Don't forget that the last time the Kings visited Portland, John Salmons was an inch away from a win. Portland's good, the Kings are bad. But this is the NBA. (And hey, the Clips won in PDX last week.)

Terry Porter will have his jersey retired tonight; Geoff Petrie will surely make the trip north to pay tribute. Brandon Roy has a bum finger but will likely play. Also, Travis Outlaw apparently sprained his ass or something. (See previous link.) Perhaps Donté Greene can give it a little kick to make it worse.

Portland boasts the league's #2 offense (!) and a statistically baaad defense (#23). The Kings, as you well know, are bad everywhere (#22 offense, #28 defense). It won't look like a shoot-out on T.V. (the Blazers played at the league's slowest pace, and the Kings are basically chameleons who play like the opponent), but a few stops will likely dictate the game. Let's hope those stops come in the fourth quarter at the hands of Salmons and Garcia … and not in the first quarter at the hands of Roy and Oden.

The Undefeated Kenny Natt won't shake up the line-up, obviously. But truth be told, a Mikki Moore/Spencer Hawes frontline would be nice here. Moore's strength is defending perimeter-oriented bigs (like LaMarcus Aldridge). Hawes handled Oden last time out, and can draw the big fella away from the basket. Again, Miller's not getting benched … especially not after a 14/10-in-25-minutes night. But perhaps Natt can look to this set of matchups early on, or in the second quarter (pending Pryzpocalypse).

Oh, and (ahem) DEFEND THE THREE-POINT LINE!

Game's at 7. Let's go Kings.