Kings Blog and Q&A

Tonight's game - Sacramento Kings (6-11) at the Portland Trail Blazers (9-7):

Marcus Thornton (quad contusion) is out tonight at Portland. John Salmons (stomach virus) will play.

— JasonJones (@mr_jasonjones) January 23, 2012



• Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones), in a blog post today, offers his five things to watch tonight.
• Keith Smart relies on his minor league coaching experience to deal with the in-season coaching change, writes Jones in today's newspaper.
• Jones previews tonight's game in today's newspaper.
• Jonathan Santiago (@itsJONsantiago) previews tonight's game in a blog post for TrueHoop Network affiliate Cowbell Kingdom.
• Tom Ziller (@teamziller) previews tonight's game in a blog post for SB Nation affiliate Sactown Royalty.
• Joe Freeman (@BlazerFreeman) previews tonight's game in today's Oregonian.
• Matt Calkins (@blazerbanter) previews tonight's game in today's Columbian.
• "Dave" previews tonight's game in a blog post for TrueHoop Network affiliate Blazer's Edge.

More news and analysis:

• Akis Yerocostas (@Aykis16) gives us of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" of the fourth week of the season on SB Nation affiliate Sactown Royalty.
• J.J. Hickson is "in his third season of receiving major minutes, and it's fair to ask when we will see major progress from a guy for whom the Kings gave up Omri Casspi and a protected first-round pick," writes Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_SI) in a blog post on The Point Forward for Sports Illustrated.
• "There's something different about Jason Thompson this season," writes James Ham (@James_Ham) in a blog post for TrueHoop Network affiliate Cowbell Kingdom.
• Ziller asks whether the Kings should extend the contract of Thompson in a blog post for SB Nation affiliate Sactown Royalty.
• "It turns out the doctors at the world renowned Cleveland Clinic used a barrage of MRIs and CAT scans to get the kind of readings they could have found simply by flipping over to ESPN," writes Fran Blinebury (@franblinebury) in a story for NBA.com. "Chuck Hayes has a lot of heart."
• "Screws in his right knee and his left foot, two pins in the middle finger of his left hand, Bobby Jackson always played fast, aggressive and with mindfulness of the game -- not his body," writes Andrew Krammer (@AndrewKrammer) in a story for The Minnesota Daily.

New arena news and analysis:

• "It is premature and unproductive to entertain a public vote on a parking deal financing a new Sacramento arena," the Editorial Board wrote in today's newspaper.
• "Sacramento hotel owners are considering a plan to generate $1 million a year for the proposed downtown sports arena," Dale Kasler (@dakasler) wrote in Saturday's newspaper.
• "Twenty-five entities, including most of the country's largest parking companies, notified the city they are considering applying to manage city downtown parking facilities, in exchange for paying hundreds of millions of dollars upfront to help the city build an arena," Tony Bizjak (@TonyBizjak) wrote in Friday's newspaper.
• Jonathan Santiago (@itsJONsantiago) and James Ham (@James_Ham) speak to Rob McAllister (@Rob_McAllister) about possible hotel contributions to the new arena effort in the Cowbell Kingdom Podcast.
• "Why would 25 private parking operators be eager to take over Sacramento's downtown parking garages and meters?" asks Paul Clegg in a blog post on Sacramento Connect partner Game to 100.
• Ron Cooper (@accesssac) offers 10 reasons the 50-year parking lot deal is not good for Sacramento in a blog post on Sacramento Connect partner ranSACkedmedia.

Tweets of the day:

I actually think DeMarcus should shoot his jumper more sometimes, instead of trying to dribble drive from the top of the key.

— Akis Yerocostas (@Aykis16) January 22, 2012

Online coverage from The Bee this season:

• LIVE CHATS: Join The Bee's Matt Kawahara for in-game chats during every Kings home game, just before tipoff right through the final buzzer.

• VIDEOS: Find out what some Kings players and coach Paul Westphal have to say about the upcoming season - and much more.

• BLOG: Stay up to date on the team's happenings with Jason Jones, Ailene Voisin and Matt Kawahara on The Bee's Kings blog.

• FACEBOOK: "Like" the Sacramento Kings Corner page and join Bee staffers and fans in discussions about the team and players.

• TWITTER: Follow The Bee's Jason Jones for up-to-the-minute developments, in-game updates and much more about the Kings.

If you see a Sacramento Kings-related story or blog post that we should feature, e-mail me at nmiller@sacbee.com or send me reply on Twitter at @journalistnate.