The Kings are in town tonight for their third clash of the season with the Hornets. The two teams last met just ten days ago in Sacramento, with the Kings winning 112-96. This time, the Hornets will have both Chris Paul and Peja Stojakovic available, while Kevin Martin and Francisco Garcia remain sidelined for the Kings.

Sacramento are 9-10 on the season, but almost as bad as the Hornets with a 1-7 road record. They’ve lost their last two games (Pacers, @ Suns) and have given up at least 105 points in each of their last three.

The likes of Sergio Rodriguez and Jason Thompson torched the Hornets ten days ago with the defense focused on slowing rookie Tyreke Evans. Let’s see what was learned from that.

Game tips at 7 p.m. I’ll be chatting Hornets over at ESPN’s Daily Dime Live. Hope to see you there.

Linkage:

• Journals: The Two Smartest NBA Players in the Game
• Lagniappe: Bad news for two former Hornets, lessons from CP’s absence and Shinn’s impact on the decade
  
• Rival bloggers: Cowbell Kingdom (THN) | Sacramento Bee | Sactown Royalty

(Many thanks to Dariusz for the banner, today featuring Jamal Mashburn. Be sure to check out more of Dariusz’s designs in our Wallpapers vault.)