Kings coach Keith Smart loves what playing on the road can do for a team. But make no mistake, he's glad to be playing at home.
After three home openers for each opponent, the Kings finally had their home opener against the Golden State Warriors on Monday night at Sleep Train Arena.
Nine of the Kings' next 11 games will be at home.
"The road is good when you're playing out there and doing our job as far as bonding and players going out to eat and things like that," Smart said. "But you still need the other flip side when you get home and (are) playing in front of your fans."
Young teams tend to play much better at home, particularly on offense.
The Kings struggled with their shooting on the road, but Smart liked their defense.
Smart believes if the defensive effort remains high, the Kings can take advantage of the home stretch.
Being at home also allows Smart to adjust the practice schedule as he sees fit.
"You can now set up your time and your schedule of when you want to come to the gym, when you want to leave the gym," Smart said. "What you want to work on, how much film you want to look at and not (be) on a tight schedule."
Rebounding deficit – The Kings were outrebounded in their first three games.
Defensive rebounding was a concern before the season and has become a bigger one after the Kings were outrebounded by 20 in Saturday's double-overtime loss at Indiana.
Smart said his guards have to do a better job of chasing down "50-50" balls and the frontcourt needs more consistency.
"Studying where the ball is going to bounce and getting to the ball (will help)," Smart said. "Rebounding is not about the technical aspect; it's about from the desire factor."
Salmons still inactive – Smart is in no rush to get John Salmons on the court.
He was inactive for the third consecutive game after missing most of the preseason because of complications involving the birth of his third child.
After Salmons' nearly three weeks away from the team, his conditioning is Smart's primary concern.
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