Pelicans at Kings preview: No Boogie Nights

Venturing into Sacramento’s critically acclaimed new digs on the second night of a back to back, a win for the Pelicans is going to be a tall task. (But hey, I guess that is every night isn’t it?)

After being exposed to holy jumpers by way of the Golden State Supernovas, Anthony Davis and company will have to contend with the beefing prowess of DeMarcus Cousins and his army of streaky shooters. The Kings are one of the few teams capable of laying the boom on any opponent on a given night, but they are just as likely (if not more likely) to implode in a matter of seconds.

Cousins is the leader of the bipolar play, contributing to the uphill battle the Kings face towards securing a playoff spot to christen their new home.

Tuesday will mark the second game without recently released Lance Stephenson, and I am hopeful that Archie Goodwin will be provided an opportunity to show what he is made of. Goodwin is not the sharpest of shooters, but the dude can fly, and will add a scoring punch to a second unit in need.

In addition to Goodwin getting some shine, one would expect Terrence Jones to have a big day since the Kings are still living in the mid-90s with their array of big men. Jones is a potential nightmare against the Kings’ lumbering behemoths, capable of getting his while creating a some easy scoring opportunities for Davis down low.

Random irrelevant nugget: this will be the first Pelicans at Kings game for me without the narrative of a Ryan Anderson homecoming attached to it. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bummed.

Stay tuned for my recap shortly after the game!

The game will be featured on Fox Sports New Orleans (FSNO). It is set to tip-off at 9:30pm CST.