#21 Sacramento Kings (1-2) at #12 Golden State Warriors (1-2) at
Tip-off: Wednesday, July 15th, 2015 – 3:30PM PDT
Location: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV
TV: NBA TV | Radio: Warriors.com/app
Livetweet: @LetsGoWarriors #LetsGoWarriorsLive (by @Kirwan421)
Game Notes
The Warriors managed to earn the 12th seed after three games played in the 2015 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. Meanwhile the Kings, who routed the Warriors, 90-71, just two days ago, managed the 21st seed. Therefore, the Warriors will wear the home whites this time and technically play host to the Kings. With both teams sporting 1-2 records, the tiebreakers came down to quarters won and with 24 teams participating, it’s no surprise that there could be 9 teams separating two teams that happened to have played each other just two days prior.
After a lethargic performance on Monday, Golden State couldn’t have asked for a better first-round matchup than Sacramento, with redemption certainly on the Warriors’ minds. In fact, a member of the Warriors’ coaching staff confirmed with LetsGoWarriors that they “couldn’t have had a better setup.”
“Our engine level needs to be picked up and I think that starts with me,” point guard Aaron Craft told LetsGoWarriors after practice yesterday. “I’m going to take responsibility for that. Hopefully, we can get this thing going in the right direction. Everyone’s 0-0 in this tournament.”
And, although the Warriors will do everything in their power to advance in the single-elimination tournament, head coach Luke Walton still has the bigger picture in mind for the majority of his roster.
“We do our best to put them in a position that they can show what they can do and they do it in the manner in which we think basketball should be played,” Walton said, “and that’s passing, ball movement and player movement, and playing at a high speed.”
And Walton isn’t concerned about Craft, either.
“Aaron’s awesome,” Walton told LetsGoWarriors. “Aaron’s one of the best floor leaders I’ve ever been around in my entire basketball career, so out of my concerns, he’d be probably the last one on that list.”
All teams in Summer League are guaranteed five games, so even if the Warriors lose and are eliminated from the championship, they would still play their final game on Friday, regardless.
The Warriors will be again without center Ognjen Kuzmic, who sat out the last game with a bruised toe, then left Vegas for his home country of Bosnia yesterday morning to play with his national team. Walton downplayed Kuzmic’s injury, saying the toe was just “black and blue.”
Warriors Roster
PROJECTED STARTERS:
PG: #2 Aaron Craft (Rookie, Santa Cruz Warriors/Ohio State)
SG: #21 Michael Frazier (Rookie, Florida)
SF: #32 LaDontae Henton (Rookie, Providence)
PF: Ognjen Kuzmic (3rd year, Golden State Warriors/Bosnia & Herzegovina)
C: #20 James Michael McAdoo (2nd year, Golden State Warriors/North Carolina)
HEAD COACH: Luke Walton (1-2, .333)
RESERVES:
G #25 Johnny Dee (Rookie, San Diego)
F #45 David Kravish (Rookie, California)
G #22 Doron Lamb (3rd year, Westchester Knicks/Kentucky)
F #36 Kevon Looney (Rookie, UCLA)
C #44 Stefan Nastic (Rookie, Stanford)
G #3 Aqeel Quin (Rookie, San Diego State)
G #15 Chasson Randle (Rookie, Stanford)
C #55 Matt Stainbrook (Rookie, Xavier)
F #8 Julian Washburn (Rookie, UTEP)
Kings Roster
Projected Starters:
PG: #13 Julyan Stone (4th year, Umana Venezia-Italy/Toronto Raptors)
SG: #19 James Anderson (5th year, Zalgiris Kaunas-Lithuania/Philadelphia 76ers)
SF: #41 DeAndre Liggins (4th year, Eisbaren Bremerhaven-Germany/Miami Heat)
PF: #26 Duje Dukan (Rookie, Wisconsin)
C: #00 Willie Cauley-Stein (Rookie, Kentucky)
HEAD COACH: Chad Iske (1-2, .333)
RESERVES:
C #32 Sim Bhullar (2nd year, Sacramento Kings)
G #33 Corey Hawkins (Rookie, UC-Davis)
F #35 C.J. Leslie (Rookie, Globalport Batang-Phillipines/NC State)
F #40 Shaquielle McKissic (Rookie, Arizona State)
F/C #25 Eric Moreland (2nd year, Sacramento Kings)
F #42 Alex Oriakhi (Rookie, Pieno Zvaigzdes–Lithuania/Missouri)
G #20 Kyle Randle (Rookie, Canton Charge/Central Michigan)
F #5 Juwan Staten (Rookie, West Virginia)
G #9 David Stockton (2nd year, Sacramento Kings)
F #31 David Wear (2nd year, Sacramento Kings)
(Photo: Ryan Brown – @letsgowarriors)
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