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Sacramento Kings (0-0) at Oklahoma City Thunder (0-0), 8 p.m.

Published online on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009

By Sports Network - The Sports Network
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Paul Westphal will make his Sacramento head coaching debut tonight, when the Kings pay a visit to Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Ford Center.

Westphal, former Phoenix Suns (1992-96) and Seattle SuperSonics (1998-2001) head coach, is taking over for the Kings after the worst season in franchise history, a 17-65 campaign that saw the firing of Reggie Theus in December and interim head coach Kenny Natt at season's end.

Westphal compiled a 267-159 record in his previous two stints as head coach in the NBA. He guided the Suns to the 1993 Western Conference title before losing to the Chicago Bulls in the Finals in his first year on the job.

The Kings hope he can rub off some of that previous success on the players, especially leading scorer Kevin Martin. Martin averaged 24.6 points per game a year ago, but has been hampered by a left ankle injury. Martin missed 30 games last season because of a similar problem.

No. 4 overall draft pick Tyreke Evans is expected to give the Kings a boost this season. The former Memphis star played very well this preseason and is expected to see a healthy dose of time on the court.

Oklahoma City will commence its first full season under head coach Scott Brooks, who was named interim coach on November 22 of this past season and led the Thunder to a 22-47 record in his first stint as a head coach.

Brooks is fortunate to have Durant on his squad, as the star swingman posted a team-high 25.3 points per game in 2008-09. Durant will team up with forward Jeff Green and guards Russell Westbrook and rookie James Harden. Harden was taken with the third overall pick in the latest draft. Guard Shaun Livingston should be at full strength after undergoing knee surgery late last year.

Oklahoma City won two of three meetings with Sacramento a year ago, while the Kings have won 10 of the last 15 games in this series.


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