Coming off a bad opening game against the Clippers, the Sacramento Kings are at home against the Blazers tonight. Portland always seems to have the Kings' number, so don't expect a win. Sacramento could still improve their chances by benching De'Andre Hunter and starting Precious Achiuwa.
There weren't a lot of positives in the Kings' loss to the Clippers. Given the state of the franchise after the NBA dropped the hammer, LA should have been easy pickings. Instead, Darius Garland dropped 30 points on the Kings and led his team to a 121 to 96 win to open their season.
Sacramento did go into the game with one hand tied behind their collective backs. Ben Simmons, Malik Monk, Maxime Raynaud, and Dylan Cardwell all missed the game due to injury. That definitely had a huge impact on their starting lineup, not to mention the team's defensive presence.
Still, there are some obvious changes that could be made going into the game against the Blazers. An easy one would be swapping out Hunter for Achiuwa in the starting five. Considering their relative performances against the Clippers, it would be a move that gives the Kings a fighting chance.
Achiuwa in the starting five is a smart move
Hunter joined the Kings at the 2026 trade deadline, played one full game, and sustained an eye injury in his second game that benched him for the rest of 2025-2026. Technically, Sacramento's season-opening loss to the Clippers was only Hunter's second game as a member of the Kings' roster.
It also wasn't a particularly good performance for Hunter. He collected six points, three rebounds, one assist, and four fouls, all in just under 20 minutes on the court. It wasn't exactly a productive turn as the starting power forward. Hunter wasn't effective on defense, either.
On the other hand, Achiuwa had a solid game off the bench. He got almost 29 minutes of court time, picking up 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, one turnover, and one foul. It also doesn't hurt that he gave the Kings way more on defense than Hunter, or most of the starters, did.
Starting Achiuwa over Hunter seems like a no-brainer. Then again, how long did Doug Christie keep starting Dennis Schroder as point guard last season before making a change? But if the Kings do make this switch, then the next step is figuring out who will take over for Keegan Murray.
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