Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Sacramento Kings: game preview, start time, TV information

After a tight loss to the Warriors on Christmas, the Cavaliers head to Sacramento to play the Sacramento Kings. Sacramento sports the worst point differential in the NBA by a mile at -9.1 while the 29th team, the Suns are all the way up at -6.8. They’re pretty bad, is the point.

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (24-10) at Sacramento Kings (11-22)

When: 10:00 p.m. ET

Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California

Enemy Blog: Sactown Royalty

TV: Fox Sports Ohio

Online: Fox Sports Go, NBA League Pass

Cavs injuries: Isaiah Thomas (OUT - hip), Derrick Rose (OUT - ankle), Iman Shumpert (OUT - left knee)

Kings injuries: Harry Giles (OUT - knee)

Three keys to the game:

• How much of a letdown is there after Christmas? A high intensity game followed by a matchup with a terrible team often leads to a let-down - it’ll be tough for the Cavs to stay focused heading into the matchup.
• Sacramento is going to have a tough time slowing down the Cavs. George Hill is a capable defender, and Willey Cauley-Stein has some tools, but ultimately, it’s a tough matchup. Zach Randolph can’t stick with Jae Crowder off ball, and just about any switch the Cavs can earn is devastating for Sacramento.
• Cleveland’s ability to limit Randolph inside will be important. Z-Bo doesn’t have much left in the tank, but if the Cavs aren’t pushing him off his spots he can still give you buckets in doses. It might be wise to stick Kevin Love on Crowder and to just have Jae Crowder stick Cauley-Stein to bait him into inefficient post-ups.

Key Matchup

Garrett Temple has plenty of skills, but he doesn’t really have the size to guard LeBron. James didn’t have an insanely high usage against the Warriors - expect that to change against Sacramento.

Fear the Sword’s Fearless Prediction

The Cavaliers win this one after a tough loss to the Warriors. Cavs 114, Kings 103.