Obviously the title of this preview is a joke as the Kings and Nets are both looking up at most of the rest of the NBA. The Nets hold the NBA’s worst record by a country-mile at 9-49 and have lost 16 in a row. The Kings are 1-2 since trading DeMarcus Cousins but have seen their offensive efficiency take a nosedive in the last two games.

But the Nets are even worse off than the Kings because they don’t control the fate of their draft pick. That pick is owned by the Boston Celtics, who acquired it in the deal that sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn. The Nets thought they’d be competing for a title, and now they’re at the bottom of the NBA barrel. Let this be a warning to any team attempting to cash in future picks for a short term fix. Oh what’s that you say? Sacramento’s pick in 2019 is completely unprotected and owed to Philadelphia? Why’d you bring that up, this is why nobody invites you anywhere.

On to tonight’s game.

When: 7:30 P.M. PST

Where: Golden 1 Center, CSN-CA and Sports 1140 KHTK

Three Keys

Matchup of the Game

Darren Collison vs. Jeremy Lin

The Nets don’t have a ton of scoring threats but Jeremy Lin might be their most potent while Brook Lopez is their most consistent. The Nets have been without Lin for most of the season due to various injuries. Lin’s a bigger guard who has given the Kings trouble in the past and as evidenced by “Linsanity” can blow up for some big games every now and then. This will be a tough matchup for Darren but he should be able to utilize his quickness on the other end to get by Lin, who isn’t a great defender. I’d also like to see Collison be more aggressive with his three point shot, as he’s the team’s best three point shooter but has taken just 7 total attempts in the three games since Cousins was traded.

Prediction