Their most recent loss shows exactly what's wrong. In New Orleans, Darius Acuff Jr. scored 34 and the Kings still lost 132-120, because they turned it over 25 times and the Pelicans' bench outscored theirs 41-8. Jeremiah Fears had 22 points and a career-high 13 assists for New Orleans. Zion Williamson went 10-of-12, with every make in the paint. When one guard carries the scoring and the reserves give you 8, a hot night from Acuff isn't enough.
Clippers96-121
The defense is the real headline in Sacramento. The Kings have given up at least 121 points in all 5 games, and 130 or more in 2 of them. A big part of that is the frontcourt. Both centers, Dylan Cardwell (calf) and Maxime Raynaud (knee), are out and waiting on re-evaluations. Keegan Murray (ankle) is out 10 to 14 days, and Ben Simmons is done after Achilles surgery. That's a lot of size and defense gone from a team that needs both.
Dallas has its own injury list, just not one that's hurt it yet. Dereck Lively II (foot) and Santi Aldama (knee) have both been out, and Sergio de Larrea's knee has thinned out the ball-handlers. That showed against Houston when Walter Clayton Jr. turned it over 3 times in the last 4 minutes of the 3rd quarter against Marcus Smart. If the second unit gets loose with the ball, a team that has scored 112 or more 3 times in 5 games can hang around. The matchup to watch is whether Sacramento can do anything about Flagg and Irving in the 4th, since that's where Dallas has been winning games. Tip is 7:00 PM CT.