Monday Morning Rush

In a new feature here at KingsKingdom, we would like to welcome a regular article and collaboration with another member of the Blogging community. Blake Ellington of http://bleedblackandpurple.blogspot.com/ will start us off on Mondays by listing some of the key topics that basketball fans should be watching for from the Kings in the upcoming week. “The Monday Morning Rush”will be a regular feature here at KingsKingdom and will be followed up on the weekend by “The Weekend Rundown” where I will break apart the week in review and recap the key points made in the Rush. This will be a cross collaboration between sites and I’m looking forward to the opportunity of working with Blake and his Bleed Black and Purple staff.  I hope that you enjoy our efforts.

Monday Morning Rush

Contributed by guest blogger Blake Ellington from http://bleedblackandpurple.blogspot.com/

Monday MorningRush is a weekly column featured on bleedblackandpurple as well as www.kingskingdom.com. It discusses topics fans should keep an eye on in the Kings’ upcoming schedule.

Coming off a three-game road trip that produced an 0-3 record might sound discouraging to most, but there were a few positives for the Sacramento Kings: sporadic signs of toughness, the bench performance of Spencer Hawes, rebounding and a still-healthy Kevin Martin. The Kings get their chance at making up some ground this week, starting tonight in the sold-out game against the Memphis Grizzlies. The grit and effort of the second game and part of the third game of the road trip should spill over into the four games this week (three of which will be at Arco Arena).

Arco will likely be a welcome sight for the Kings. They got to play visitor lapdog in season home opener after season home opener on their road trip.

Here are a few things to look for to look for this week:

A full Arco would be a welcome sight

1. Attendance– The number of fans in attendance at Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks and on Sunday against the Golden State Warriors will be a good test as to how the rest of the season will go. While we know the home opener is a sellout against the Grizzlies, the real barometer will come at the two other home games this week. The Hawks game has been targeted by “Operation Sellout,” so there is a real possibility for a packed arena. This, of course, will depend heavily on the team’s performance tonight, especially coming off a road trip that produced nothing for the win column. The real telling sign will come on Sunday against the Warriors. Local Warriors fans will give this game a push toward a sellout, but if the Kings fail to win two of the three other games this week it could be the beginning of another stretch of empty nights at Arco.

 3. Evans’s Numbers– Watch for Tyreke Evans to increase his scoring this week in front of the home crowd. Much of the Kings’ future was placed on the shoulders of this kid from the moment they took him with the 4thpick in the draft. He doesn’t want to disappoint, and he likely won’t against Mike Conley and Mike Bibby – two players that aren’t exactly on the same level as Chris Paul and Tony Parker. Evans should average no less than 15 points a game this week as the rotation settles down and he begins to fit into both the offense and the speed of the NBA game better. If he can begin to find Martin when he is open a little more then his assists should see a boost as well.