1 Last season these Western Conference foes met three times. The Kings won two of the three contests and have won seven of the past eight.

2 TOGETHER! That is what the Kings shouted in unison following the team's 10th practice in seven days. It came as no surprise as Trust, Team Work and Hard Work have been the virtues of Coach Reggie Theus' first week of training camp.

"I want to see a renewed sense of team," Coach Theus said. "I'm being realistic when I say it could be a complete goat-show when it's all said and done, but I know these guys have been working hard. They're ball players, and are going to be jacked up too! If I see them covering each other on defense and getting up and down the floor, really looking for each other, I'll be very happy."

3 Kevin Martin will no longer see sharp-shooter, Ray Allen in a Sonics uniform. Whether it was the rivalry Martin had with the opposing shooting guard or just his ability to score on the Sonics as a whole, Martin led the Kings in scoring all three times these two battled last season, averaging 29 points per game. Though it's just preseason, it will be exciting to see how Martin's added muscle will impact his ability to score in traffic and after contact. The added strength has already paid dividends in Kings scrimmages and is sure to help him man up all season.

4 Kevin Durant has received an endless press since he blew up in high school and then his ascent on the NCAA level at the University of Texas last season. That one season was quite memorable, though the Longhorns didn't garner the Championship; Durant was the first freshman to sweep all major individual collegiate honors, including the Naismith Player of the Year Award.

"If he's going to play in this league he's going to have to be able to guard people," Coach Theus said in reference to Durant playing the two guard. "He's going to have to play all over the floor. He's legitimate, size wise. So his ability and the fact that they are thinking about playing him at the two gives you an idea of, not necessarily his ability to shoot the ball, but they must feel that he can guard a Two, because that is the biggest difference."

5 Defense -- Coach Theus' system is still a work in progress as he hasn't wanted to throw everything at the team all at once. Regardless of past defensive ability or inability, Theus wants to see maximum effort on the defensive end. As Theus sees it, Ron Artest is the man who leads the defensive effort for the entire team and he's also seen nice progression of Mike Bibby and Kevin Martin.

"I've seen his willingness," Theus said. "But I'm waiting to see that guy really take over the game. I've seen Ron Artest take over games from a defensive stand point (in the past). That's the mentality I want him to have. There'll be times in a game where we need three or four defensive stops (in a row) and I need Ron to be the catalyst for that. I have seen moments of it, and I know he's working on it. I expect him to get it done.

"I've seen Mike Bibby get better in training camp, defensively. I've seen Kevin really working hard defensively, but nobody has hit the plateau where I want them to be defensively yet."

Closing thought:

Preseason games are unlike regular season games, where the win column doesn't amount to much. While the final tally isn't a good indicator of what the team is capable of doing, Coach Theus is focused on getting a maximum effort from his players.

"Winning is always important, but is it the ultimate thing, no. I think it's important for us to see steps in the right direction for what we're trying to accomplish. You have to remember, this is a brand new staff and the player's have had a couple coaches in the past few years, so I haven't thrown too much at them. But parts of the execution is what I am really going to be looking at."

Injuries:

Kings: Francisco Garcia has been playing all-out in practice; however, his full throttle approach will leave him on the sideline for tonight's contest as he is not feeling 100 percent. Coach Theus said it was simply a "precaution" since Garcia is feeling sore. Spencer Hawes will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Wednesday, October 10 in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Lawrence Holland will perform the procedure. And Shareef Abdur-Rahim will be out as he recovers from surgery on his right knee.

Sonics: After shootaround today Coach Carlesimo said Mickael Gelabale (strained left hamstring), Wally Szczerbiak (left knee swelling) and Kurt Thomas (left quad contusion) will be absent from tonight's game for Seattle.

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