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Sacramento Kings: Game 12 Preview vs San Antonio Spurs

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:07 p.m. ET

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Oct 27, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) during the game against the San Antonio Spurs at Golden 1 Center. The Spurs won the game 102-94. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

The Sacramento Kings host the San Antonio Spurs on November 16, 2016.  This article examines everything Kings fans need to know about tonight’s game.

The Sacramento Kings and the Golden 1 Center play host to the San Antonio Spurs tonight.  This is the second meeting already this season between the two teams.  San Antonio came to Sacramento and walked away victorious 102-94 on October 27th.  Below is a highlight video to jog your memory of that game.

Without further ado, let us jump into the preview of tonight’s contest against those pesky San Antonio Spurs.

Nov 1, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach David Joerger reacts in the game against the Miami Heat during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Injuries

The Sacramento Kings have had some remarkable health this season.  The Kings enter tonight’s contest again with no reported injuries .  Let us hope that trend continues and the Kings stay injury free leading up to and in tonight’s contest.

Be sure to check just before tip-off to make sure no late breaking news pops up.

Oct 27, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) controls the ball Sacramento Kings guard Arron Afflalo (40) during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. The Spurs won the game 102-94. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

San Antonio Spurs’ Scouting Report

The San Antonio Spurs are again part of the cream of the Western Conference crop.  They enter with a record of 8 wins and 3 losses this season.  Surprisingly, their road record is 5 wins and 0 losses.  The Spurs are once again one of the NBA’s elite squads.

Kawhi Leonard looks to have taken another step forward this season.  He has always been a lock down defender, but this season his offensive game has improved.  Leonard is averaging 25.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.3 steals, 0.5 blocks, and 1.9 three-pointers made per game this season in 11 contents.  Leonard looks poised for a gigantic year for San Antonio.

In case you missed it, Tim Duncan retired this offseason and the Spurs added Pau Gasol to fill his role.  Gasol struggled to mesh with the team early on but has turned it around in the last three games.  Expect Gasol to play well with the Spurs and be another cog in their machine.  Below is a short highlight video of Pau dropping 21 points on the Pistons earlier this season.

Coach Gregg Popovich will definitely have his Spurs ready and fired up for tonight’s game in Sacramento.  It is worth mentioning that starters Pau Gasol and Danny Green are questionable for tonight’s contest and reserve big man Dewayne Dedmon is already ruled out.  Coach Popovich will have something up his sleeve, so expect a great game regardless of who suits up in black and gray.

Oct 27, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) during the game against the San Antonio Spurs at Golden 1 Center. The Spurs won the game 102-94. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

What to Watch for?

DeMarcus Cousins Explosion

DeMarcus Cousins had his best game of the season against the Spurs earlier this season.  Boogie dropped 37 points and 16 rebounds on the Spurs in that game.  I am predicting another big night from Cousins.  If you want to see how big, check out my predicting the box score column found here.  Thank you for reading.

The Demise of Ty Lawson

I can remember a time not that many years ago where Ty Lawson was leading the league in assists and starring for the Denver Nuggets.  Flash forward to today and Lawson looks like a shell of his former self.  Lawson has produced just 7 total assists in his last 3 games.  He has knocked down just 4 of his last 25 shots from the field.  I could keep going, but I think you get the point.

Is this the new Ty Lawson or will he rebound from this bad stretch of games?  Coach Joerger has decided to give Collison the lion share of the minutes the last few games despite Lawson starting.  I will be monitoring Lawson’s play over the next few games very closely.  If he doesn’t show something in a hurry, he may find himself losing his starting gig and even more minutes to Darren Collison.

The Kawhi Leonard Effect

Kawhi Leonard is known for shutting down his man and limiting his production.  He held Rudy Gay to 3 of 10 shooting from the field last game, but Gay still produced a relatively adequate stat line of 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.  It will be worth monitoring if Kawhi can put the clamps on Rudy tonight and hold him way down or if Gay overcomes Leonard’s defense.

Summary

There you have it, the game preview for Wednesday, November 16, 2016’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.  The Kings enter as a 6 point underdog with an over/under of 196.  The Kings are at home and played San Antonio tough last time in the Golden 1 Center.

Here is to hoping, the Kings come out fired up and knock off the Spurs in front of their home crowd.  Get out to the Golden 1 Center if possible and cheer on the Kings.  It should be an exciting game against an elite team no matter the result.

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

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