The Kings have walked out of their homestand with a 5-1 record and right into a buzzsaw. Out on the road for their final game before the nice long week break to accommodate All-Star Weekend, the Kings will have to force themselves not to look down the road at some much needed rest and take care of the Denver Nuggets, the second best team in the Western Conference. Any win that the Kings can pick up against competition they should lose to, helps keep their grasp on the eighth seed in the Western Conference; a race that will most certainly be determined in the final few games. Come for the possible return of Isaiah Thomas, stay for De’Aaron Fox banishing him back to the bench forever.

Let’s talk Kings basketball!

When: Wednesday, February 13th, 6 PM PST

Where: Pepsi Center, Denver CO

TV: NBCSCA

Radio: KHTK Sports 1140 AM

For Your Consideration

The Nuggets come into Wednesday night’s game twenty full games above .500, the owners of a 38-18 record and with some fairly significant time missed from some of their core pieces as well. Led by former Sacramento Kings coach Mike Malone, the Nuggets play at a deliberate pace (3rd slowest in the league) and will grind you down with ball movement, facilitated by the best passing big man in the league today Harry Giles Nikola Jokic. Scoring at exactly middle of the pack in the NBA at 111.8 points per contest, the Nuggets are carried by some evenly distributed scoring; 7 players average between 10 and 18 points for the Nuggets, with only Jokic averaging more at 20.4 points a game.

There are some issues that might arise for the Kings Wednesday night when they come rolling into the Pepsi Center. For one, the Nuggets rarely make mistakes; they’ve got the 5th least amount of turnovers per game this season, and the 6th least amount of player fouls. This is bolstered even further when you consider that the the Nuggets are a Top 3 team in the league in assists. They’re dropping dimes left and right, but seemingly no one but another Nugget is picking them up. The Kings will be hard pressed for extra opportunities tonight, so any extra possessions or free points that they can pressure the Nuggets into will be considered a win. The Nuggets are also in the top 10 in both two point and three point shooting percentage, so the Kings can sacrifice one area for another; hedging too far into the paint or straddling the three point line means the Nuggets take full advantage. I think we all know that the the cog in the Nuggets wheel is Nikola Jokic. The man is averaging 20 points, 10 rebounds and 7.7 assists and is doing it like the old man that smokes fools at The Y every Thursday afternoon becomes when you give him a super-soldier serum and shoot him full of beta radiation. Contain him, and you’ve got a really solid chance. Good thing our style of play benefits from high altitudes and our starting center revels in the chance at new and difficult challenges!

#Lensface

Prediction

Willie Cauley-Stein drops a triple double on Jokic’s dome. 15-12 and 10 assists with 4 blocks to boot. De’Aaron Fox drops Nugget point guard after Nugget point guard off the edge of the Rockies and Marvin Bagley III posterizes his future 1.0 comparison, Paul Millsap.

Kings 110, Nuggets 107