Game Tips at 10:30 pm ET
Detroit Pistons: 20-35 (6-19 road)
Sacramento Kings: 18-28 (13-13 home)
Oppo Research
Believe it or not, the powers that be have decided not to televise this one nationally. The Kings were a major player at the trade deadline, though they didn't get nearly as much as they could have for their combination of Kevin Martin and expiring picks.
That said, they do have Carl Landry, and have the minutes available to put him to full use. A combination of rookie of the year shoo-in Tyreke Evans, Landry and overrated Rookie Omri Casspi form a pretty solid core out of what used to be an utter mess of a roster.
More importantly, the new lineup eliminates a duplication of talent that was hobbling the Kings. Sacramento is now pretty evenly talented, if unimpressive. The team remains middling across the board, but now has more defined holes to fill.
Keys for Detroit
Get to the line -- Jason Thompson averages a staggering four fouls per game. Kudos to the Kings for not obsessing over the issue. Shame on Detroit if it doesn't take advantage.
Embrace the trinity -- Contrary to popular opinion, Stuckey, Gordon and Hamilton can each have a good game. But it takes some work. I don't know what kind of work that is, but the Pistons should do that work again. Wasn't that some helpful analysis?
Play Daye - It's an odd bag of cats that he isn't getting minutes. What, really, is the difference between him and Casspi? Playoffs are off the table, so let's develop the future.
Question of the Game
Can the guards play in sync again? If so, that bodes well for the future.
Valuable Links
Don't back down against Sactown Royalty.