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The Season Starts Tonight



Over the last few seasons the Phoenix Suns and the Sacramento Kings have been highly regarded out west, and for good reason too. The NLL is a very long season, and even though both these teams probably haven't started the way they wanted too, these teams have to be taken seriously in every single matchup, because the talent these gm's are putting out on the court can't be argued with. Tonight we see the 4-4 Sacramento Kings travel to face off against the 4-4 Phoenix Suns (unless games are played prior).

The Visiting Sacramento Kings went through a full body transformation make over just prior to the season. sending away long time fan favourites Chris Paul, Paul George, and JR Smith, but in return received a team that is covered very deep at every position on the court. With a new team trying to gel together, things are going to take time, and the first two weeks the Kings have faced off against teams like The Lakers, Cavaliers, Celtics, Mavericks, and have already beaten the Suns once. So with not such an easy run to start the season is tonight the game that can get the Kings faithful back on their feet and kick start their season?

On the other side of the table we have the Phoenix Suns. Penny has pushed these guys to the limits during the off season, and has challenged his guys to push hard up and down the court for 48 minutes every night. Three guys have stepped up to the plate. Rondo, Parsons and Smith are all averaging over 20ppg and doing their bit for the team, the drop off is big though. they need guys like Terry, Blake and Muhammad to really setp up their game and contribute to help get the wins.

Both of these teams are a very capable unit and have the ability to push deep into the playoffs this season. The Sacramento Kings lead this series 1-0 after taking an 8 point win against the suns in week 1 of the season.

INJURY CONCERNS:

Sacramento Kings

  • David Lee - This guys leaves a big hole for the Kings, but with the depth they have required they can easily cover it with Kevin Love, and Carlos Boozer.

Phoenix Suns

  • The Suns are 100% fit for week three of the season, but after a disappointing week Jason Terry has dropped completely out of the rotation.


MATCH-UPS

CENTER

VS 
  • Boozers move from Power Forward to Center didn't hurt his production in week two of the season, and with Larry Sanders Confidence a little down, and also giving up 44lbs expect Boozers Strength to be too much for the 26year old Sanders. EDGE: KINGS

POWER FORWARD

  VS 
  • This is the Match-up the fans have come to see. Love's range against Smith's athleticism. Both of these guys can work it inside and out. its really hard to split the two but with Loves Defense and rebounding ability he gets the nod. EDGE: KINGS

SMALL FORWARD

  VS 
  • Parsons is younger, quicker, and has a lot more hustle. i would expect to see the aging Marion struggle against chandler tonight. expect Parsons to drop 25+ points and Marion struggling to keep up. EDGE: SUNS

SHOOTING GUARD

  VS 
  • At 6-7" Klay Thompson is going to cause all sorts of problems for Ben Gordon. Shooting Guard is definitely not a strong position for the Suns, but if Gordon can hold the up and coming young start to anything under 15 points, that's a definite win for him and the Suns. EDGE: KINGS

POINT GUARD

  VS 
  • Another mouth water match-up for the fans. Conley is having one heck of a start to the new season, putting up numbers he hasn't put up since his rookie season. on the flip side, Rondo is having a great scoring start to the season also. Both guys are shooting at 50% with Rondo dishing out 2apg more than Conley. Its a tough one to pick, as these guys will go toe to toe and almost cancel each other out. EDGE: SUNS 

PREDICTION

KINGS:106

SUNS: 97




Star

Carlos Boozer

With David Lee on the side lines, and having the opportunity to start and come up against the lighter framed Sanders, Boozer needs to hit the Floor running. He has the opportunity to push Sanders around with the extra weight and strength he has.

Crashing the offensive boards tonight is a must for Boozer, and taking every opportunity at the second chance shot and making it count for the Kings. His time is limited at the starting role, and he needs to make every minute count.

 
PPG
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PPG
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Star

Ben Gordon

Gordon has one hell of a challenge in front of him. Thompson must be licking his lips at the opportunity to drop a career best score tonight. Gordon might be a lot shorter, but one thing he has going for him is he is still faster than his younger opponent.

Gordon Has the experience to push Thompson around on the defensive end, and its exactly what he has to do to get into the mid of Klay tonight. Gordon needs to focus on putting Thompson off his game and forcing him to throw up rushed, silly shots. If he can do this the others will take care on the offensive end and the Suns have a big shot at winning the game.

X-Factor
The Crowd really needs to rally behind their own Phoenix Suns in this game. sitting at 4-4 on the season so far there is no doubt Penny will want this win against a class outfit, and if he can get it it will kick start their season and from there not to many people will want to face the Suns down the track.