The Sacramento Kings will catch a break on Saturday evening as they welcome in the New York Knicks to town. They will not have to deal with all-star big man Amare Stoudemire, who has been bothered by a sprained ankle. Stoudemire, who always seems to save his best for the Kings, had been attempting to play through the injury, but it was too much to bear in his last game with the Lakers and struggled mightily.
Amare Stoudemire will sit out tonight's game in Sacto to rest his sprained ankle.
— Howard Beck (@HowardBeckNYT) December 31, 2011
The injury causes the Knicks some depth problems in the front court. With no true replacement, the team will likely go with Bill Walker and rookie Josh Harrellson to replace most of his minutes. This could cause problems for New York, especially when power forwards Jason Thompson and J.J. Hickson are on the floor for Sacramento.
As for the Kings, expect a same starting lineup Coach Westphal has put out in the first three games. The coaching staff placed an emphasis on ball movement in practice on Friday and it will be interesting to see how the players respond. Tyreke Evans, Marcus Thornton, John Salmons, Chuck Hayes and DeMarcus Cousins are the probable starters.
For more on the Kings, head on over to Sactown Royalty.