SAC @ GSW 1/8/10

PreThoughts
Ahh, the Sacramento Kings. Our homely, purply, neighbors up north. Doesn't it seem like the NBA has some franchises way out in the hinterlands? Aside from the stunning fact that San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the US, Sacramento (37th), Oklahoma City (31st), Memphis (19th), Portland (29th), Indianapolis (14th), and Salt Lake City (136th!), certainly subjectively seem like smallish markets, probably for the lack of another pro franchise, even if they are not actually that small after all, and draw their fans from their entire state or multi-state area. Alas, four of these six teams are in the red, and it's just a matter of time (or crime) before those fratty Maloofs (Malooves?) sell or move.

The Kings have taken some rough losses of late, ceding six of their last seven to good teams, but they should be well-rested tonight and ready to fight at Oracle. There have been some epic scoring salvos between these teams over the last few years, and though this Kings team is quite different internally from last year's, they still score a lot and allow even more. There should be no excuses: Sacramento does not defend three-pointers and shoots free-throws poorly. If the Ws can get their steals, hit a few threes and trade a few dunks for hard fouls, a win should be in order.

As for the players, Tyreke Evans is roughly congruent to Monta Ellis, statistically, and while they both make scads of unforced errors, Ellis' turnovers are the result of doing too much, while Evans is just straight up unrefined. Jason Thompson may some day be a good player, but his ceiling, unlike Anthony Randolph's, is already well-established. Spencer Hawes is on his way to becoming the next Troy Murphy, and Omri Casspi has been playing excellent basketball and is averaging 40 minutes per over his last five games. The Kings strike me as strong and rugged, but most of all young, and less gravely so than the Warriors, what with Stephen-Curry-As-Basketball-Legatee and the prodigal, mercurial Randolph. Until this losing streak, and possibly even still, the Kings have been one of the surprises of the league.

This is a very meaningful game for the Warriors. It's the start of a homestand after a shaky but undeniable road win, against a beatable, nominal rival. I think we're in for some good basketball, Worriers.

Warrior to Watch: Ronny Turiaf, who needs to challenge Thompson, Evans and Greene for 25 hearty minutes.
King to Watch: Beno Udrih, who is quietly having a very efficient year.