With the first preseason game jitters gone after conceding a loss 103-84 against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, the Sacramento Kings continue their preseason in Oakland tonight against the Golden State Warriors.
On Tuesday, the Warriors played in what experts said to be the biggest preseason game of all time against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Warriors offered a power-packed preview of their awesome potential in a 120-75 win with the main focus of the game serving as a home debut for newly acquired Kevin Durant.
Even though it is a preseason game, the Warriors put a patent on the team that they assembled this offseason. The “quad-fecta” of Durant, Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green looked like the hardest team to guard in the NBA.
As for Kings, they struggled defensively last season and with a revamped roster this year, what a better way to show off their new defensive capabilities than against the Warriors.
Yes offensive capability is key when observing the preseason but again, these are professional athletes and they are expected to score.
Offensive chemistry is easy to obtain when there are stars that are going to reach their numbers regardless, as in Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins.
The real daunting task is on the defensive end and how well will the new Kings assemble given the hardest assignment in the NBA with the Warriors.
On Tuesday, the Kings defense gave up an early fourth quarter lead that they had obtained for the first three quarters through defensive efficiency and effort. During the quarter, the Kings gave up easy drives in the paint followed by countless baskets in transition.
The additions of Aaron Afflalo, Garrett Temple and Ty Lawson deepen the depth chart, which bodes well when guarding the Warriors’ backcourt. They will need all the help they can, if they plan to contain Golden State.
Along with the plethora of threes and fours that Sacramento has on their roster, Gay will more than likely get the nod at attempting to slowdown Durant.
On paper, the Kings have what might look like a playoff roster and with the pressure building on the likely departure of Gay, the playoff push is at an all-time high.
Meaning that the defense and team chemistry of the Kings might have to start clicking sooner rather than later.
Cousins and Gay hold down their respective areas accompanied by young and veteran presences. This new presence might be a reason of security in case of a big time roster change down the road.
Cousins leads a group of young and old talent to put this thing back together in Sacramento. The confidence that he has gained from the Rio Olympics will show early in the meeting against USA teammates, Thompson, Green and Durant.
Making his leadership known in the preseason starts with setting a positive and winning mindset for his teammates. Coming into the Northern California rivalry with the full attention of his teammates will prove to be a stepping-stone towards a winning season.
NBA 2K17 Simulation Analysis:
The Kings played another nail-biter, which is always fun to watch. Again, we are only doing two-minute simulations because we understand that most people don’t have time to watch more than 20 minutes of game play. I can honestly see this game go down to the wire the same way it went down in the simulation. I enjoyed watching Cousins takeover and keep his team in the game by doing it all.
It will be expected of him in real life as well. The Kings will go as far as Cousins takes them. Plain and simple.
With that said, I believe the Kings will go 0-2 to start off the preseason and lose 100-93. Let us know what you think of the final result of the simulation. Did you enjoy it? Did it feel real to you?
Tip off time is at 7:30 PM PST.
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