The Philadelphia 76ers have a legitimate chance to take a win over the Sacramento Kings in their final game before the All-Star break.
Sacramento Kings (21-31) @ Philadelphia 76ers (8-44), 7pm Wells Fargo Center
Coming off of a tough overtime loss against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, the Philadelphia 76ers are looking to go into the All-Star break with a win over the Sacramento Kings. While the Sixers process and embarrassing play on the court was highly criticized at the beginning of this season, the Kings have all of a sudden come to the forefront of criticism with how they’re attempting to get their team to a competitive level.
Although the Kings have a much better record than the Sixers, you would be crazy to say that they’re the large favorites for Wednesday night’s game. The Kings are 2-8 in their last 10 games, after going 7-3 in the 10 games prior to that. Most recently they’re coming off of a 20-point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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After those awful 10 games, it was rumored that the Kings were looking to fire their head coach George Karl, who has been known to criticize the Sixers and the way they play, only to get beaten (and even blown out) shortly after the criticism of the team. Karl looked to be on his way out of the Kings’ franchise, but another report that came out on Tuesday reported the Kings were thinking more about it and Karl’s job was–at least temporarily–safe.
The last time these two teams met, the Sixers won on the Kings’ front court 110-105. 7-foot rookie Willie Cauley-Stein was out with a finger injury in that game, and DeMarcus Cousins was left with the task of carrying the team. The Sixers were riding high off of the momentum they got from trading for point guard Ish Smith. That infatuation stage with Smith is done, but he’s still playing well and putting up high numbers for himself and his teammates. Cauley-Stein will be back for Wednesday night’s game.
This will be a matchup of the bigs. Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel will have to take on All-Star DeMarcus Cousins and Willie Cauley-Stein with force, and win the points in the paint matchup. Additionally, the Sixers will need to attack quick-moving point guard Rajon Rondo and his fast break abilities with Ish Smith. So this game could easily boil down to points in the paint and fast break points. Rondo is shooting 45 percent from the field so far this year and scoring just under 12 points per game, while dishing out nearly 12 assists per game as well.
Rudy Gay is another player to keep an eye on, as he’s been playing well throughout this season. Per game he is putting up 17.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists.
Prediction
This game will be a close one. Both teams desperately want wins. The Kings want to end their slump and go into the All-Star break on a high note, and the Sixers want to keep their relatively decent past games going.
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Where to catch the game
- CSN Philly will broadcast the game
- 97.5 has the radio call
- NBA League Pass is available for out-of-market viewers