It’s Thanksgiving Eve and I know you all are planning that last second rush to the store after work for an extra box of stuffing, another carton of heavy whipping cream, another 36 pack to dig into after your Warriors/Lakers fan chimera of a cousin starts saying he thinks Chris Paul and Blake Griffin won’t be effective in the playoffs against “Tony Davis” and “King James” – you know, all the essentials. While you’re our rushing around grabbing your various means of distraction, remember: the Kings are playing and your cousin is an idiot.

Yes, the Kings are in Philly to get their last 48 minutes of basketball on this road trip before heading home to the loving embrace of the Golden 1 Center. Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Al Horford and some center who went 0-11 from the field and scored 0 points with 5 fouls in his last game. No, not Willie Cauley-Stein, he’s in San Francisco for the moment.

Let’s talk Kings basketball.

When: Wednesday, November 27th, 4:00 PST

Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA

TV: NBCSCA

Radio: KHTK Sports 1140 AM

For Your Consideration

Thanksgiving Day Charade: Just so you don’t actually ruin holiday plans here by watching the game instead of, you know, grab essential items for a national holiday tomorrow… This game could very easily turn into a beat down. The Sixers are a match-up nightmare for the Kings with how big they play, they’re healthy right now with no major injuries and before losing to Toronto a few nights ago, the Sixers had won four in a row. Sure, those four teams were the Cavs, Knicks, Spurs and Heat but the Sixers and their new pieces are settling into their form and figuring out how to win games when their centerpieces fall apart. In their loss to Toronto on Monday night, Joel Embiid went wacky and put up one of the worst stat lines in NBA history for the amount of time he was out on the floor: 0-11 from the field, 5 fouls, 4 turnovers (and 13 rebounds if we’re being fair and balanced). But lost in all this a bit is that Ben Simmons took eight shots and scored just ten points in 40 minutes of action. That’s a lot of woof from Philly’s $350 million dollars investment, so what do the Sixers do? Well, they had Tobias Harris there to drop 18 points and Josh Richardson to throw in 25 on to keep the ship afloat. The Sixers might have the best starting five in the NBA overall, maybe not best team, or best chance at a Larry O-B, but the starting line is bigger and more talented than any other in the league right now.

The Kings, on the other hand, are plucky. They’ve gone on what should have been a disastrous road trip that really signaled the season was lost and came out of it within striking distance of a so-early-someone-will-complain-in-the-comments eighth seed in the Western Conference playoff picture. Bogdan and Buddy have switched off on who is carrying the offensive load for the Kings and Sacramento is really a couple of competent refs away from being over the .500 mark. But if what should-be was what-was, Willie Cauley-Stein would be an NBA level basketball player, all roads out of Philadelphia would finally stop being under perpetual construction and you all would have a competent preview to read! The Kings have overperformed with their two central guys on the sidelines and with signs of fatigue and little injuries cropping up, like Bogi’s hammy tightness, tonight might just be where that carriage Kings fans have been bouncing down the road in turns right back into a pumpkin.

Prediction

Yeah right. Kings smack up on the Sixers. Too big just means too slow. Bogi and Richaun Holmes pick and roll Embiid into a myocardial infarct and he sends Instagram shade to a second round from 3401 Civic Center Blvd in Philly. Dwayne Dedmon busts out and makes Al Horford wish he’d have taken the Kings offer, forgetting Vlade definitely totally didn’t send him an offer. Tobias Harris is the – Tobias Harris is cool. He can have a good game. The rest of them all get cranberry sauce’d before the game and the Kings go home a game out of five-hundo.

Kings 111, Sixers 105