Programming note: Pistons-Kings coverage starts Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet California (territorial restrictions apply) and streaming live right here.
Kings coach Michael Malone will see a familiar face across the way on the Detroit bench Saturday at Sleep Train Arena -- his Dad, Brendan Malone.
“We’ve played against each other, coached against each other (before),” said Michael Malone after Friday’s Kings practice. “If we played against each other, I got no worries.
“He’s going to be dying like Hell to get a win and I’m going to put him and his feelings to the side and try to get a win,” Malone continued. “I’ll give him a hug after the game.”
[HERENDA: NBA Gameday: Kings look to get back in win column vs. Detroit]
Brendan Malone, a long time NBA assistant coach and the first head coach for the Raptors, is back in Detroit as an assistant on Stan Van Gundy’s staff.
It’s the elder Malone’s second stint in Motown after serving as a Pistons assistant from 1988-1995, primarily under the late Chuck Daly during the “Bad Boys” era that produced two NBA championships in 1989 and 1990.
The elder Malone was on the Kings’ staff briefly last season, Michael’s first as a head coach in the NBA, before resigning before the regular season began.
