Kings Blog and Q&A

BREAKING NEWS via Ailene Voisin: The Sacramento Kings fired coach Paul Westphal. Assistant Keith Smart will coach tonight's game against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Tonight's game - Milwaukee Bucks (2-3) at Sacramento Kings (2-5):

• Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) previews tonight's game in today's newspaper.

• "Injuries and absences are piling up, and it's possible the Bucks may have to navigate the rest of their western trip without starting center Andrew Bogut," Charles F. Gardner writes in today's Journal Sentinel.

• Charles F. Gardner previews tonight's game in today's Journal Sentinel.

• Dan Sinclair (@dan_sinclair) previews tonight's game in a blog post for SB Nation affiliate Brew Hoop.

Last night's game: The Denver Nuggets defeated the Kings 110-83 on Wednesday at the Pepsi Center. View the box score.

Game coverage:

• "This was supposed to be the season the Kings went from rebuilding to taking strides to get out of the bottom of the Pacific Division," Jones writes in today's newspaper recap. "Instead, the optimism has been replaced by frustration."
• Denver coach George Karl calls Marcus Thornton an 'explosive' score, Jones reports in today's newspaper.
• "The game was a blowout even in the third quarter," writes Benjamin Hochman (@nuggetsnews) in today's Denver Post. "The Kings, 2-5 amidst locker room angst involving young center DeMarcus Cousins, looked tired while playing the second game of a back-to-back-to-back set."
• "This team looks lost out there," writes Akis Yerocostas (@Aykis16) in a blog post on SB Nation affiliate Sactown Royalty. "They give up way too easily and it just seems like they aren't putting in maximum effort."
• James Ham (@James_Ham) breaks down last night's game in a blog post for TrueHoop Network affiliate Cowbell Kingdom.
• "The disgusting defensive effort of the Memphis game continued without a hiccup, allowing Denver to run the Kings out of the gym," writes Scott Levin (@KingsSLev) writes in a blog post for FanSided affiliate A Royal Pain.
• "The Kings were playing their fourth game in five nights and just didn't have the legs or heart to stay with the Nuggets in this one," writes Nate Timmons (@Nate_Timmons) in a blog post for SB Nation affiliate Denver Stiffs.
• Kalen Deremo (@24kGoldenChild) breaks down last night's game in a blog post for TrueHoop Network affiliate Roundball Mining Company.

More Bee coverage:

• Jones, in a blog post this morning, writes about the team's struggles on offense.
• "The body language displayed by John Salmons, Tyreke Evans, Marcus Thornton, etc., was almost as offensive as the lack of energy/effort/offensive fluidity," writes Ailene Voisin (@ailene_voisin) writes in a blog post this morning.

More news and analysis:

Tweets of the day:

Woke up. Still depressed. No Bogut tonight for the Bucks means yet another team Kings probably won't take advantage of.

— Akis Yerocostas (@Aykis16) January 5, 2012

Normally, you wouldn't peg a team that's lost just 2 in a row and sits at 2-5 as toxic.But that's what it appears to be like in Sacramento

— Jon Santiago (@itsJONsantiago) January 5, 2012

Another great win tonight fellas @renobighorns good way to leave it all on the floor lets keep this win steak going

— Hassan Whiteside (@youngwhiteside) January 5, 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.