The Sacramento Kings defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the season opener. No, the year is not 2003, this is in fact the 2011-12 Sacramento Kings we’re talking about. Sacramento’s home crowd was electric and the game felt like Sacramento was back in their glory days once again. The team played very well and hung on to defeat the Lakers 100-91.

This is a big win for the team in the season opener. Sacramento has assembled one of their best teams in years and has the ability to contend this year. As a fan of the team, this game proved that they are capable of scoring and playing good defense against anyone in the league.

Sacramento was led by Marcus Thornton who finished with 27 points on nine out of 13 shooting. Thornton made four three pointers and had five rebounds and three assists in the game. Sacramento also saw strong games from Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins. Evans had 20 points but struggled from the free throw line making just seven out of 12 free throw attempts. Cousins battled foul trouble and finished with 12 points and 11 assists.

Fans must have expected more out of Jimmer Fredette in his first regular season game. Jimmer played 25 minutes and only scored six points and had three assists. Jimmer will surely get better and make more of a contribution offensively as the season goes on. Once he hits his stride and gets comfortable with the NBA game, Sacramento could be very dangerous offensively.

Sacramento fans shouldn’t expect too much after just one win. The victory is a great start to the season and shows that when they play well, this team is capable of competing with nearly anyone. The young roster will need to put forth a consistent effort on a nightly basis. If there was ever a season where the team needed to do great, this is the year. Sacramento needs to have the kind of magical season that gets the fan base rejuvenated and believing in their team. This is just the kind of start the team needed to make that happen in 2011-12.

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and a lifelong fan of the Sacramento Kings. He started going to Kings games at age six and has attended hundreds of games since. Follow him on twitter @kyler11.

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The NBA recently announced its revised 2011-12 schedule. Every NBA team will face a challenge to squeeze 66 games into such a short time period. Playing 66 games in 95 days will surely present a challenge to the team. The Sacramento Kings will both open and close the season against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Sacramento will begin the season on December 26 at home against the Los Angeles Lakers. They will conclude the season at home on April 26 against the Los Angeles Lakers. In between these games, there will be several long road trips, several long home stands, back-to-back games, and even some back-to-back-to-back games. In a normal NBA season this is unheard of. These are all factors that players will have to adjust to this year.

Sacramento will play a nine game home stand from March 7 through March 22. Their longest road trip of the season will come from February 14 to February 22 where they will play six road games in nine days. This will be a challenging road trip but luckily for the team it will lead right into the All-Star break.

Sacramento will only have to face the notorious back-to-back-to-back games just once from January 3-5. This will be a difficult stretch and will be interesting to see how the team adjusts to it. This is a challenge that every team will have to face and will not provide an advantage to any one team more than others.

As a fan of the NBA, I’m just happy at this point they I will get a chance to watch the NBA this season. Seeing an official schedule released should make all fans excited for the start of the season. Fans will get a chance to see many of their favorite NBA stars play in Sacramento. The Lakers, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, and Oklahoma City Thunder will all be playing in Sacramento. Noticeably missing are the Miami Heat, who will not play in Sacramento this year. Either way, fans have to be excited about the upcoming season in Sacramento.

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and a lifelong fan of the Sacramento Kings. He started going to Kings games at age six and has attended hundreds of games since. Follow him on twitter @kyler11.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

As the NBA season nears fans, players and team executives are scrambling to prepare for a quick start to the season. Many fans are curious what will happen with their favorite team and what the roster will look like on opening day. Once free agency begins a flurry of moves are likely to be made as teams will have very little time from that date until the start of games. The Sacramento Kings should have their starting five mostly in place.

Assuming that the Kings re-sign guard Marcus Thornton(notes) and don’t bring in a major free agent, their projected lineup should be mostly set. They have a likely starting lineup of Tyreke Evans(notes), Marcus Thornton, John Salmons(notes), J.J Hickson, and Demarcus Cousins(notes).

Thornton is the only free agent amongst the group and also the only player whose starting spot is up in the air. I think it’s likely that star rookie Jimmer Fredette(notes) will open the season as the sixth man and first player off the bench. This will make the transition to the NBA easier for Jimmer as the expectations won’t be quite as high.

I think by the end of the season Fredette will be starting as his play on the court will demand more playing time. Thornton’s game also translates very well off the bench. Thornton is a pure scorer and can provide instant offense for the second team. Fredette and his deep three point range will be able to benefit from Tyreke Evans’ ability to drive to the hoop and draw defenders to him.

The only variable not accounted for is if Sacramento is lucky enough to land a marquee free agent. Even if a big name player is signed by the team, it’s unlikely that they will learn the offense and the system well enough to crack the starting lineup with just a two week training camp. Paul Westphal is the kind of coach who is likely to ease players into his system. Fans should be excited though about Sacramento’s projected starting lineup. Evans, Thornton, Salmons, Hickson and Cousins are all great scorers and will make up one of the most exciting offensive teams in the NBA this year. If Westphal can get the team to play good defense, Sacramento could surprise people this year.

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and a lifelong fan of the Sacramento Kings. He started going to Kings games at age six and has attended hundreds of games since. Follow him on twitter @kyler11.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.