Spurs vs. Kings: 2 Big Things to Watch
Coming off a tough 117-110 loss against the Portland Trail Blazers, the San Antonio Spurs (6-9) look to get back on track against De'Aaron Fox and the Sacramento Kings (7-6.)
Dropping six of their last seven games, the Spurs look to flip their fortune against a red-hot Kings team that has won four consecutive contests.
Here are two things to watch when San Antonio travels to Sacramento...
Can the Bench Step Up?
After missing Tre Jones on Monday, forcing rookie Jeremy Sochan to step in the point guard role against the Golden State Warriors, the floor general returned against the Trail Blazers.
And while Jones numbers may not be eye-popping finishing with 2 points on 1 of 6 from the field in 22 minutes, the facilitator dished out ten assists and finished with a +14 plus/minus - only trailing Sochan with +18.
But it was the bench that dug a hole early for San Antonio, with all five members of the second unit finishing with a -6 or worse plus/minus.
The Spurs rank number two in the association in bench points per game, only trailing the Utah Jazz, but will need to see more winning plays when the starting lineup takes a breather.
Who Will Win the Turnover Battle?
In their near road win against the Trail Blazers, the Spurs likely would have had a much better opportunity down the stretch had it not been for late turnovers.
Despite turning the ball over 15 times heading into the fourth quarter, San Antonio did a great job taking care of the basketball over the first seven minutes of the final period.
However, the team coughed the ball up four times over the final four minutes - leading to eight costly Portland points.
Three of those turnovers came from forward Keldon Johnson, who know how vital mistakes like that are late in close games.
"We shot ourselves in the foot with turnovers, and it started with me," Johnson said, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News. "As a leader, as one of the best guys on the team, I had some costly turnovers toward the end ... I am definitely accountable. I made some mistakes, and I own them.”
Averaging 17.3 turnovers per contest (second-worst in the league), the Spurs will need to take care of the basketball against the Kings who make teams regret being careless with the basketball - scoring 19.2 points off turnovers, eight-best in the league.
Tipoff is scheduled for 10:
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