Kings vs. Clippers: Sacramento's preseason home opener scheduled for 7 p.m.

We're just over two weeks ahead of the beginning of the Kings' regular season. But this will be the team's first chance to play in front of a home crowd in the preseason, as Sacramento hosts the Clippers at 7 p.m. There is, to my knowledge, no TV broadcast of the game. Sports 1140 AM will carry it live. Tickets are also available.

Greivis Vasquez will make his debut as a King, and he told our Blake Ellington on Sunday that he'll play limited minutes. Expect him to start as Michael Malone continues to tinker with the rotation.

3 THINGS OF SOME LEVEL OF POTENTIAL IMPORT, POSSIBLY

1. Assists! The Kings had 28 assists on 44 made field goals against the Lakers Thursday. That's a fantastic rate as it means the guys were a) moving the ball, b) avoiding isolation plays and c) getting into scoring position without the ball. Good, good, good. Adding Vasquez in should help. Keep it up.

2. Good Cousins. DeMarcus Cousins shot well in Game 2, but much of that was on long jumpers. Wherever he shoots from, the key is not force it. Being aggressive is one thing, but we all know that sometimes DMC attacks on plays he has little chance of finishing. He didn't do that on Thursday.

3. Feed the crowd. The Kings have been weirdly good against good teams at home when there's good crowd action in recent years. It's the preseason, so I don't expect a huge crowd or a particularly loud crowd. The stakes are non-existent. But fans in Sacramento are excitable even in the least pressurized situations, so if the team gives the crowd a little something, they'll respond and feed it back. It'd be good to start that cycle early this season.

PREGAME HAIKU

The Sleep Train wakens,
groggy from the ice-capades.
Get the basketball.

PREDILICTION

DeMarcus Cousins and Blake Griffin will not hug.

PREDICTION

Kings 100, Clippers 92.

Game thread at 7. Vamanos Sacramento!