Kings at Cavaliers
THE STORY: The Cleveland Cavaliers traded J.J. Hickson to the Sacramento Kings for Omri Casspi and a conditional first-round pick last summer. The teams meet Sunday for the first time since the deal. Hickson is coming off the bench and averaging 5.2 points and 5.4 rebounds. Casspi is starting for Cleveland, but averaging just 7.8 points and 3.2 rebounds. The Kings have lost four straight and are just 3-15 on the road this season. The Cavs have dropped three of their last four.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, Comcast, Fox Sports Ohio
ABOUT THE KINGS (10-20): Rookie Isaiah Thomas will remain Sacramento’s starting point guard after he played well for three quarters in Friday’s loss to the Pistons, but was inexplicably benched for the fourth. That’s also when the Kings went away from DeMarcus Cousins and it cost them the game, prompting coach Keith Smart to reiterate how important it is for the team’s offense to flow through their big man.
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (11-17): The wounded Cavaliers are starting to get healthy, but perhaps not in time to help against the Kings. Starting shooting guard Anthony Parker (back) is expected to return no earlier than Tuesday and his backup, Daniel Gibson, is questionable for Sunday with a sprained left ankle. That could make Alonzo Gee the starting shooting guard again, but Gee is shooting 6 of 25 in his last two games.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Cavaliers’ current nine-game homestand is the longest in team history and tied for the third-longest in NBA history. They don’t play on the road again until Feb. 29.
2. Cleveland backup point guard Ramon Sessions averaged 20.5 points in two games against the Kings last season.
3. Cousins is averaging 23 points and 12 rebounds in the first three games on this trip. He has 19 double-doubles this season, third-most in the NBA.