The Kings have won three of four, including a thrilling overtime win over the Mavericks on Monday, 122-120. John Salmons hit the game winner with 2.4 seconds left. Kevin Martin scored 39 points in his second game since returning from injury.
Starting 5:
Mike Bibby/Jose Calderon
Kevin Martin/Anthony Parker
Ron Artest/Jamario Moon
Mikki Moore/Chris Bosh
Brad Miller/Andrea Bargnani
Key Match ups:
Ron Artest has always enjoyed playing against the Raptors. In 21 career games Artest averages 15.8 ppg and 5.2 rpg. It will be interesting to see if Artest can play extended minutes tonight, but if he can’t then John Salmons will step up in his place. Salmons is having a career year, averaging 17.3 ppg and 4.9 rpg. Jamario Moon will get the call to guard either of these small forwards. Moon’s quickness and length should make scoring difficult.
Game Notes:
Kings point guard Mike Bibby and forward Ron Artest are planning to make their return to the line up tonight against the Raptors. Bibby has yet to play this season because of a injured thumb. Artest has missed the last 9 games from surgery to his right elbow; both Bibby and Artest’s names have been thrown around in trade talks lately; the Kings are 4-12 on the road this season.
Technorati Tags: , Andrea Bargnani, Anthony Parker, Chris Bosh, Dallas Mavericks, John Salmons, Jose Calderon, Kevin Martin, Mike Bibby, Ron Artest, Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors
January 16th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Do you believe Bibby and Artest make their return us???! Do we ever catch a break?
January 16th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Jamario Moon for MVP!!
http://www.jamariomoonshine.com
January 16th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
dude, i am with you on that. i want artest badly, hopefully he shows bc something that he likes, and we trade juan dixon, darrick martin and maceo baston for the guy.
January 16th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I will be at this game tonight. Hopefully the Raps can rebound tonight. Also looking forward to getting my hands on the Chuck is Canadian Tshirt. Would be nice if the raps can put together a 3 game win streak so they have a little confidence before they meet boston the time.
January 16th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
what the F? why does Artest and Bibby have to return on the road in Toronto? hopefully they dont play big minutes because both guys play well against the Raps.
I like Artest a lot too Rapsfan, but there is always that big locker room cancer issue. If he got his head on straight, which he has been this year, then he could be an elite player in the NBA. Bibby probably will get traded before the deadline. Cleveland seems most likely.
January 16th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Bibby will be playing.
Stop Martin, you stop the Kings.
nice site, will add you to my blog roll. I am also heavy on raptor posts.
January 16th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
do you have alterior (read evil) motives for wanting a chuck tshirt, or do you really want one? just curious…
like i said before juddi, id risk artests sociopathic behaviour for his game. this is probably why peddie is considering my resume for gm of the leafs.
i’m actually not too worried about the kings. they are in my bucket of should/will win games. cuzzy is right, stop martin, and the rest will work itself out.
January 16th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Artest and Bibby are playing.
Wait! Maybe they will be rusty?
January 16th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Hopefully Bosh and co. won’t complain about being tired tonight. I mean common! The Blazers played the next night and blow out Jersey. Fatigue is certainly an issue if you are playing 4 in 5- not when you have a day’s rest, and especially when you don’t even practice. This lack of condition on the part of the Raps baffles me. Stupid pansies.
January 16th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
they should be good tonight. they also have a back to back on friday/saturday. i will forgive them for being tired saturday, not tonight. they are pansies tho.
January 16th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Thas was a decent 1st 1/2. Glad to see Bargs doing better (am glad to be proved wrong, and have my idiotic idea to IR him blow up in my face).
Wasn’t too happy with Calderon though. Yes he got slapped and shoved a lot (no calls), but his “D” still leaves a lot to be desired.
January 16th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Bargs has been getting quite of bit of lip from the media about his play as of late. i’ll defend him by saying that he is young and still developing to the NBA game, but he still needs to be better. the raps are ahead of schedule and it may take bargs 2 years before he shows his true skill.