The Sacramento Kings earned themselves another gritty victory last Saturday when they were desperate for one, ending a three-game skid before beginning a four-game road trip.
There had been reports of power clashes within the Sacramento Kings in separate weeks, causing negative media attention all while enduring the league’s fourth most difficult schedule. Undeterred and determined, the on-court team find themselves sitting with a remarkable-for-them .500 record after 22 games.
Sacramento’s next four games are on the road. Let us take a look at what we can expect from each matchup.
Game #1: at Phoenix Suns (12/4)
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The Kings are everything the Phoenix Suns should have been.
Phoenix has their star in the making in Devin Booker. They landed the first overall pick in the last draft, selecting the hometown product and best player available Deandre Ayton to tower in the middle. They have players with loads of potential like T.J. Warren and Josh Jackson, as well as established veterans like Trevor Ariza and Jamal Crawford to round out their rotation.
Meanwhile, the Kings’ potential star averaged under 12 points per game last season in a below-average rookie year. They passed on the player who is likely to win this season’s Rookie of the Year award and their veterans are Zach Randolph, Iman Shumpert, and Kosta Koufos.
Sacramento is one of the biggest stories of the early season, this time for the right reasons (mostly). Meanwhile, the Suns are struggling. They are a three-man show offensively and their second unit struggles mightily. Phoenix ranks in the bottom five in the league in the following categories: points, turnovers, fouls, rebounds, blocks, and free throws made.
In both of their matchups (summer league and preseason), DeAndre Ayton got the best of Marvin Bagley III, and it is unknown if Bagley will even suit up for Tuesday’s game. What should have been the first regular-season matchup between the top two picks of last year’s draft will probably be about De’Aaron Fox running the Suns’ guards out of breath.