Sacramento Kings

Paul Westphal was visibly frustrated after the Kings' fourth straight loss Monday. The first-year coach lamented the continuing problem with turnovers, criticized his team's defense and wondered aloud if a long year was on the horizon at the rate things have been going.

But the Kings aren't in nearly as bad a situation as so many expected. At 5-8, they're playing at a mediocre rate that has far surpassed the preseason predictions and is a long way from the likes of the league's current bottom-feeders.

Entering Monday, for instance, the Timberwolves were 1-12 and looking far more like a team bound for the top draft pick than the Kings. And if they take advantage of the schedule, the Kings could be a surprise team again soon.

Seven of their next 11 games are at home, a stretch that begins Wednesday against New York at Arco Arena. Only three of those games come against teams that currently have winning records.

GRIZZLIES 116, KINGS 105: The Kings gave up 60 first-quarter points and never recovered from their 10-point deficit at the break. Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol combined for 62 points for the Grizzlies.

• The Kings aren't as bad defensively as last season's team, but it's close. After finishing ranked 29th in the league for the 2008-09 campaign in points allowed per game, they are currently ranked 25th. Monday's loss at Memphis marked the fifth straight game in which they've allowed 100-plus points.

• The Kings are ranked 21st in the league in turnovers, but the problem has grown worse recently. They had 21 giveaways against Memphis on Monday.

• Monday's loss to Memphis dropped the Kings to 1-6 on the road, continuing a trend that was never worse than last season. The Kings were 6-35 on the road in 2008-09, setting a new franchise low for road wins. They were 12-29 on the road in 2007-08 and 13-28 in 2006-07.

Quote To Note:

"If we can't throw the ball to our team, it's going to be a long year. We started out the game just turning the ball over and kept it up for almost three quarters. … We couldn't get anything going because our ball handling was so atrocious."

—Kings coach Paul Westphal on his team's 21 turnovers in Monday's loss at Memphis.

Rotation:

Starters—Guard Beno Udrih, Guard Tyreke Evans, Small forward Andres Nocioni, Power forward Jason Thompson, Center Spencer Hawes. Bench—Forward Omri Casspi, Forward Donte' Greene, Guard Ime Udoka, Forward Kenny Thomas, Guard Sergio Rodriguez, Forward Jon Brockman, forward Sean May.

Player Notes:

• G Tyreke Evans returned to action Monday after missing Saturday's game at Houston with a finger injury. The rookie picked up where he left off, scoring 28 points to extend his stretch of consecutive 20-plus point games to seven. Evans is averaging more than 18 points per game and is second in the league among rookies, trailing Milwaukee's Brandon Jennings (25.2).

• F Jason Thompson had just eight points against Memphis on Monday, marking just the second time in the previous nine games he failed to score in double digits. Thompson, who is hoping to average a double-double this season, did manage to grab 10 rebounds.

• G Beno Udrih had his worst game of the month Monday at Memphis, scoring just six points, dishing out just two assists and committing two turnovers. Udrih, who didn't play in the regular-season opener but was reinserted into the starting lineup Nov. 7 after Kevin Martin was injured, had averaged 16.6 points, 4.6 assists and two turnovers in the previous nine games.

Medical Watch:

• G/F Francisco Garcia (right wrist fracture) is out at least until mid-February after his exercise ball accident on Oct. 9. The fifth-year player was bench-pressing with 90-pound dumbbells in each arm when the ball exploded and the weights caused the injury that required surgery.

• G Kevin Martin is out at least eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a hairline fracture in his left wrist on Nov. 9.