On Saturday night, the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors begin their first-round playoff matchup.
The Kings are the third seed and will host game one, while the Warriors are the sixth seed. This season, the Warriors have won three of four meetings. The game will begin at 8:30 p.m. EDT at the Golden 1 Center.
Wariors vs. Kings injuries: 3 Questionable, 3 Out
The defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors have history, momentum, and even the season series on their side.
The Sacramento Kings, on the other hand, will have home-court advantage when the Northern California rivals meet in the NBA playoffs for the first time in an opening-round series that begins Saturday night in Sacramento.
The defending champion Golden State Warriors finished the regular season with a 44-38 record, good enough for sixth place in the Western Conference. They finished the regular season strong, winning 8 of their final 10 games to move up to sixth place.
Steph Curry had yet another outstanding season, averaging 29.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game. Klay Thompson, the other big brother, had a good year, averaging 21.4 points per game.
The Warriors also enter the series in season-best shape, with Andrew Wiggins returning from a 25-game absence due to personal reasons.
The five days off provided to non-play-in tournament participants has allowed last year’s key playoff contributor to get back into shape, possibly as a reserve early in the series.
Meanwhile, the Kings had already clinched the Pacific Division title and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference when they rested four key players, including All-Stars Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox, on the third-to-last day of the regular season last Friday. It was a game that the Warriors won 119-97 in Sacramento to set up the upcoming rematch.
The good news for the Kings is that their goal of keeping their stars healthy was met. Sacramento enters the series with all hands on deck, as it did the last time Golden State visited this season.
That was on Nov. 13, when Sabonis had 26 points, 22 rebounds, and eight assists while Fox had 22 points and eight assists in a 122-115 victory.
The question now is whether an inexperienced team can maintain that level of success in the postseason, especially when facing the playoff-tested defending champions in the first round.
Injury Update for Warriors:
- Ty Jerome (Illness) – Questionable
- Andre Iguodala (Wrist) – Out
- Ryan Rollins (Foot) – Out for the season
Injury Update for Kings:
- Harrison Barnes (Ankle) – Questionable
- Davion Mitchell (Knee) – Questionable
- Matthew Dellavedova (Finger) – Out
