Sacramento Kings to open 2013-14 season at home: Examining their schedule

Wednesday, Oct. 30 will be a pretty special night in Sacramento.

The NBA released its 2013-14 regular season schedule today and the Sacramento Kings will open the season at home for the third time in the last decade when they host the visiting Denver Nuggets.  It will also mark the first game at Sleep Train Arena for fans under a new ownership group led by Vivek Ranadivé that saved the Kings from relocating to Seattle last Spring.

Games of note in the Kings’ 2013-14 season

• Wednesday, Oct. 30 vs. Denver Nuggets – How emotionally charged will this night be?

• Saturday, Nov. 2 at Golden State Warriors – Michael Malone, Carl Landry and Vivek Ranadivé return to the bay area.

• Wednesday, Nov. 13 vs. Brooklyn Nets – Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez and new coach Jason Kidd make their lone visit to Sacramento

• Friday, Nov. 15 vs. Detroit Pistons – The Kings make an appearance at home on ESPN, the world wide leader in sports.

• Sunday, Dec. 1 vs. Golden State Warriors – Andre Iguodala and the W’s make their first trip of the season to Sacramento.

• Tuesday, Dec. 3 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder – The team that was the Sonics visits the capital city to play the team that almost became the Sonics in the first of four meetings this season.

• Friday, Dec. 6 vs. Los Angeles Lakers – Will Kobe Bryant be back on the court in time for the Lakers’ first trip to Sacramento?

• Wednesday, Dec. 9 vs. Dallas Mavericks – The Kings welcome Monta Ellis and Jose Calderon, two guards that spurned them in free agency, to Sacramento for the first time this season.

• Friday, Dec. 15 vs. Houston Rockets – Dwight Howard and James Harden roll into Sacramento with the new look Rockets.

• Monday, Dec. 23 vs. New Orleans Pelicans – Tyreke Evans returns to the city he called home for four seasons.

• Friday, Dec. 27 vs. Miami Heat – LeBron James and the defending champs make their one visit of the season to Sacramento.  Will Greg Oden, who the Kings pushed hard to sign this summer, be healthy enough to play?

• Thursday, Jan. 2 vs. Philadelphia 76ers – Sixers center and loyal Sonics fan Spencer Hawes will surely hear it from the Sleep Train Arena crowd in his lone appearance in Sacramento this season.

• Sunday, Jan. 12 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – Will this year’s No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett have more of an impact on this game?  Or will Ben McLemore show Cleveland why he should’ve been worthy of the first overall selection?

• Tuesday, Jan. 21 at New Orleans Pelicans – Greivis Vasquez makes his return to the Crescent City.

• Wednesday, Mar. 5 at Milwaukee Bucks – Luc Mbah a Moute goes back to the place he spent the first five years of his career.

• Wednesday, Apr. 16 vs. Phoenix Suns – The regular season finale and fan appreciation night in Sacramento.

Six facts about the Kings’ 2013-14 season

• The NBA schedule-makers were very generous to the Kings.  Fifteen of Sacramento’s first 22 games will be played home.  You could also say that nine of the Kings’ first 10 games will be played in Northern California by including the team’s’ visit to Oracle Arena on Saturday, Nov. 2nd.

• The Kings will be featured on national TV six times.  They’ll have five appearances (three at home and two away) on NBA TV and they’ll be showcased once on ESPN.

• Sacramento’s two longest home-stands will be five games each – beginning with Saturday, Nov. 9 to Tuesday, Nov. 19th and then again on Thursday, Jan. 2 to Sunday, Jan. 12.

• The Kings have 19 back-to-back sets this season, which is practically half of their 82-game schedule.  Ten are away-and-away, three are away-and-home and six are home-and-away.

• Sacramento will play in six matinee games at Sleep Train Arena.  Memphis, Golden State, Houston, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Dallas will each visit Sacramento once this season for games that will have start times at 3 pm.

• The last time the Kings hosted the Nuggets in a season opener was 20 years ago.  Led by Wayman Tisdale’s 21 points and Lionel Simmons’ 16-point, 10-rebound double-double, the Kings defeated the Nuggets 109-100 on Nov. 5, 1993 at ARCO Arena.

How the schedule breaks down by month