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Nets march into Sacramento to face Kings

By Brian Fleurantin Updated

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The usual. The Brooklyn Nets went into Tuesday's night game against the Cleveland Cavaliers hoping to build on a great performance the night before. They gave the Cavs all they could handle before faltering late and losing by six points.

The opponent tonight will be the Sacramento Kings. Also, as usual, the Kings find themselves out of the playoff chase and hoping that next year will bring something positive. They lost on Tuesday to Portland and are currently riding a five-game losing streak.

Where to follow the game

YES Network on TV. WFAN 101.9 FM on radio. Late night affair here so tip off will be after 10.

Injuries

Jahlil Okafor (flu) will be out again.

Iman Shumpert has been dealing with a foot injury and it's likely he misses this game. Garrett Temple (back) remains questionable.

The game

Sacramento won the first game in December.

The Kings are in a peculiar spot. They're trying to develop their youngsters, but they have a ton of veterans on the team. It's a tricky thing to navigate, and as Sanjesh Singh of Sactown Royalty noted:

Speaking of Z-Bo, he'll prove to be a tough load for Rondae Hollis Jefferson and the Nets frontcourt. Randolph scored 21 points the first time he played Brooklyn as he was too much to handle for Brooklyn. Having Dante Cunningham on the roster should help some.

Player to watch: De'Aaron Fox

Like all rookies, it's going to take Fox some time to get fully acclimated to the competition in the league. Fox is fifth among rookies in drives per game and has done a good job of finishing at the rim. His jumpshot isn't there yet, but he is shooting better from three point range this year than he did at Kentucky (it should be noted the NBA line is further than the NCAA's).

Like all players coming back from injuries, it's going to take D'Angelo Russell some time before he's back to his usual self. However, if the last game was an indication, he's on the right track. D-Lo scored 25 points on 50 percent shooting in his 32 minutes of playing time. The more he plays with Spencer Dinwiddie and the further away from the knee injury he is, the better he'll look.

From the Vault

It's always the right time for our man Vince Carter.

More reading: Sactown Royalty

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