Marcus Thornton picked up the pace with 17 points and three triples on Friday, hitting 6-of-12 shots from the field to go with four rebounds and one assist in 33 minutes.

Thornton's play had been in the doghouse with certain Kings beat writers but that may change after he showed a little fire tonight. With Jimmer Fredette definitely out of the rotation right now, and Ben McLemore (13 minutes) still learning the ropes, Buckets has a great shot at late-round value with some upside.

Marcus Thornton didn't do much in his 31 minutes of playing time on Wednesday with a line of four points, two boards, one assist and no 3-pointers on 1-of-6 shooting.

Despite the off night, at least he played better than rookie Ben McLemore. Thornton has been a boom-or-bust guy for much of his career, so he's not worth cutting unless it's for a hot free agent like Miles Plumlee or Alec Burks.

Marcus Thornton started in the Kings' preseason win over the Clippers on Friday, scoring 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting (including a three) with six rebounds and one steal in 35 minutes.

We're just reading tea leaves but it looked like we might have seen the Kings' starting lineup tonight, and if that's the case then Thornton's value kicks up to the point where he should be drafted in many formats. We'll let you know when we get clarification but in the meantime give him a look, as he has been very affordable before tonight.

Marcus Thornton is expected to be back in action Friday after getting Wednesday night off.

He's having a very quiet preseason, scoring no more than 11 points in the five games he's appeared in, while hitting four 3-pointers and shooting 42 percent. Hopefully this is just a case of the Kings giving Jimmer Fredette and Ben McLemore a preseason look, and he'll turn Thornton loose when the games start counting. But unfortunately, that's not guaranteed to happen. Thornton is still worth a late look in fantasy leagues either way.

Marcus Thornton did not play on Thursday night.

There is no word of an injury and Mike Malone looks to have just given him a night off. Thornton is a high-upside player to take later in drafts for owners looking to solidify their 3-point shooting.

Coach Mike Malone said that Marcus Thornton has "bought in to the defensive end of the floor."

Thornton is going to need to bring the D since Malone is a large proponent of getting stops. Last year, he had the second worst defensive efficiency rating among all players that played at least 21 minutes per game -- behind Byron Mullens. It's unclear how the Kings will use the fifth-year guard, but he does have value as a sleeper for his offensive production.

Kings coach Mike Malone has challenged Marcus Thornton to play better defense.

"You can't come in the game and get 20 [points] and give up 20 [points]," said Malone. Even if his defense doesn't improve, Thornton will compete for SG minutes with rookie Ben McLemore, which leaves minimal playing time for Jimmer Fredette.

Marcus Thornton fell out of the picture vs. Houston on Sunday, shooting 0-of-6 in eight bench minutes.

Thornton played 30+ minutes in each of the past two games, but it didn't take much to drop him down the rotation -- Jimmer Fredette had 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in 21 minutes, and Toney Douglas had six points and five rebounds in 24 minutes. It's a fitting turn of events at the end of Thornton's chaotic season.

Marcus Thornton got hot in the fourth quarter, finishing with 20 points, five boards, one steal, one block and four 3-pointers in 30 minutes on Wednesday.

He scored 13 points in the second quarter to help the Kings accumulate a 17-point lead at half. Thornton is as inconsistent as they come with six points in his previous two games and 39 points in his two games before those stinkers. Add him at your own peril.

Marcus Thornton played six minutes on Friday after scoring 21 points in 22 minutes on Wednesday.

Of course he did. Keith Smart thought he had a great matchup against his chair and totally rolled with it.

Marcus Thornton scored 21 points in just 22 minutes off the bench on Wednesday, hitting 8-of-13 FGs with three 3-pointers and two steals.

Including tonight, Thornton is averaging 0.8 assists and 0.4 steals in his past seven games. He needs to score to help your fantasy team, in other words, and owners will have to take the good (like tonight, and Saturday's 18-point game) with the ugly (Thursday's three-point dud).

Marcus Thornton blew up for 25 points, four rebounds, four assists, a steal and six 3-pointers on 7-of-14 shooting in Tuesday's impressive win over the Clippers.

Thornton may have been on fantasy benches due to the fact he'd scored just 15, 7 and 9 points in his previous three games, but if you happened to roll the dice on him tonight, the move paid off. Let's see if he can do it again on Thursday against the Timberwolves.

Marcus Thornton cooled off on Wednesday, playing just 12 minutes for seven points and one 3-pointer on 3-of-8 shooting.

It was a very ugly game and he didn't have any stats besides the ones mentioned. He's been as trigger happy as ever prior to this dud and Thornton is making good on this attempts, shooting 47.2 percent from downtown since the All-Star break. He entered Wednesday tied for third with 34 triples in that span and he needs to be owned in all leagues.

Marcus Thornton scored 23 points off the bench on Friday against the Suns, hitting 9-of-13 shots (including five threes) with three rebounds and one assist in 24 minutes.

Yep, the guy missed just four shots on the night and Keith Smart found a way to play Travis Outlaw 10 minutes. Thornton is going to be a roller coaster every night but right now he is doing damage in fantasy leagues.

Marcus Thornton played 28 minutes, but hit just 3-of-8 shots and a 3-pointer for nine points, six rebounds and a steal.

Little Buckets was on fire coming into this one and got minutes, but never got it going. He had scored between 18 and 36 points over his previous five games with 19 3-pointers, so look for him to bounce back on Friday against the Suns.

Marcus Thornton stayed hot on Tuesday, hitting 12-of-21 shots and five more 3-pointers for 32 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Thornton's tough season has suddenly turned around and he is on fire, scoring between 36 and 18 points over his last five games, and knocking down 19 3-pointers over that stretch. There are certainly trust issues surrounding Thornton as far as his fantasy owners are concerned, but this is the run we've all been waiting for. Get him in your lineup and leave him there until this run comes to an end.

Marcus Thornton kept his foot on the gas in Friday's blowout loss to the Spurs, scoring 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting (2-of-5 3PTs, 7-of-7 FTs) with one rebound, five assists and one steal in 32 minutes.

Thornton has been blistering hot lately and you have to know he loves sticking it to Keith Smart, who had this scoring available to him all season but chose to enact plans highlighting the offensive prowess of Chuck Hayes, John Salmons, James Johnson, and never, never forget amnesty albatross Travis Outlaw. With early round upside and a massive week under his belt, he's a must-add player even though Smart might pick his lineup out of a hat next time out.

Marcus Thornton, who had a season-high 36 points and eight 3-pointers on Tuesday, hit 6-of-13 shots and two more 3-pointers on his way to 20 points, eight rebounds and two assists on Wednesday.

The Kings cleared the bench in the easy win and Thornton played very well again, and has now scored 20, 36 and 12 points in each of his last three games, hitting 12 3-pointers along the way. Yes, it looks like it's time to pick him up, but beware of the Kings' weekly schedule of 4-2-4-3-3-3-2 to finish the season.

Marcus Thornton exploded for a season-high 36 points on Tuesday, hitting 11-of-18 shots and 8-of-12 3-pointers as the Kings fell to the Heat in double-overtime.

Thornton became the highest bench scorer in a single game this season and was simply feeling it tonight. His game log has been all over the map, but he's scored in double figures in five of his last seven games and is healthy again. If you have someone to drop, it's time to pick Thornton up and hope this wasn't a fluke. Just don't be surprised to see Keith Smart get in his head another time or two along the way.

Marcus Thornton admitted that he's still adjusting to a bench role.

Thornton hasn't started since 2012 ended, so it might be time for him to adjust as we're entering March of 2013. "I'm still trying to get adjusted to it," he said. "Whatever helps the team at this present time, I'm with it." His positive attitude is nice, but his fantasy value will remain largely inconsistent while he's in the gunner role.