National Basketball Association

Sacramento Kings: Game 45 Preview at Cleveland Cavaliers

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:18 p.m. ET

Fansided, Tyler Watts/FanSided via A Royal Pain

Jan 13, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) gets fouled by Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyle Korver (26) during the second half at Golden 1 Center. The Cavaliers defeated the Kings 120-108. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

The Sacramento Kings travel to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 25, 2017. This article provides a preview of that game from a Kings’ perspective.

The Sacramento Kings head to the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland tonight to take on the Cavaliers. This is the second and final meeting between the teams this regular season. The Kings were defeated 120-108 by the Cavaliers on January 13th of this year. Below is a highlight video from that game to refresh your memory on what happened.

Without further ado, below is the preview of tonight’s game between the Sacramento Kings and the defending NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jan 13, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay (8) dribbles the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) during the second half at Golden 1 Center. The Cavaliers defeated the Kings 120-108. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Injuries

Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings look to be without three players for tonight’s game.

Omri Casspi is still listed as out with his calf injury. He should be ready to return in near future, so keep your eyes peeled for an update on his status.

Georgios Papagiannis was assigned to the D-League on Tuesday. The Kings play five games in the next seven days so they have no practices. That means Papagiannis would see no game action or practice time for a week. He is better served playing and practicing with the Reno Bighorns until that week is over.

The third player the Kings are without tonight is Rudy Gay. Gay had successful surgery on Monday and is beginning the long rehabilitation process an Achilles injury requires. He sent out a message on Instagram about people following his journey through the recovery process, so hopefully, Gay makes it back better than ever.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers only have one man listed on their injury report. J.R. Smith fractured his right thumb on December 20th and still appears a distance from returning to the court according to Cleveland.com. J.R. Smith could be a key piece in the playoffs for Cleveland so this will be an interesting story to follow as the second half of the season progresses.

Stay Alert

As always, be sure to check for any late breaking news and last minutes updates before tipoff. Injuries can crop up at any time, so watching the pregame show or giving twitter a quick check two minutes before tipoff is always helpful.

Jan 13, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the second half against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. The Cavaliers defeated the Kings 120-108. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Cleveland Cavaliers’ Scouting Report

If there is a good time to catch the Cleveland Cavaliers this may be it. The defending NBA Champions have lost two straight games, three of their last four, and five of their last seven contests. That is about as bad as it gets for this team.

Overall, the Cavaliers enter with a record of 30 wins and 13 losses. That sits them in first place in the Eastern Conference and three games ahead of the Toronto Raptors for the best record in the East.

Cleveland has been marvelous at home this season. They enter tonight’s game with a record of 19 wins and 4 losses at home. They also have the third highest plus/minus in the NBA at home this season. This is a deadly team at home meaning the Kings have their work cut out for them tonight in Cleveland.

Last time out, the Cavaliers were defeated by the Pelicans 124-122 in New Orleans. Kyrie Irving scored 49 points, but it was not enough to claim the victory on Monday. Below is a highlight video from that contest to give you a glimpse at Cleveland’s most recent form.

LeBron James is perhaps the best basketball player on the planet earth, but Cavaliers fans should be monitoring what could become a disturbing trend. James has played enormous minutes in each of his 14 NBA seasons and rightfully so. It is difficult to take that type of player off the floor especially when he is demanding to play.

LeBron James is now 32 years old and eventually, father time catches up to everyone. Kobe Bryant was able to play enormous minutes and stay relatively healthy until his 17th season in the NBA. In the last 3 years of his career, he played 107 games combined. LeBron probably still has 2-3 more years of being a plow horse, but be on the lookout for a minutes reduction or inevitable injury for Mister James as he ages.

What to Watch for Tonight

Boogie Battles Love

DeMarcus Cousins handled Tristan Thompson in the last meeting, so I suspect Kevin Love will draw the assignment of guarding Cousins from the opening tip tonight. Love’s advanced stats rate him as a solid defender every year, but defending Cousins is a different animal. Do not be surprised to see a heavy dose of DeMarcus Cousins tonight in Cleveland.

If you want to see what statistical line I predicted for Boogie or any other Kings’ player then check out my predicting the box score column found here. It is a fast read that is heavily researched, so please give it a look. Thank you.

Defending the Big Three

More from A Royal Pain

Last time out, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love scored 57 combined points against the Kings. That sounds okay, but the 21 assists they produced helped the Cavaliers blow the game open. The Kings need to do a better job of forcing the big three Cavs into bad shots and bad decisions with the ball.

Life will be made tougher without Rudy Gay tonight. Gay manned up on LeBron James most of the last meeting, so Garrett Temple, Matt Barnes, and the rest of the Kings’ wing players will need to step up and defend King James tonight.

Breaking the Streaks

I wrote about the many losing streaks the Kings needed to break in the last game preview and low and behold the Kings did it, so I figured I would go back to well today.

The Kings have lost four straight games to the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to Land of Basketball, Sacramento hasn’t defeated Cleveland since January 11, 2015. Over two years since their last victory against Cleveland.

The losing streak in Cleveland has reached three games for the Kings. They have not won a game in Cleveland since January 2, 2013. They only play them once a year in Cleveland, but over four years is too long to wait for a win in any city, so let us hope the Kings can end these losing streaks tonight against the Cavaliers.

Jan 13, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Ty Lawson (10) dribbles past Cleveland Cavaliers guard DeAndre Liggins (14) during the second half at Golden 1 Center. The Cavaliers defeated the Kings 120-108. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Summary

There you have it, my game preview for tonight’s contest between the Sacramento Kings and the defending NBA Champions. The Cavaliers will look to jump out to a sizable lead early and regain their swagger after their recent struggles. If the Kings can play a great first quarter and gain the advantage they should have a chance to defeat the Cavaliers. It is easier said than done, but here is to hoping the Kings can make it reality tonight in Cleveland.

Be sure to check back to A Royal Pain for postgame content and any information you want to know about the Sacramento Kings this season. Thank you for reading.