Sacramento Kings: Game 21 Preview at Dallas Mavericks
Mar 27, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) dunks the ball against the Dallas Mavericks in the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Kings won 133-111. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY.
The Sacramento Kings travel to take on the Dallas Mavericks on December 7, 2016. This article examines everything Kings fans need to know about tonight’s game.
The Dallas Mavericks and the American Airlines Center play host to the Sacramento Kings tonight. This game ends a long and brutal 6 game road trip where the Kings lost 3 games, had one game postponed, and were victorious in just the opening game against the Brooklyn Nets. The words “Golden 1 Center” never sounded so good to the Kings and their fans.
Without further ado, let us get to the game preview for tonight’s contest at the Dallas Mavericks.
Injuries
The Sacramento Kings’ enter yet another contest tonight with a clean bill of health.
The Mavericks are green with envy at that sentence. The Mavericks are already ruled out future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki with an Achilles injury and their top rated defender, Andrew Bogut with a knee injury. Add in Seth Curry who is questionable with a knee sprain and the Mavericks would do anything for a clean bill of health at this point.
Be sure to check twitter or watch the pregame to see if Curry plays and any other late breaking news that comes down the wire just before tipoff.
Nov 6, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes (40) shoots past Milwaukee Bucks guard Matthew Dellavedova (8) during the first half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Dallas Mavericks’ Scouting Report
The Dallas Mavericks have the 2nd worst record in the NBA at 4 wins and 16 losses. Only the Philadelphia 76ers at 4 wins and 18 losses are a worse team record-wise so far this season.
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Injuries
The team has struggled with injuries all season long. The face of the franchise Dirk Nowitzki has played only 5 games. Point guards Deron Williams, Jose Juan (J.J.) Barea, and Devin Harris have played in a combined 25 of 60 possible games this season. Now, Andrew Bogut has a knee injury that will cause him to miss at least 10 days. Needless to say, the injury bug has plagued the Mavericks big time this season.
Barnes’ Breakout
Harrison Barnes has been the breakout star for Dallas this season. He joined the Mavericks this offseason on a contract for 4 years and $95 million. After being the third, fourth, or fifth option on the Golden State Warriors the last 2 seasons, Barnes has flourished in his new found role as the top scoring option for the Mavericks. Barnes is averaging 20.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.0 3-pointer made, 0.8 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game in 37.5 minutes a night this season. Barnes has been one of the Mavericks few bright spots this season.
A Glimpse and Moving Forward
The Mavericks are fresh off a 109-101 home loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday. Below is a short highlight video from that game to give you a glimpse at the Mavericks’ on-court play this season.
Mark Cuban has some tough decisions to make with the Mavericks’ roster this season. I am interested to see if he and Coach Rick Carlisle decide to blow it up and rebuild with a high draft pick or if they look to plug holes and continue to contend in this season and next. That is something to monitor if you are a Mavericks fan or just a general NBA fan.
Dec 2, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) leans in on Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) during the second half of the Boston Celtics 97-92 win over the Sacramento Kings at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
What to Watch for?
The Domination of DeMarcus
The Andrew Bogut injury leaves the Mavericks scarcely thin on the front line and Kings’ center DeMarcus Cousins is the NBA’s third-leading scorer this season. Not a good combination if you are a Mavericks supporter.
I expect Cousins to come out and dominate the game. He should receive a high volume of shot attempts, points, rebounds, and minutes. That is the recipe for a huge statistical line and the casual NBA followers to take notice.
If you want to see the statistical line I predicted for DeMarcus Cousins or any Kings’ player tonight, then please check out my predicting the box score column found here. It is a fast and fun read, so please check it out. Thank you.
The Emergence of Cauley-Stein?
Kings’ lottery pick, Willie Cauley-Stein, played 23 minutes on Sunday against the Knicks. That was only the second time he received 20 plus minutes all season. Is Cauley-Stein finally earning Coach Joerger’s trust and in line for more minutes?
Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee wrote a great piece, found here, about this very topic.
It seems like it was more of a matchup play against Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis of the Knicks, but tonight’s game should shed more light on the situation. Do not be surprised if Cauley-Stein returns to his usual 12 minutes per game role tonight in Dallas. This just may not be the matchup for him, but only time will tell.
A Kings’ Victory
The Kings’ enter tonight’s game as a 4 point favorite according to ESPN. Sacramento has won 3 of the 4 games they have been favored in this season.
The Kings, also, won 3 of 4 meeting against the Mavericks last season including the final two contests according to Land of Basketball.
Need just a little more convincing? The Mavericks have lost all 4 games Andrew Bogut has sat out this season by a combined 45 points.
The title of this section says it all because all signs really do point to a Sacramento Kings’ victory tonight.
Jan 5, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) and Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) fight for the loose ball during the overtime period at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks defeat the Kings 117-116 in double overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Summary
There you have it, my game preview for tonight’s contest in Dallas against the Mavericks. The Kings should break out of their funk and be fired up to play a struggling Mavericks squad. This Dallas team is ripe for the taking tonight. They struggle big time without Bogut and really have no player that can guard Boogie.
Be sure to watch tonight’s contest, however, is most convenient, so you can witness for yourself what I hope is win number 8 for the Sacramento Kings.
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.