Who: Sacramento Kings vs Charlotte Bobcats
What: NBA Basketball – Kings Home Game
When: 6:00 PM ET
Where: Live at Sleep Train Arena
The Matchup:
| Record | Offensive Efficiency |
Defensive Efficiency |
Pace | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento | 20-40 | 104.6 (18) | 112.2 (30) | 92.9 (9) |
| Charlotte | 13-45 | 100.8 (29) | 111.1 (29) | 91.7 (16) |
Previous Meetings:
2013/01/19 – 97-93
Injuries:
Sacramento: Cole Aldrich (Day-To-Day)
1- STATS: Utah killed Charlotte on the boards on Friday, outrebounding them by a margin of 62 to 24. Any reason to believe they’ll do better against the Kings? What other factors could determine the game?
Greg: Sacramento is the only team worse than the Bobcats in defensive rebounding percentage, so it’s unlikely we’ll see a repeat performance of that disaster (fingers crossed). It’ll likely come down to which team’s defense shows up: the two are dead last in defensive rating, and both are in the bottom three in opponent eFG%. The Kings tend to pick up a lot of fouls, so that could be an avenue for the Bobcats to get some efficient scoring.
2- THOMAS ROBINSON: The Kings recently dealt away rookie Thomas Robinson as part of a package for Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich and Toney Douglas. They sold low on Robinson and arguably lost the trade long-term, but does the swap make them better right now?
Greg: Patrick Patterson was a very solid player for Houston, averaging 12 points, five rebounds and stretching the floor with his three-point shooting (37 percent on two attempts a game). That offensive range could make him a better fit next to DeMarcus Cousins, but the Kings seem to be integrating him slowly. In four games, he’s averaged five points and three rebounds in 16 minutes a game. That’s slightly better than Robinson has performed this year, but to this point the trade has been a wash.
3- PICK IT: Can the Bobcats put Friday’s loss behind them and beat Sacramento?
Greg: The Bobcats lost a close one to the Kings earlier this year, 97-93. That was in the heart of the Hakim Warrick era, though, so the Bobcats are in a marginally better position coming into this one. Isaiah Thomas vs. Kemba Walker should be a fun matchup; if either can get hot, it could decide the game.
The two teams are relatively evenly matched, so it should a pick ‘em. (For what it’s worth, Vegas disagrees — the Kings are currently favored by around seven points.)
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