Sacramento Kings: Game 20 Preview at New York Knicks

Dec 10, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) on a reverse ahead of New York Knicks guard Sasha Vujacic (18) during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the New York Knicks 99-97. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Sacramento Kings travel to take on the New York Knicks on December 4, 2016.  This article examines everything Kings fans need to know about tonight’s game.

Tonight, the Sacramento Kings travel to the world’s most famous arena Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks.  The Kings enter on a two-game losing streak and in desperate need of a win to get back on track.

This is a decent matchup for the Kings, so without further ado, let us get to the preview for tonight’s contest against the New York Knicks.

Injuries

The Kings enter yet another game with a clean bill of health.  Big kudos to the medical and training staff so far this season because the Kings have had a shockingly low number of injuries.

Be sure to check twitter or watch the pregame show to get any late breaking news on injuries.

For the Knicks, they have two key rotation players questionable for tonight’s contest.  Joakim Noah and Courtney Lee both have ankle injuries that are putting their status in jeopardy.  Be sure to check out if these two are suiting up for the opposition just before tipoff.

Mar 24, 2016; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) and forward Carmelo Anthony (7) laugh on the court during second half time out against the Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks won 106-94. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

New York Knicks’ Scouting Report

The Knicks enter tonight’s game with a record of 10 wins and 9 losses.  They are currently in playoff position in the Eastern Conference.  Couple that with a record of 8 wins and 3 losses at home and tonight’s game should be a tough victory for the Kings to secure.

The Knicks are coming off a home and home sweep of the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Below is a highlight video from Friday’s 118-114 home win for the Knicks, so you can see the team in action.

The Knicks are led in scoring again by Carmelo Anthony this season.  Anthony is a 9 time NBA All-Star and has made the All-NBA team 6 times.  You know about Carmelo, so I am going to move on to the player who gets me out of my seat most for the Knicks this season.

Kristaps Porzingis is slowly blossoming into one of the league’s truly dominant forces.  He is just 21 years old and is 7 foot 3 inches tall.  Did I mention he is making 2.3 3-pointers per game? Oh, I forgot that sorry.  Throw in, 20.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.6 blocks in his 34.2 minutes per game to complete his stat line.  This guy can do everything and is a joy to watch, so take a few minutes to behold his greatest tonight while you cheer on the Kings.

Feb 25, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay (8) and center DeMarcus Cousins (15) argue a call with the referee during the second quarter of the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

What to Watch for?

DeMarcus Cousins: Man or Beast?

Be prepared.  Look alert.  DeMarcus Cousins is going to go nuts against the New York Knicks tonight.  If Joakim Noah suits up or not, it is not going to matter because DeMarcus is going to come to the Big Apple and destroy this Knicks’ defense.

I wrote a great deal about this topic and predicted the statistical line for every Kings’ player in tonight’s game in predicting the box score column found here.  Please check it out and enjoy.  Thank you.

Rudy Gay versus Carmelo Anthony

More from A Royal Pain

    The head-to-head matchup of the night is Rudy Gay against Carmelo Anthony.  These two gentlemen are no stranger to one another.  I am excited about this matchup because I think Gay can hold Anthony’s scoring down slightly tonight.  That will be a big key to Kings winning tonight’s contest.

    Rudy Gay is pacing for a very good defensive season by advanced metrics this year.  He is currently sitting at positive 0.4 defensive box score plus/minus and 0.6 defensive win shares this season.  Those are both above average numbers.  He will need to bring his A game tonight to hold down Anthony and lead the Kings to victory.

    Finding the Winning Formula

    The Kings are struggling this season no matter how you look at it.  They are on a two-game losing streak.  If you look at their last 10 games, the Kings have just 3 wins.  Their road record is 3 wins in 10 away games.  No matter the stat this does not look like a win for the Kings, but that is usually when the Kings usually muster up a little extra and pull one out.  Nothing, but pure speculation here, but I am thinking the Kings pull out a win in Madison Square Garden tonight.

    What is worth watching for is to see if Coach Joerger decides to mix things up a little bit with the rotation or maybe throws in some Ben McLemore or Anthony Tolliver for a different lineup.  No guarantees here, but an educated guess that Joerger may be looking for a spark in tonight’s game.

    Dec 10, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) controls the ball against Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay (8) during the first quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

    Summary

    There you have it, my preview of tonight’s game against the New York Knicks.  It should be a fun game and the Knicks are a very watchable team.  They score and give up a lot of points, feature star power in their rotation, and have the many exciting storylines that come with playing in New York.  Please tune in and cheer on the Kings to victory tonight.

    Be sure to check back to A Royal Pain for the game recap and everything you need to know about the Kings this season.  Thank you for reading.

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