National Basketball Association

Game 43 Preview: Sacramento Kings at Chicago Bulls

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:39 p.m. ET

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Feb 3, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) grabs a rebound against Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson (22) in the first period at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports

The Sacramento Kings travel to take on the Chicago Bulls tonight. This article provides a preview of that game from a Kings’ perspective.

Tonight’s game will be the second game for Sacramento on their current eight-game road trip. Tonight’s match also will be the first time this campaign where the Kings will be facing off against the team located in the Windy City.

Without further ado, please enjoy the preview of tonight’s contest.

Jan 10, 2017; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay (8) after a play against the Detroit Pistons during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Detroit Pistons 100-94. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Injuries

KANGZ: The player that highlights the injury report for the Kings is Rudy Gay. The starting small forward has been absent from the team due to a ruptured Achilles tendon that he suffered in the Kings’ loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. Without Gay, the Kings will need to look for others to pick up the workload on offense.

Another injury within the Kings’ roster is Omri Casspi who is expected to be sidelined for a couple of weeks due to a calf injury. With another small forward down for the Kings, Matt Barnes is the only legit three on the roster. In order to add balance to the depth chart, players like Garrett Temple, Arron Afflalo, and Anthony Tolliver could see some time playing small forward for the Kings going forward.

BULLS: For Chicago, only Taj Gibson (ankle) and Nikola Mirotic (illness) have suffered injuries in the last week. However, both players were able to play Friday night (Bulls’ most recent game) against the Atlanta Hawks.

Jan 20, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Dave Joerger during the first quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

What Needs To Happen?

Two things come to mind for the Kings to win tonight’s game: All-around scoring and perimeter defense.

The Kings will be facing a Bulls team tonight that is ranked 6th in the NBA in points allowed per game (101.4). Without Rudy Gay and Omri Casspi for the Kings, they are going to need players not named DeMarcus Cousins to have solid offensive outings. Players like Darren Collison and Ty Lawson should be those players due to their past production and current abilities to do so.

Arron Afflalo is another player to look at for scoring production as well. His season with Sacramento hasn’t fared well so far, but he has proven he can be an efficient scoring for an NBA team, and maybe with an increase in reps, he can find more rhythm with his jump shot.

In terms of defense, the Kings really need to buckle up as a collective whole. Especially from the perimeter area, the Kings have been poor in defending the three-point shot as they are ranked 27th among their peers in that category.

Although defending the three has been a struggle for Sacramento, they are going up against a team in Chicago who is statistically the worst three-point shooting team in the NBA. If the Kings can defend the three well tonight, it would help immensely in how the defense performs.

Dec 18, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins (15) falls into a camera man during the second half of the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks defeat the Kings 99-79. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Final Thoughts

The Kings are in a rut. The team has lost four straight games and is gradually losing ground in the playoff race. A win tonight would help astronomically in helping the team get back on track for the rest of their road trip.

Fortunately for Sacramento, the last couple of games for Chicago haven’t been pretty either. Losers of two straight games, the Bulls are looking to bounce back as well, especially after Dwyane Wade issued a public apology to his fans for the team’s poor play.

Both teams are entering the United Center tonight in ruts, but one team has the opportunity to get out of it. Who will it be?

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