SACRAMENTO, CA - Following Saturday's home loss to the Phoenix Suns, the Sacramento Kings took part in a physical, final practice before embarking on a six game road trip over the next nine days - their longest of the season.
When asked how much practice time the team will have during the trip, Kings head coach Keith Smart replied, "none".
Sunday's practice was nothing short of fast paced as players took advantage of the precious time to build more cohesion within the team.
Center DeMarcus Cousins sat out most of the practice tending to a sore right thigh. Smart said that Cousins got kneed on Saturday night and also stepped on the heel of one of his teammates. Smart expects him to be ready for the first game of the trip.
The next time the Kings play at Power Balance Pavilion will take place following the NBA's All-Star break when they host the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Smart insisted that the loss on Saturday was not indicative of the intense practice on Sunday.
"I don't hang onto big wins or tough losses - hopefully, they follow my approach" Smart said. "You played a great game and you won it, you played a game and you didn't play well, didn't make shots, and you move on."
Heading into the raod trip, the Kings can hang their hat on wins over top tier talent recently. Sacramento has defeated the likes of Indiana, San Antonio, and most recently, the Oklahoma City Thunder - the top team in the Western Conference.
Since the Kings are the league's youngest team in the league, they will look to rely on youthful, energetic legs on the lengthy trip.
They will kick off their six city tour on Monday, when they leave for Chicago to face the Bulls on Tuesday. Wednesday they'll be in New York, where Jimmer Fredette will make his first trip to his home state - making his debut at Madison Square Garden against Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks.
Then Sacramento will head to Detroit, followed by stops in Cleveland, Miami and concluding the tour in Washington on Feb. 22 to head into the All Star break.
By Sean Cunningham, SCunningham@News10.net
Twitter: @News10Sean
News10/KXTV