The Kings are mired in a big slump since DeMarcus Cousins has been gone but even still they have to find ways to win, especially at home. Tonight is yet another winnable game as the 4-19 Detroit Pistons come into town. Detroit is fresh off a victory and is fully healthy for the first time all year but with one of the league's worst offenses the Kings can't afford to lose on their home court. Tonight's action tips off at 7:00 pm on Comcast SportsNet California and on KHTK 1140.
3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR
1. The Pistons really struggle to score the ball, ranking 29th in offensive rating. Part of that is due to their very inefficient shooting, as they're just 30th in FG%. You might think the Pistons aren't a great three point shooting team, but they actually shoot the long ball quite a bit, which if you think about it, makes sense for a Stan Van Gundy team. They're 10th in the league in three point attempts and 13th in makes, and they're going to be even better now that Jodie Meeks is back from injury.
2. Detroit has a lot of size in their front line with Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe and Josh Smith and that leads to a lot of shot opportunities in the paint. Sacramento has had trouble keeping teams out of the paint and off the boards with Cousins gone and Detroit is going to be a big problem in that regard. The Pistons are 2nd in the league in offensive rebounds and aside from Reggie Evans, the Kings don't exactly have a bunch of great rebounding bigs. Jason Thompson is good but Carl Landry and Ryan Hollins are subpar.
3. Turnovers have been absolutely killing the Kings lately. The Kings average just 13.7 turnovers in their wins but 17.1 in their losses. Michael Malone has said it a lot recently, but the Kings can't continue to beat themselves, especially when so many of these turnovers are unforced.
MATCHUP OF THE GAME
Greg Monroe vs. Jason Thompson
The Pistons don't have a reliable go-to guy, which is why Josh Smith takes as many shots as he does, but Greg Monroe is a very effective post player. He's got great size, great hands and opens things up for other players. Jason Thompson has been very effective guarding opposing bigs, and slowing down Monroe will likely be his duty tonight. Monroe isn't known for his defensive skills so Jason could look to get some offense going tonight. Personally, with Cousins out, I wouldn't mind the Kings using Thompson in the low post a lot more than they have been.
PREGAME LIMERICK
Stan Van Gundy went to Kinko's
when he realized the Maloofs were zeroes.
Was probably a good bet,
but we don't forget,
and this game we'll make our free throws.
PREDICTION
Kings 101.4, Detroit 93.3 because that's each team's season averages and I'm hedging my bets.