Outside of the Bobcats, losers of 15 straight, there hasn't been a less competitive team over the past few weeks the the Kings who have lost 12 of their last 14, including seven in a row by an average margin of 13.4 points. They don't particularly play well in front of the home fans (14-15) and these recent struggles seemingly came out of the blue as no major players were lost to injuries. Currently, John Salmons is out indefinitely with a sore right hip and Francisco Garcia is experiencing concussion-like symptoms, which caused him to miss Friday's game at Oklahoma City. Injuries aren't a factor and their young players are giving the city hope as Isaiah Thomas just was announced as the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for the second straight month (February/March). Through 18 games in March, Thomas scored 13.6 points, handed out 4.9 assists and led all rookies in fastbreak points (64). And they've got improved play out of second-year center, DeMarcus Cousins who has registered five of his top seven scoring outputs since March, including a career-high 41 at the Kings all while putting in work under the boards, averaging 10.3 rebounds during March. So the Kings are getting great point-guard play, fantastic big-man play and haven't been harmed by injuries, yet it seems like they are mailing it in. Something just doesn't add up.

Could the Kings have already mentally checked themselves out of the regular season and dream about vacations in Hawaii rather then study game tape? It's a good possibility. And if that's true, the Trail Blazers will steamroll the Kings Sunday afternoon. They won't just win, it will be a blowout. Because while the playoffs have long since been thought of as a possibility in Rip City, Coach Canales has the team fighting hard until the final seconds tick off. I mean, who comes back from 16 down with 3:50 left to play in the game, without their All-Star, and seemingly nothing to play for? These Trail Blazers. That's not even mentioning the revenge factor. Portland and Sacramento have already tangled up once at Power Balance Pavilion, a 95-92 Kings win back on February 2nd. But so many factors have changed since February 2nd. No long does have LaMarcus Aldridge, who led the team that night with 28 points. Gone is Marcus Camby, who use his veteran tricks to get under Cousins' skin, taking the talented big out of his element which resulted in a measly 8 point, 6 rebound night in just 14 minutes. On the other hand, the Kings hadn't yet experimented with Thomas as the starting point guard. Funny enough, J.J. Hickson gave the Kings 6 points and 2 rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.

Speaking of J.J., this will be a big game for him. After being waived by the Kings and not seeing things work out the way he had hoped in Sacramento, you know he's had this game circled on his calendar since being picked up by the Blazers. He will definitely want to go back into PBP and show the fans what he was capable of doing. And Portland will need more then 13 points, on 5-12 shooting, and 10 rebounds. That was his stat line against the Mavs who made Hickson the focal point of their defensive scheme. And it's not going to get any easier for J.J. As  the man down low without LA, teams are going to game plan around stymieing him.

Finally, watch the Przybilla vs Cousins matchup on the blocks. DMC has been beasting lately but is prone to being taken out of the game if an opponent can get in his head. Joel is known for getting under people's skin and you know he'll bust out everything he's got in order to get DeMarcus off his game. If Joel can frustrate the second-year center out of Kentucky, it will go a long ways in helping the Trail Blazers take the season series from the Kings.