2011-12 NBA Regular Season
4-20	vs	8-15
February 6th, 2012
New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
6:00 PM CST
TV: CST, NBALP
Probable starters:
Greivis Vasquez	<	Tyreke Evans
Marco Belinelli	<	Marcus Thornton
Trevor Ariza	=	John Salmons
Gustavo Ayon	=	Jason Thompson
Emeka Okafor	>	DeMarcus Cousins

Your Pregame Moment of Zen

What's Good With the Kings?

Joining us today is SBNation lead editor and fruit snack connoisseur, Tom Ziller. Check out Sactown Royalty for all your Marcus Thornton needs.

The Kings go hard in the paint. Many feel DeMarcus Cousins has been the team's best player (21-20 against the Warriors wasn't a surprise to anyone), Tyreke Evans has looked much more like the rookie version that got to the rim as frequently as LeBron (though not quite consistent enough) and Jason Thompson has been quite a solid weapon in a limited role. Even Marcus Thornton's best work comes driving the lane. The team has been mostly bad defending the paint until the last few games; after Denver dropped a record 93 points in the paint two weeks ago, the team has emphasized that area and packed the lane to prevent layup lines.

What's Bad With the Kings?

Ziller again:

But the Kings can't shoot, the ball movement is improving but still poor, the team's defensive rotations are uneven, the bench is wildly overmatched against most opponents, and Evans just can't get anything going once every couple of games. Small forward is a nightmare for the Kings; the only decent solution fans have suggested is pulling John Salmons and moving our point guard, Evans, to the three. That is not a decent solution. But the other options are Donte Greene, Francisco Garcia, Travis Outlaw and a rookie Tyler Honeycutt. The position is a nightmare.

Notes

- Chris Kaman was back with the Hornets for their Detroit trip, and the odds seem pretty good he'll get on the floor tonight. But! There's still a chance Gustavo Ayon starts, which, needless to say, would be awesome.

- Sacramento is the worst defensive rebounding team in the league. No Carl Landry tonight, but if Okafor, Ayon, and Kaman can work on the offensive glass, New Orleans could see some results there. As it stands, the Hornets are the league's 11th best offensive rebounding team.

- Go Hornets.