Vitals: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Sacramento Kings

Originally Published: Dec 5, 2010 4:17 PM CDT

Grant Belcher
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

Sacramento Kings (5-18) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (18-8)
Friday, Dec. 17, 7 p.m. CST
The Oklahoma City Arena
Game 27 of 82

Anticipated Starting Lineups

Injury Report:
Oklahoma City: C Nenad Krstic (back, questionable)
Sacramento: no injuries to report

Where to find it:
TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma
Radio: Thunder Radio Network

What you need to know

When Scott Brooks was growing up, the Kings were considered his "hometown" team. Brooks was born in French Camp, Calif. and grew up in Lathrop, both less than an hour away from Sacramento. He attended San Joaquin Delta College before moving on to TCU and UC-Irvine for his college ball. After his professional career was over, Brooks spent time as an assistant coach with Sacramento in 2006-07. In fact, after that season, Brooks was considered for the Kings' head coaching position that eventually went to Reggie Theus, who did not last long and is now an assistant in Minnesota. When the Thunder travel to Sacramento, Brooks often has dozens of friends and family in the standings watching him coach, but if they want to see his Thunder take on their hometown Kings this time, they will have to travel halfway across the country to the Oklahoma City Arena.

After a dismal 35 percent shooting performance against Chicago on Dec. 6 (their worst percentage of the season), the Thunder have shot 50 percent or better in the past four games and won them all. A win tonight from the Thunder would make for a five-game winning streak, which would match their longest of the season. OKC also won five straight games from Nov. 15 - 22 of this season. The game will feature two of the younger teams in the league, especially the starting lineups. Four of Sacramento's five starters are 24 years old or younger, while Oklahoma City is the league's third-youngest team. While Sacramento's youth is evident in its 5-18 record, however, OKC currently sits in fourth place in the Western Conference.

Who to watch

The Sacramento Kings have a young and exciting roster, but unfortunately that doesn't always translate into success. Many of the Kings' players are talented and athletic but extremely raw, and they are one of the lowest scoring teams in the league because of it. Forward/center DeMarcus Cousins was considered a dark horse candidate for Rookie of the Year before the Clippers' Blake Griffin showed why he is essentially the first and only contender. Cousins averages 11 points and seven boards, and has the potential to turn into an All-Star caliber power forward in the league with time. Speaking of Rookie of the Year, last year's winner is undoubtedly Sacramento's go-to guy in Tyreke Evans. Evans has the capabilities of a point guard, but currently plays in the two guard spot to adapt to the Kings' lineup. Though Evans hasn't improved dramatically in his young sophomore campaign, he is still a threat to score on every possession because of his size and strength to go along with guard quickness.

As usual, guard Thabo Sefolosha will be one of the keys to Oklahoma City's gameplan tonight. Sefolosha has all the tools to guard the league's best players, but Evans presents an unusual combo and size, speed and strength that creates matchup problems. Center Nenad Krstic will also have his hands full in the post with the physical, 270-pound Cousins, who loves to bang in the post and can get extremely aggressive when he wants to.

On the offensive end, Oklahoma City looks more promising than it has all season. Shooting guard James Harden has shown flashes of breaking out of his sophomore slump, posting 19 and 16 points in the Thunder's past two games. He also hit 4-of-6 from 3-point range during those two games. While Kevin Durant continues to score at his usual clip, he has done so more efficiently in the past two games. Durant is shooting 44 percent on the season, but is 22-of-35 (63 percent) in the past two games.