{'byline': '', 'hosts': '', 'byline_sources': '', 'hide_author': True, 'audience_id': '', 'original_station': [{'station': 'espn1320', 'path': 'espn1320/sports/sacramento-kings/kings-vs-thunder-preview-by-the-numbers-2-26'}], 'syndicated_items': '', 'original_item': {'_index': 'published-content_v44', '_type': '_doc', '_score': None, '_source': {'date': '2023-02-26T17:49:24.315+00:00', 'lead': [{'data': {'_version': 2, 'autoPlay': False, 'contentId': 'JcO1Qdl-cfQ', 'videoType': 'Editorial', 'isPlaylist': False, 'origSource': 'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcO1Qdl-cfQ', 'videoValid': True, 'videoSource': 'video', 'playerCaption': None, 'videoLocation': 'article', 'videoPlaylist': '', 'playerHeadline': None, 'playerBorderTop': False, 'autoPlayNextVideo': True, 'componentVariation': 'youtube', 'playerBorderBottom': False, 'playerBorderTopCTA': 'Watch', 'previousTypeRelated': False}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/youtube/instances/clelokeds000u3b7cmbkpwiyw@published'}], 'slug': 'kings-vs-thunder-preview-by-the-numbers-2-26', 'tags': ['NBA', 'Sacramento Kings'], 'feeds': {'msn': True, 'rss': True, 'postup': True, 'facebook': True, 'newsfeed': True, 'sitemaps': True, 'frequency': True, 'smartNews': True, 'apple-news': False, 'smart-news': True, 'most-popular': True, 'reversechron': True, 'google-news-feed': True}, 'hosts': [], 'adTags': {'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/ad-tags/instances/clelojmmz000a01qdflkqjk6x@published'}, 'byline': [{'hosts': [], 'names': [], 'prefix': 'by', 'sources': []}], 'teaser': 'Kings vs. Thunder Preview – By the Numbers', 'authors': [], 'content': [{'data': {'text': 'Welcome back Kings fans! I think my heart is still beating fast from the thrilling 176-175 win over the Clippers, but now we turn our attention to the Thunder to see if the Kings can keep the momentum going. Let’s see what the Kings can look to expect from OKC tonight.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clelojmmz000e01qdtbdk73az@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'The thunder will be without the services of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, which is a great break for the Kings as the young star is averaging 31.0 Point per game, aka 5th most in the NBA. This will be the 6th game that he has missed this season, and the Thunder are 3-2 in the 5 previous games, with wins coming against the Grizzlies, Spurs, and a whopping 33-point win against the Celtics. Kings fans have seen it for years, even when stars are out a team can be very dangerous.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clelol9zr001n3b7cux8kacbd@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'The Thunder come into the game with the 13th ranked offense in the NBA, which may not seem daunting, but this team can go off and get buckets on any given night. There’s been a lot of talk and attention on the Kings 130+ Point games, as they are making it seem like a norm. Sacramento has a league leading 16 games over the 130 mark, but sitting right behind them is OKC with 12 such games. One of those was the aforementioned 33-point win against Boston without SGA in which they put up a 150 piece.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clelola2l001o3b7ca398hxoi@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'Something that OKC does extremely well is turning their defense into offense. They average 8.2 Steals per game, 5th most in the league, and turn them into 20.4 Points off of Turnover, 2nd most. That increase in rank from Steals to Point off of Turnovers suggests that the Thunder do a great job of getting live ball steals which lead to easy baskets. The Kings do a relatively good job of taking care of the ball, only averaging 14.1 Turnovers per game for 18th in the NBA, but they will have to be very cognizant that the Thunder are going to try to disrupt them on defense.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clelola5i001p3b7cexgpa3b3@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'Another thing the Kings will need to be aware of is OKC’s propensity to take charges. The Thunder lead the league with 1.31 Charges Drawn per game. For reference, the Kings are 6th in the NBA with 0.61 per game. Leading the charge for the Thunder is the duo of Kenrich Williams and Jaylin Williams, who have taken 25 and 20 charges, respectfully, which is good for 1st and 3rd in the NBA. The Kings love to drive to the lane to either get to the rim or kick out for a 3 and will have to be careful tonight with how they go at the two Williams.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clelola8f001q3b7cdmixidfk@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'Something that Kings should be able to take advantage of though is the rebounding battle. OKC’s leading rebounder is Josh Giddey with 7.7 boards per game. The Thunder allow the most 2nd Chance Points in the league, giving up 15.9 per game. This is where having the league leading rebounder in Sabonis come in handy. Domas is grabbing 12.3 Rebounds per game and could feast on the boards again tonight. Last time these two teams matched up, the Kings scored 22 putback points while only allowing 2 for the Thunder.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clelolach001r3b7ctbhk2sup@published'}, {'data': {'text': 'Sabonis not only did well on the boards last matchup, but had a great overall game with 18 Points, 14 Rebounds, and 14 Assists for one of his seven triple-doubles of the season. With the smaller players on OKC, their aggressive defense leading to back-cut opportunities for Sabonis to hit cutters, and the rebounding advantage, don’t be surprised if he notches his 8th triple-double of the season tonight.', '_version': 2, 'componentVariation': 'paragraph'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/paragraph/instances/clelolaf2001s3b7ciwllkcj8@published'}], 'feedImg': {'data': {'alt': 'Malik Monk ', 'url': 'https://images.radio.com/aiu-media/USATSI20082884-8af1ff1c-fa14-4690-93a5-c13d05d7c95c.jpg', 'width': 8001, 'credit': 'USA Today', 'height': 5334, 'mimeType': 'image/jpeg', 'sizeInBytes': '4901984', 'componentVariation': 'feed-image'}, 'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/feed-image/instances/clelojmmz000b01qd4nq5an79@published'}, 'sources': [], '_version': 24, 'featured': False, 'headline': 'Kings vs. Thunder Preview – By the Numbers', 'msnTitle': 'Kings vs. Thunder Preview – By the Numbers', 'slugLock': True, 'textTags': ['NBA', 'Sacramento Kings'], 'pageTitle': 'Kings vs. Thunder Preview – By the Numbers', 'sideShare': {'original_ref': 'www.audacy.com/_components/share/instances/clelojmmz000c01qdsq8rjdj5@published'}, 'feedImgUrl': 'https://images.radio.com/aiu-media/USATSI20082884-8af1ff1c-fa14-4690-93a5-c13d05d7c95c.jpg', 'feedLayout': 'small', 'showSocial': True, 'stationURL': 'https://www.audacy.com/espn1320', 'breadcrumbs': [{'url': '//www.audacy.com/espn1320', 'text': 'ESPN 1320', 'hidden': False}, {'url': '//www.audacy.com/espn1320/sports', 'text': 'Sports', 'hidden': False}, {'url': '//www.audacy.com/espn1320/sports/sacramento-kings', 'text': 'Sacramento Kings', 'hidden': False}], 'contentType': 'article', 'seoHeadline': 'Kings vs. Thunder Preview – By the Numbers', 'stationName': 'ESPN 1320', 'stationSlug': 'espn1320', 'dateModified': '2023-02-26T17:49:24.245Z', 'featuredNews': True, 'sectionFront': 'sports', 'evergreenSlug': None, 'fullWidthLead': False, 'shortHeadline': 'Kings vs. Thunder Preview – By the Numbers', 'syndicatedUrl': None, 'unityPageType': 'article', 'featuredSports': True, 'msnTitleLength': 42, 'seoDescription': 'Welcome back Kings fans! 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Sacramento Kings

Kings vs. Thunder Preview – By the Numbers

By espn1320 Feb 26, 2023

Welcome back Kings fans! I think my heart is still beating fast from the thrilling 176-175 win over the Clippers, but now we turn our attention to the Thunder to see if the Kings can keep the momentum going. Let’s see what the Kings can look to expect from OKC tonight.

The thunder will be without the services of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, which is a great break for the Kings as the young star is averaging 31.0 Point per game, aka 5th most in the NBA. This will be the 6th game that he has missed this season, and the Thunder are 3-2 in the 5 previous games, with wins coming against the Grizzlies, Spurs, and a whopping 33-point win against the Celtics. Kings fans have seen it for years, even when stars are out a team can be very dangerous.

The Thunder come into the game with the 13th ranked offense in the NBA, which may not seem daunting, but this team can go off and get buckets on any given night. There’s been a lot of talk and attention on the Kings 130+ Point games, as they are making it seem like a norm. Sacramento has a league leading 16 games over the 130 mark, but sitting right behind them is OKC with 12 such games. One of those was the aforementioned 33-point win against Boston without SGA in which they put up a 150 piece.

Something that OKC does extremely well is turning their defense into offense. They average 8.2 Steals per game, 5th most in the league, and turn them into 20.4 Points off of Turnover, 2nd most. That increase in rank from Steals to Point off of Turnovers suggests that the Thunder do a great job of getting live ball steals which lead to easy baskets. The Kings do a relatively good job of taking care of the ball, only averaging 14.1 Turnovers per game for 18th in the NBA, but they will have to be very cognizant that the Thunder are going to try to disrupt them on defense.

Another thing the Kings will need to be aware of is OKC’s propensity to take charges. The Thunder lead the league with 1.31 Charges Drawn per game. For reference, the Kings are 6th in the NBA with 0.61 per game. Leading the charge for the Thunder is the duo of Kenrich Williams and Jaylin Williams, who have taken 25 and 20 charges, respectfully, which is good for 1st and 3rd in the NBA. The Kings love to drive to the lane to either get to the rim or kick out for a 3 and will have to be careful tonight with how they go at the two Williams.

Something that Kings should be able to take advantage of though is the rebounding battle. OKC’s leading rebounder is Josh Giddey with 7.7 boards per game. The Thunder allow the most 2nd Chance Points in the league, giving up 15.9 per game. This is where having the league leading rebounder in Sabonis come in handy. Domas is grabbing 12.3 Rebounds per game and could feast on the boards again tonight. Last time these two teams matched up, the Kings scored 22 putback points while only allowing 2 for the Thunder.

Sabonis not only did well on the boards last matchup, but had a great overall game with 18 Points, 14 Rebounds, and 14 Assists for one of his seven triple-doubles of the season. With the smaller players on OKC, their aggressive defense leading to back-cut opportunities for Sabonis to hit cutters, and the rebounding advantage, don’t be surprised if he notches his 8th triple-double of the season tonight.

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