Vs. Oklahoma City Thunder November 25 (7 PM PST/10 EST)
Speaking of top dogs out West, the head honcho of all those canines is the Oklahoma City Thunder. When you think about it, how could they not be? Not only did they finish with the best record in the conference, but they also addressed their two biggest weaknesses (physicality and the lack of a reliable fifth option) by adding Isaiah Hartenstein and Alex Caruso.
Even with their dominance last season, the Kings managed to play them better than most. In four regular season meetings, the Kings took two from them. And in one of the games they lost (the clash on April 9), they were up by 20 points at one point.
This is all to say that the Kings can hang with the mighty Thunder. Now, they need to remind everyone what they are capable of by continuing to push the team that many people consider an inner circle title contender to their breaking point.
Their first chance to do that will be at home on November 25. If the Kings can capitalize on that chance, they will put the basketball world on notice. But if they get pulverized, they will just confirm what most people already think – that they are first round fodder.