consecutive games where he gets shut down because the Kings need him. To be fair to Cousins, this road trip is the big man meat grinder of the NBA (Hibbert, Pekovic, Gasol, Perkins, Ibaka, Davis, Dwight).

3. Rudy Gay gets outshone by other wings

Gay wasn't awful this week, and was indeed spectacular against the Timberwolves. But in the other three games, he was either a non-factor or limited. Kevin Durant killed him on his way to 30 points, and Gay even got ejected. Paul George erupted as well, and while Tayshaun Prince didn't score much, he did a good job defensively on Gay.

The Ugly:

1. Late game execution

The Kings were awful in the 4th quarter this week, particularly late in the game. The Kings beat the Wolves, but nearly surrendered an 11 point lead with just over 3 minutes left because of poor execution. The same thing happened against the Grizzlies, except Memphis actually did pull off the comeback. The Kings had just three quarters all week where they scored under 20 points, and all three were fourth quarters.

2. STOP has enough signatures

News came this week that STOP had enough signatures to put the arena on the ballot. However that doesn't necessarily mean that the arena will come to a vote. As Blake explains, there are several things that can occur. For one, the City Clerk can throw out any petitions that didn't meet the election code. By some reports there are as many as 8 different petitions that were circulation, all with different language. Regardless of what the City Clerk decides, it's likely that these petitions will be taken to court either by the pro-arena or anti-arena sides at some point.

Player of the Week:

Isaiah Thomas

21.3 PPG, .508 FG%, .429 3P%, 5.8 AST, 1.8 RPG, 1.0 STL

I would hardly call this a great week for Isaiah, and I'm sure if someone asked him he'd say the same. He set a career-high mark for turnovers in a game at 7 against Minnesota, and his decision making down the stretch of both the Memphis and Minnesota games was questionable at best. Still, Isaiah has been phenomenal this year and I think that because he's been playing so well (and he played 3 years in college) it's easy to forget that this is just Isaiah's 3rd year in the league. Yes, he'll make mistakes at times. That's what young players do. Thomas has already played for 3 coaches in 3 years and went through rotational hell (along with the rest of the team) under Keith Smart. I see talk from fans who want an upgrade to Isaiah, and that's easier said than done, because right now, there aren't all that many that are better (or available). Here's a link to the complete list of players who averaged at least 19 points on 45% from the field and at least 6 assists a game by their third year. There's only two guys on that list (Larry Drew and Ray Williams) that didn't become All-Stars.

Images / GIFs of the Week:

In other news, sometimes my GIF experiments go horribly wrong

by feelgood on Jan 14, 2014 | 8:34 AMreply unrec (31)actions

Comment of the Week:

In reply to someone predicting that Thornton "finds a rhythm"

Good

then he can go join a band and retire from basketball

by prowseinthehouse on Jan 14, 2014 | 9:26 AMupreply rec (33) flagactions

FanPost of the Week:

Kings vs. Pacers Recap: Confusion Erupts as Demarcus Cousins the Only Player to Show Up to Game vs. Pacers by beeradgee88

Highlight of the Week:

Caption Contest:

Link to Last Week's Picture

Last Week's Winner: LaBradford

"Cheer up, Marcus. Hey look! What's that behind your ear?"

The Great Rudini does it again.

Last Week's Runner-Up #1: DevTerrell

The Great Rudini does his greatest trick by making Marcus Thornton's pout disappear

Last Week's Runner-Up #2: Sir Lurksalot

Again, Thornton avoids the hot hand.

This Week's Picture:

A reminder of the rules for the Caption Contest. Leave your caption in the comments below, and the most rec'd (to recommend a comment, hit action, then rec) caption wins.

Nostradumbass Prediction for Next Week:

@ New Orleans 1/21 W (The Kings have to take advantage of all of New Orleans' injuries and win this game. It's their best remaining chance to get another road win)

@ Houston 1/22 L (I didn't think the Kings were going to beat the Rockets once, let alone twice this season. Three times is just crazy talk)

vs. Indiana 1/24 L (The Pacers are just too freaking good)

Nostradumbass Record for the Year: 16-23

Random Observations from around the league:

• With all the injuries that have happened in the NBA this season, it was nice to see a couple of people actually return from injuries this week. Rajon Rondo is now back with the Celtics, and that's going to be a huge boon for them going forward. We all know about Carl Landry coming back as well, which gives us some more punch off the bench. But best of all, Greg Oden finally made his Heat debut, returning to the court for the first time in 4 years. Many people (if not most) might have decided to take their millions and go home rather than spend the years in rehab and training to try to continue their NBA career. Oden's a great story and I hope he's able to stay in the league injury-free for a while (he's just 26).
• The Rockets did something weird this week. They scored 73 points in the first half and followed it up with just 19 in the second half. That's an NBA record for point differential between halves.
• Am I the only one surprised that Blake Griffin has the same amount of technicals (10) as DeMarcus Cousins?

No surprise here. In a week where Kevin Durant scored 54 points against the GSW and Paul George dazzled with what most are calling "the dunk of the year," was there really any question which two players should receive the league's weekly honor?

Today, the league officially named the Indiana Pacers' Paul George and the Oklahoma City Thunder'sKevin Durant as the recipients of the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week awarded for games played from January 13th-19th:

Just Announced: @Paul_George24 (30.7ppg, 3-0) of the @Pacers&@KDTrey5 (39.3ppg, 6.5apg) of the @OKCThunder named NBA Players of the Week.

— NBA (@NBA) January 20, 2014

This is the third Player of the Week honor awarded to Kevin Durant  this season (Nov 25-Dec 1; Dec 23-29; Jan 13-19) and the second time PG has been named as the recipient of the NBA's weekly honor (Nov 4-10; Jan 13-19). Notably, Paul George and LeBron James are the only two players in the Eastern Conference to be named Player of the Week multiple times this season.

In a week where the Pacers went 3-0 during their homestand against the Sacramento Kings, New York Knicks, and Los Angeles Clippers, Paul George made a major impact tallying a combined total of 92 points, 16 rebounds, and 7 assists. His finest performance of the week came during Saturday's match-up against the Clippers in which he scored 36 points in 35 minutes on 12-of-17 shooting, nailed 5 of his 7 attempts from behind the arc, went a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe, grabbed six rebounds, dished two assists, and recorded three steals. For a more detailed statistical breakdown on PG's stellar week that was, check out this rundown provided by NBA.com/stats:

EC Player of the Week @Paul_George24 avg. 30.7 Pts on 57.7% FG & 61.9% 3PT over a 3-game stretch. Indy won by an avg. of 22pts

— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) January 20, 2014

Regardless of his impressive individual numbers and team record, was there really any question that the Pacers' star was the most deserving recipient in the Eastern Conference for this award after he posted this eye-popping highlight...

Paul George shows the world how to dunk. http://t.co/2IooY2UMEi

— SB Nation GIF (@SBNationGIF) January 19, 2014

The Sacramento Kings pay a visit to New Orleans arena Tuesday evening; however, don't be quick to dismiss them for their 14-25 record. Since our 3-point victory right before Christmas, they've gone 6-6 including wins over the Heat, Rockets, Timberwolves and Trail Blazers. During the same stretch, the Pelicans are 3-10 and this time around, we go into battle without Ryan Anderson and Jrue Holiday.

In the preview close to a month ago now, the numbers told us to be very wary of our high-scoring opponent. Just substituting a single player off their starting five showed extreme volatility in the advanced numbers. Well, head coach Mike Malone has decided to go with one of these tweaks as his new starting lineup and it's worked. The combination of Thomas-Thornton-Gay-Thompson-Cousins has a net rating of +12.4 (that's ORTG (107.9) minus DRTG (95.5)). And that's not from an insignificant sample size as this five-man group has played a total of 141 minutes.

Since the Pelicans narrow victory, their Big 3 have been on fire:

• Rudy Gay - 21.2 PPG, 5.5 REB, 3.2 ASTS, 54.4 FG%, 91.8 FT% and close to 1 3/STL/BLK a game.
• DeMarcus Cousins - 24.7 PPG, 13.8 REB, 2.3 ASTS, 47 FG%, 75 FG%, 1.8 STL, 1.2 BLK.
• Isaiah Thomas - 21.0 PPG, 2.4 3PTM, 3.3 REB, 7.4 ASTS, 44.6 FG%, 86.8 FT%, 1.1 STL.

Two of the league's best young big men go at it in what could be Sacramento's best remaining chance to get another win on this road trip.

The Kings face the New Orleans Pelicans (5 p.m. Pacific, Comcast SportsNet California & KHTK 1140) tonight in their fifth straight road game. The Pelicans are beat up, with injuries to Ryan Anderson, Jrue Holiday and Jason Smith, but are coming off a road win against the Grizzlies yesterday.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

Jason Thompson vs. Anthony Davis

If there was a year for the Kings to win the lottery, last year was it. Anthony Davis is a monster, and he's not even old enough to drink yet. Yesterday against the Grizzlies (one of the toughest front lines in the league), Davis put up 27 points, 2 assists, 4 steals and 4 blocks. He's going to be a force in this league for a long, long time. JT has been playing better lately, but he'll have his work cut out for him tonight.

3 THINGS

1. DeMarcus has had a couple of bad games (for him) in a row and tonight is a perfect game for him to bounce back as the Pelicans are light in the big man department aside from Davis (who isn't nearly strong enough to guard Cousins man to man).

2. Last time the Kings played the Pelicans, Tyreke Evans carved his old team up for 25 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals in what was probably his best game of the season. The Kings have been playing better defense in January, but stopping penetration continues to be a problem. Hopefully we can keep Tyreke closer to his season averages this time.

3. Rudy Gay had his worst game as a King against New Orleans, scoring just 11 points on a woeful 2-12 from the field and being outplayed by Al-Farouq Aminu. That's a matchup that Gay needs to (and probably should) dominate.

PRE-GAME HAIKU

First Post-Ziller Game.
Good thing I can't get fired,
if and when we lose.

PREDICTION

Kings 108, Pelicans 97

More from Sactown Royalty

Follow @sactownroyaltyFollow @SBNationNBA

• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: 2013-14 Week 12
• 13th Floor
• Kings vs. Thunder final score: Isaiah Thomas goes off, but Sacramento loses 108-93
• Carl Landry will be active for Kings vs. Thunder, according to report
• Kings vs. Thunder Fan Predictions

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. How many points and rebounds will Carl Landry have in his second game back? (1 point for right answer, 3 points for both right)

Rudy Gay!

The Aykis16 era got off to a beautiful start as the Kings beat the Pelicans 114-97 on Tuesday in New Orleans. Rudy Gay scored 41 points on 25 shots! Don't act like you're not impressed. He also had eight rebounds and five assists. DeMarcus Cousins finished with 18 points (6-10), 11 rebounds, six assists, four blocks and three steals. He also reportedly tattooed #NBABallot on a stray dog. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Isaiah Thomas had 20 points and 11 assists. Tyreke Evans had 17 points on 6-15 shooting for the Pelicans. Jeff Withey played four times as many minutes as Ben McLemore, so ... that's not great. But hey! Big win!

The Kings finish this road trip in Houston on Wednesday. Sacramento is 2-3 on the trip. The Kings are 6-12 on the road overall. The Kings are 1-0 since the Curse of Ziller was lifted on Monday.

More from Sactown Royalty

Follow @sactownroyaltyFollow @SBNationNBA

• Kings vs. Pelicans Fan Predictions
• Kings vs. Pelicans Preview: Boogie and the Brow
• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: 2013-14 Week 12
• 13th Floor
• Kings vs. Thunder final score: Isaiah Thomas goes off, but Sacramento loses 108-93

This is just one of those games guys....

Thanks to BenDerDonDat and fshabazz for providing the title and summary. Really, not much more needs to be added, but then, we wouldn't be doing our job.

The Kings jumped out to a 38-20 advantage after the 1st quarter, the Pelicans made a nice run in the 2nd frame to cut the deficit to 8 at halftime and then the Kings resumed to overwhelm the home team throughout the rest of the game.

As I feared in the preview, the Kings have recently been lighting up opponents and their high scoring triumvirate have had a big say. Tonight, the Thomas-Gay-Cousins trio combined for 79 points, 22 rebounds, 22 assists, 6 steals, 4 blocks and 8 three's.

Your welcome.

Game Notes

- Eric Gordon didn't make his first field goal until late in the 4th quarter. Unacceptable. If he didn't feel like playing, he should have alerted Monty Williams to find someone who would.

- The energy wasn't there with most of the group, but unlike Gordon or Al-Farouq Aminu, Anthony Davis still contributed in a positive manner: 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks.

- Jeff Withey was the star of the game. His line, although nice (14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks and ONLY 1 miss from the field and the charity stripe), doesn't justify how much he's our best option to receive future minutes at the center position. He'll probably continue to miss assignments or get pushed around, but he deserves time over Greg Stiemsma and Alexis Ajinca. With the Pelicans playoff hopes all but dashed, it's vital Withey starts gaining valuable experience like yesterday. The team isn't in rebuilding mode and it should be expected they'll challenge for the playoffs as soon as next year. So, let's get the player who will be the most important cog out of the remaining centers NOW.

- Austin Rivers continues to mystify -- can't hit a FT to save his life but goes perfect from beyond the arc. However, as with Withey, he deserves to see plenty of action. Who knows, he could figure out some more things before the season is out and, in a perfect world, becomes a significant contributor on a playoff team.

- Greg Stiemsma (you just had to know I needed to get another shot in) needs to be pushed to the end of the bench. On twitter, Jake Madison (Bourbon Street Shots writer) dropped this gem:

So the old dude in the balcony who always yells near the Pelicans bench has a sign that says "Please No Steimsma"

— Jake Madison (@NOLAJake) January 22, 2014

Both @ticktock6 and @RosewoodOrDie corroborated that this pleasant fellow is likely a long time season ticket holder who goes by Verne. First off, great work good sir! Second, could you possibly make that sign bigger for our next home game? THANKS!!!

Yes, I chose that title because I really wanted to use this picture again.

Since being traded to the Sacramento Kings, Rudy Gay has been a shell of his former self.  In a good way.  He's been everything we hoped he might be.  He's fit into the offense, his usage rate hasn't been off the charts, and his shooting has been a revelation.

Tuesday night Rudy Gay went off for 41 points on 25 shots.  And only four points came on free throws.  That's incredible no matter who you are.  So I thought it would be good to run down each of Rudy's made baskets and provide some analysis on how he accomplished such a feat.  This is a pretty stats-heavy analysis, so consider yourselves warned.

First Quarter

1. Made 18-footer - Whoa, Rudy.  Mid-range jumpers?  Let's not get all crazy, buddy.

2. Made 2-footer - That's more of your range, Rudy, more of that please

3. Made 1 of 2 free throws - Well, they are free, shoulda made both

4. Missed 8-foot jumper - What the hell, Rudy?  Now I see why Toronto trade you.  Ugh.

5. Made layup - AWWW YEAH THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.  GO KINGS.  IN PETE WE TRUST.

Second Quarter

6. Made layup - Picking up where we left off!  Heck yes!

7. Made 3 pointer - Oh yes, we have ourselves a small forward, baby.

8. Missed 3 pointer - Oh what the flying hell Rudy, why you gotta push your luck?

9. Made 3 pointer - NEVER HAD A DOUBT.  RUDY TREY IN THE BUILDING.

10. Missed 3 pointer - More like Rudy Jerkface Can't Hit A Trey if you ask me

11. Made one of two free throws - Well, one out of two isn't bad.

12. Made jumper - Take those jumpers all day!

13. Made two free throws - Man, how many games have missed free throws cost the Kings over the years?? This is great!

Third Quarter

14. Made 3 pointer - THAT'S HOW WE DO IT IN SACRAMENTO. PELICANS WHAT YOU GOT?

15. Made two pointer - RUDY GAY CAN'T MISS

16. Made 3 pointer - MVP! MVP! MVP!

17. Made layup - #NBABallot Rudy Gay

18. Blocked layup - Go around Anthony Davis!  Go through him!  Dominate him!  I don't even care about this block!

19. Made 3 pointer - DO THE JORDAN SHRUG.  DO IT, RUDY.

Fourth Quarter

20. Missed layup - Oh here we go Kings gonna blow a lead

21. Made two pointer - RUDY IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY

22. Missed two pointer - A miss?  I don't understand.

23. Made three pointer - WITH GOD AS HIS WITNESS, RUDY GAY WILL NEVER MISS A THREE AGAIN

24. Missed 15 footer - son of a bitch

25. Made layup - Wait, why the hell is Rudy still in this game?

26. Missed 25 footer - Ok, so about that whole "god as his witness thing", that might have been premature

27. Made jumper - BWAWAHAHAHAHA RUDY GAY IS THE BEST

28. Missed jumper - Well, at least he isn't John Salmons

Conclusions

So, as this statistical analysis clearly shows, Rudy Gay had a pretty good frickin' night.  That's a scientific term.  I learned it from Robby Biegler.

More from Sactown Royalty

Follow @sactownroyaltyFollow @SBNationNBA

• Kings vs. Pelicans final score: Rudy Gay scores lots of points, Sacramento wins 114-97
• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: 2013-14 Week 12
• 13th Floor
• Kings vs. Thunder final score: Isaiah Thomas goes off, but Sacramento loses 108-93
• Vivek Ranadive To Appear On HBO's Real Sports

The Sacramento v. Seattle battle over the Kings spilled into the NFC Championship game on Sunday.

The NFC Championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks had a little fan history that went beyond football.

For many in Northern California, particularly in Sacramento, the matchup brought back memories of the fight between Sacramento and Seattle over the Kings.

49ers fans had a decent turnout at the game, and a few of them were Kings fans as well. One photo that has been circulating on the Internet is of a fan wearing a Chris Webber jersey in the midst of the Seahawks crowd at CenturyLink Field. The image has been making the rounds on social media so I decided to reach out to the fan in the photo, Rich Biermann-Smith, to get his account of how the crowd took his display of affection for the team Seattle tried to turn into the Sonics last year.

Biermann-Smith is a Sacramento native who traveled to Seattle for the game with a group of 12 other 49ers fans. During halftime, Seattle rapper and Sonics fan Macklemore performed. That's when Biermann-Smith shed his 49ers gear for his Webber jersey.

"I heard a lot of the traditional insults: ‘Kings suck', 'queens', all that," he said. "A guy sitting behind me all game had claimed to be an old high school buddy of Chris Hansen, so I knew I had to really get at this guy big time. He absolutely flipped his lid when he saw the jersey."

The Seahawks, of course, defeated the 49ers 23-17, but Biermann-Smith and his friend, who was sporting a Brian Grant Kings jersey, left the stadium with their heads held high and hit the streets of Seattle. Aside from a few fans who got riled up over the jerseys, he said they "actually got a ton of love from all the fans in Seattle" for supporting the 49ers and loving the Kings.

"Anybody who I engaged with would always tell me that they are glad that they didn't steal the Kings away from us and that they hope to get an expansion team," Biermann-Smith said of fans at the game.

The humility from Seattle fan is good to hear, I hope they get an expansion team as well. And way to represent Rich!

The Rockets take on the bane of their existence tonight in Houston when the Kings come to town.

Every superhero has a weakness.

Superman has kryptonite, Green Latern has the color yellow, and Daredevil has quality movies noise pollution.

Now a weakness isn't usually something powerful by itself. For example, you couldn't say the Rockets' weakness is the Clippers or Thunder, even though those teams are 2-0 against the Rockets. A lot of teams are "weak" to good teams. You wouldn't say Batman's main weakness was bullets, would you?

For the Rockets, their weakness is the Sacramento Kings this season. Twice these teams have played and twice the Kings have come out on top. Meanwhile, other teams in the NBA are 25-13 against the Kings, so they aren't harmful to anyone else.

Mostly, the Kings are young and athletic and can beat the Rockets at their own game. They also have a great center and a speedy point guard. Finally, they've stolen Rudy Gay and replaced him with a taller Jason Terry.

Tonight might be Houston's best chance to beat the Kings since the Kings played last night in New Orleans. The bad news? Sacramento won by 17 and DeMarcus Cousins played fewer than 30 minutes.

Tip off is at 7pm CST.

For every good win the Kings can muster, so fades the shine off their ever-relevant social stigma.

Typical.

It's typical of me, as a die-hard Kings fan, to look at Rudy Gay's night and get giddy with excitement with what could be. And why not? After all, the 41 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists that Gay tallied on both efficient and exciting means of scoring (a rare combination) came on a night where the Kings as a whole were clicking on all cylinders as well.

This in itself is in stark contrast to how things were supposed to go.  When Rudy Gay was dealt to Sacramento, his presence was supposed to lend itself to poor performances that led to inefficient losses or good performances that led to lost touches for the young and developing players.  Up to this point (and believe me I remain as cautious as anybody in getting too used to this style of play) that hasn't been the case for this team.

In the first quarter, the Kings' offense was humming.  DeMarcus Cousins looked to be well on his way to amassing a triple double (eventually falling short by four assists), the Kings were the far more aggressive team to start and as a result of their efforts they took a 38-20 lead on a dysfunctional-looking Pelicans team.

(By the way, a case that undermines the Kings' play on this road-trip can be built around the fact that both of their wins have come against two teams in the T-Wolves and Pellies that were probably self combusting at the time that we played them.  The Pelicans have lost 9 of their last 10.  And to that I say, "hey, shut up.")

Now, of course there are the reasons that the Kings' social stigmas exist in the first place and those found themselves a comfortable place to appear at around the midway point of the second quarter.

DeMarcus Cousins, from a purely on-the-court perspective, has received criticism for his lack of defensive effort and his inability to contain his emotions when handling both the officials and opposing players.  The play in the second quarter that resulted in his benching was the manifestation of those two qualities.  With 5:09 remaining in the first half, DeMarcus Cousins made a block attempt on Anthony Davis that was the result of a heady, but albeit late defensive rotation.  It was called a foul.  Upon further review, this foul call was reaffirmed, as Cousins had clearly gotten Davis with a forearm to the chest, but Cousins saw things a particularly different way and was rewarded a technical for his, uh...brashness? His way of handling the situation shifted the focus from that of sympathy ("Aw shucks, Cousins! You'll get that call next time!", they'd say) to that of pigeonholing ("well there's typical Cousins, can't handle both making and not making the play.")

Isaiah Thomas and Rudy Gay, in Cousins' absence, both contributed to the stagnant Kings' offense that allowed the Pelicans to trim a twenty-one point deficit at the time of Cousins' departure into a considerably more manageable eight by halftime.  Thomas was unable to pull the Kings out of an isolation-heavy offense that failed to put up points as consistently as earlier in the game while Rudy Gay midrange post-ups comprised a lot of the meat of those offensive sets.

The second half looked nothing like that second quarter, however, as the Kings jumped on the Pelicans early to put away the game.

Rudy Gay's Eye-Opening Performance

Rudy Gay went off in New Orleans Tuesday night

Rudy Gay had an otherworldly game, for Sacramento Kings' Small Forward standards, and an awesome game by any other measure.  He scored his points in a variety of ways, and demonstrated an efficiency that he's now kept up for over a month.  Maybe it's time to revisit the familiar confines of his national narrative.

DeMarcus Cousins finished the game with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 7 blocks/steals on 60% shooting.  With defensive inefficiencies that may lend themselves more to the fact that he's learning what might be his first actual defensive system in his 4 years in the league rather than that lack of effort, maybe it's time to do the same to the narrative of his.

But then again, maybe it's not.  Maybe Rudy Gay has turned up the attention towards his efficiency in the hopes of securing one last lavish contract extension.  Maybe DeMarcus Cousins really is an unreachable headcase, and what's become the norm for so long was really all there was all along.

But for the Ranadivé-era Sacramento Kings, this rebranding issue isn't a foreign concept at all.  It's clear that the more they can turn stretches like the last half of the second quarter versus the Pelicans into nothing more than an aberration, the farther they can go in removing the stigma that may be their largest roadblock in endearing themselves to the masses.

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Gay has monumentally improved his scoring efficiency since moving to Sacramento.

Kevin Durant has been grabbing all the headlines of late thanks to his insane run of scoring, and he did it again on Tuesday with a 46-point effort in a win over the Portland Trail Blazers. However, Durant had company in the 40-point club on the evening: Rudy Gay.

Gay notched 41 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a 114-97 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. The 27-year-old shot 16-of-25 overall and 5-of-8 from three, but despite these crazy numbers, he's not getting as much attention because of what Durant did in Oklahoma City.

In fact, Gay's recent play in general has been overshadowed by Durant's ridiculous month. Gay has been much-maligned the past few seasons due to his poor efficiency numbers, but since being dealt to the Sacramento Kings, he has turned things around.

Rudy Gay's eye-opening performance

Sactown Royalty talks Rudy Gay's 41-point night.

As a King, Gay is averaging 21.0 points while shooting 52.5 percent overall and 37.0 percent from three. In addition to his excellent shooting numbers, Gay's also averaging 3.1 assists with Sacramento, a number that would be a career-high.

Gay's numbers are even more impressive when you just look at the month of January. In 10 games, Gay's averaging 22.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He's shooting a spectacular 57.0 percent overall and a scorching 51.9 percent from three. And while the Kings are only 5-5 in January, that's an improvement over how they were playing before.

Digging deeper into the numbers, the difference between some of Gay's shooting stats in Sacramento compared to Toronto is quite stark. Since the trade, Gay is shooting 17.1 percent better in the restricted area, 24.6 percent better on shots in the non-restricted area part of the paint and 10.7 percent better from mid-range, per NBA.com's stats page. The shot distribution hasn't changed all that much, so the improvement really is quite impressive.

Gay's current stretch might not be totally sustainable, but he certainly appears to have found a rhythm playing alongside DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas. While USA Today's Sam Amick says there have been no discussions about a possible extension, perhaps the Kings start thinking about it if Gay continues to play well and the team shows marked improvement over the remainder of the year.

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With a win tonight, the Kings will go .500 on a road trip, but they will face a tough test in a deep and talented Houston team seeking revenge.

The Kings have been on the road for a week and a half, and end their trip tonight against the Rockets (5 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet California and KHTK 1140). Sacramento has surprisingly beaten Houston twice already this season, so the Rockets (winners of 7 of their last 9) will likely be looking for revenge.

MATCHUP OF THE GAME

DeMarcus Cousins vs. Dwight Howard

Boogie always gets up for his battles against Dwight Howard, whose reputation as the league's best big man took a bit of a hit last year following a poor stint with the Lakers and a tumultuous exit from the Magic. Cousins has gotten the better of Dwight in both meetings so far this year, with Dwight averaging just 14 points and 9 rebounds to DeMarcus' 19 points and 13 boards. Cousins has faced a lot of the league's best bigs on this road trip, and a great game tonight will be another feather in his cap to a potential All-Star bid.

3 THINGS

1. Everybody knows the Rockets love to shoot threes. They're currently first in the league in attempts and third in makes. In Sacramento's two wins against the Rockets, Houston was never able to get going from deep, shooting a combined 14 of 55 beyond the arc, a paltry 25.5%. Considering the Kings are dead last in the league in opponent 3P% (38.8%), that seems more like a fluke than a sign of good defense.

2. One guy the Kings haven't had an answer for in either of the games against the Rockets is James Harden. Harden has diced up the Kings defense to the tune of 63 combined points in their two meetings.

3. Houston may have won 7 of their last 9 games, but only 1 of those wins came against a team with a record above .500 (Monday's win against Portland). Unfortunately for Sacramento, they are not a team above .500 (although they're playing near .500 ball since Rudy Gay has joined the team).

PRE-GAME HAIKU

Beat the Rockets twice.
Can we do it for third time?
Eh, Probably not.

PREDICTION

Kings 101, Rockets 100 on a Carl Landry three point game winner.

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• The gradual erosion of the Kings' narrative
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It's Prediction Time!

(For those that haven't seen, StR User Capt. Factorial made a prediction in October saying Rudy Gay would score 41 points for the Kings. That's remarkable)

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. Same question as yesterday since Carl got a DNP: How many points and rebounds will Carl Landry have in his second game back? (1 point for right answer, 3 points for both right)

One day after putting up 41 points, Rudy Gay is out with an Achilles injury.

Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay suffered a left Achilles injury in the first quarter Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets. The game's broadcast says he will not return, James Ham of Cowbell Kingdom reports.

It's unclear what specifically caused Gay's injury, but he limped off the court midway through the first period and headed to the locker room during a timeout. Coming off a huge 41-point performance, arguably his best in years, this comes at a pretty frustrating time for the athletic wing.

He played just six minutes on Wednesday, recording four points on 2-of-5 shooting.

Since acquiring Gay from the Toronto Raptors in December, the Kings are an improved (but still underwhelming) 9-11. He's seriously turned up his game, though, averaging 21 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists while shooting 53 percent from the field and 37 percent from three.

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Having already lost Rudy Gay to an Achilles injury, the Kings could be even more shorthanded if their big man has to miss time.

DeMarcus Cousins is out of Wednesday's game against Houston after suffering an ankle injury. X-rays were negative, but one of the league's most dynamic young centers may have to miss some time.

On a drive to the basket, Cousins planted awkwardly on his left ankle. The twist altered his shot attempt, but he still managed to draw a foul on the play. However, the Kings center was unable to take his free throws, heading to the locker room immediately.

Cousins is the driving force of the Kings' offense, averaging more than 23 points and 11 rebounds this season. The big man has upped his totals in nearly every category this season, his fourth in the league after being drafted in 2010 by the Sacramento.

Exacerbating the effect this injury is the one suffered but Rudy Gayin the first quarter of the same game. The score-first forward injured his left Achilles and didn't return.

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The Kings ended their road trip with a blowout loss at the hands of the Rockets, but more importantly lost their two best players to ankle injuries early in the game.

That's not exactly the way you want to end what was otherwise a pretty decent road trip.

This game was all but decided in the first half after both DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay had to leave the game with ankle injuries.  Gay was able to walk off the court without help, but Cousins' injury was a tad more severe and he was unable to even shoot his free throws.  Fortunately, word from the Kings is that neither injury is too serious, and that X-rays for Cousins are negative for a fracture.  He is listed as day-to-day.

Sacramento was outscored in each quarter as four Rockets scored 19 points or more, led by Dwight Howard's game-high 26 points and 13 rebounds.  Former King Omri Casspi had 20 points and 12 boards off the bench.

For Sacramento, Derrick Williams led the way off the bench with 22 points and 11 rebounds in nearly 40 minutes of action.  Due to the blowout, Carl Landry was able to play the full fourth quarter, where he looked very rusty but still managed to work his way to 6 points and 6 rebounds.

The Kings will come home on Friday to face the Indiana Pacers, the same team they faced to start this six game road trip.  No rest for the weary.

For the opponent's perspective, visit The Dream Shake.

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News 10's Sean Cunningham joins me to talk all things Kings! We discussed the Kings recent road trip, Wednesday's injuries, and more.

The Sactown Royalty Show is back! This week I'm joined by Sean Cunningham of News 10.  Among the topics we covered were Sacramento's recent six-game road trip, Wednesday night's injuries to Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins, Cousins' invite to the Team USA program, an Isaiah Thomas debate and much more! Be sure to check it out.

As discussed on the show, we have a poll!  Be sure to vote!

Also discussed on the show, be sure to check out Alex Wong's book, Steven LeBron.  $15 for 80 pages of sports writing and original artwork from a great author and great artists.

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.

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• The gradual erosion of the Kings' narrative
• Kings fan represents Sacramento at 49ers-Seahawks game
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• Kings vs. Pelicans final score: Rudy Gay scores lots of points, Sacramento wins 114-97
• The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: 2013-14 Week 12

The Pacers were never able to dig out from an early deficit before getting buried by an avalanche of offense from the Suns.

The Pacers are proving to be pretty good at losing, as well as winning this year. When it is time to cough up an L they leave no doubt. Their last three losses, and five of their eight losses on the season, were by double-digits.

The Suns scorched the Pacers from all over the place on Wednesday night and there appeared to be nothing the Pacers could do to stop it. Indiana's league-leading defense gave up a season high 124 points as the Suns followed a familiar formula for beating the Pacers.

It's no secret that the Pacers focus on defending the rim and the three-point line so breaking through in one of those areas will likely lead to a win for any opponent. The Detroit Pistons did their damage around the rim when they surprised the Pacers and cashed in on 20 offensive rebounds.

But the more common problem is a team lighting it up from the perimeter. Atlanta spread the floor with their bigs which helped nullify Roy Hibbert's impact on the defensive end, then knocked down 10 three-pointers to frustrate the Pacers all night.

The Suns followed the same formula but to far greater success on Wednesday night. The starters for Phoenix made 61 percent of their shots, but when you figure in their effort from behind the arc, making 8 of 11 triples, the FG efficiency was 79.5 percent.

Yowza!

It's not easy to win that way which is a big reason the Pacers are still 33-8, but the Suns made the task appear simple last night. David West had some early success making the Suns pay in the paint but tweaked his hand and never got it going again after he eventually returned. Likewise, Hibbert never established a presence down low and battled foul trouble all night, which often happens when opponents make him move away from the rim.

It also didn't help that the Pacers appeared to approach the game like a pick-up game with old friends. Sure, there's a natural human tendency for the players to think they would have a big advantage over Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee, two players who were practice fodder last season. But both of those guys had something for their former teammates. The Pacers lack of winning focus was apparent on a pair of possession out of time outs, normally a strength of this team, when they completely botched the set and had to fire a desperation shot to beat the shot clock.

This sure sets up a nice rematch next week when the Suns visit Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the Pacers first game back home which should definitely have their full attention.

The Pacers still have work to do on the road, though with their next stop on Friday at Sacramento to play a banged-up Kings team. Indiana usually bounces back quite well, but now they need to win both games of a tough back-to-back this weekend to salvage a quality road trip.

Check out the links:

Pacers at Suns - Box score

Game Rewind: Pacers 100, Suns 124 | THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE INDIANA PACERS

Pacers get burned by Green and the Suns, 124-100 - Indy Star

Green, Suns race past Pacers 124-100 - AP

Pacers’ Stephenson will appeal flopping fine - Indy Star

Phoenix Suns author statement win over Indiana Pacers - AZCentral.com

Final Score: Phoenix Suns elevate and detonate on Indiana Pacers, 124-100 - Bright Side Of The Sun

Phoenix Suns take out the trash in 124-100 rout of Indiana Pacers | 8 Points, 9 Seconds

Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins of Sacramento Kings injured against Houston Rockets - ESPN

Roy Hibbert wants nothing to do with this monsterous dunk | For The Win

Indiana Pacers rookie Solomon Hill stays patient - AZCentral.com

TheJayGravesReport.com: Bum Rushed (How the Suns caught the Pacers sleepin' at the light & just unloaded)

NBA - Could making the All-Star team prevent Lance Stephenson from returning to Indiana? - ESPN (Insider)

Kings 98, Rockets 119: Cousins and Gay get hurt as Rockets cruise to victory - Sactown Royalty

My ’14 All-Star starters: Why Roy Hibbert edges Carmelo and more picks explained | The Point Forward - SI.com