Sacramento Kings Weekly: Back Into Last Place
The Sacramento Kings had a terrible week in every way this last week. First they had just finished up a six game road trip with a 2-4 record, this after winning three straight at home. The only two wins they had were against the two teams with a record under .500. Needless to say it was not the road trip the Kings had imagined after they thought they had some momentum. Second, on Wednesday January 22nd in Houston the Kings lost both DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay to injuries during the game against the Rockets. Cousins has a sprained left ankle and so far has missed the last three games. Gay was diagnosed with a strained left Achilles tendon, and he also has missed the last three games. It looks like Gay will be back sooner than Cousins, as Gay traveled with the team to Utah but Cousins did not. However, both players should be back sooner rather than later, which is great news for the Kings. The last reason it was not a good week was the loss last night to the last place Utah Jazz, and with the loss the Kings are now have the worst record in the West. Yes it was in Utah and yes the Kings were without Cousins and Gay, but these are still games the Kings should be winning if they want to change the culture. Therefore, let’s look at the week that was game by game.
The Week That Was
Tuesday January 21 at New Orleans Pelicans
This game was all over after the first quarter, when the Kings scored 38 points and had an 18 points lead. The Pelicans tried to make a comeback, but the Kings held them to only 14 third quarter points winning 114-97. Rudy Gay was absolutely incredible in this game, he shot 16-25 from the field and hit 5-8 from downtown for 41 points. Furthermore, he had eight rebounds and five assists; again since the trade he has been great for the Kings. Of course Cousins and Isaiah Thomas had their usual games of a double-double with at least 18 points. This win gave the Kings a chance to get to .500 on the road trip with a win in Houston the following day.