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Kings-Magic Preview


Kings-Magic Preview
So far this season, the road has been unkind to the Sacramento Kings, and it's not about to get any easier.

Following a blowout loss, the winless Kings continue their trip on Saturday night against the Orlando Magic, who also are seeking their first victory.

The Kings (0-2), opening the new season with four straight away from home, fell 103-77 to Miami on Friday. Sacramento didn't reach the 60-point mark until 6:35 remained, shot 10.5 percent (2-of-19) from 3-point range, and committed 25 turnovers that led to 41 points for the Heat.

"There is no explanation for it," Kings coach Reggie Theus said.

Perhaps the only explanation might be that lack of success is typical for Sacramento when playing away from home. The Kings opened the season with a two-point loss on Wednesday in Minnesota, where Kevin Martin missed two 3-point attempts in the final 33 seconds.

The Kings' 12 road wins last season were the fewest since the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, and the fewest over a full season since they had six in 1997-98. Sacramento hasn't had a winning record away from home since 2002-03.

The Kings also have dropped five of their last seven visits to Orlando.

For the second straight game, Kings swingman John Salmons scored in double figures. He had 14 points against Miami after tallying 24 over Minnesota. Salmons averaged a career-high 12.5 points per game last season with Sacramento, and scored a team-leading 21 in a 104-100 home win over Orlando on Jan. 8.

Spencer Hawes, who averaged 3.2 rebounds per game as a rookie last season, had 11 boards against the Heat, and is averaging 12.5 through two games. A first-round pick in 2007, Hawes has been starting in place of Brad Miller, who has three games left on a five-game suspension for violating the NBA's drug program.

Coming off a 52-win season and a playoff appearance in 2007-08, Orlando (0-2) is winless through two games for the third time in franchise history following a heartbreaking 86-84 loss to Memphis on Friday as the Grizzlies' Rudy Gay nailed an 18-foot shot as time expired.

Orlando has shot 39.1 percent from the field and 62.3 percent at the free-throw line this season. The Magic rebounded from a 4-for-25 performance from 3-point range against Atlanta on Wednesday to hit 10 of 29 from behind the arc versus Memphis.

Last season, Orlando was among the league top five teams in field goal percentage (.474) and 3-point shooting (.392). The poor free-throw shooting is not surprising as the Magic were in the NBA's bottom five at .721.

"We'll get over it," said Dwight Howard, who has averaged a team-leading 18.0 points and 14.5 rebounds in the first two games. "There's some adversity that teams go through at the beginning of the season, some times at the end. I'm glad we're going through it now rather than at the end when we really need to buckle down.

Howard led the Magic with 26 points and 10 rebounds in the last meeting between the two teams, a 112-93 victory on Feb. 24 in Orlando. Martin had 21 points, and was 3-for-3 from 3-point range for Sacramento.


Author: Fox Sports
Author's Website: http://www.foxsports.com
Added: November 1, 2008

 

 
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