The bigs are where Sacramento is hurting. Ben Simmons had surgery to repair a torn right Achilles and is gone. Maxime Raynaud has been ruled out with a knee injury, and the most recent reporting has Domantas Sabonis out with a knee problem as well. That leaves the Kings without their starting center and their backup center, and it shows up every night on the glass and in the paint.
The losses haven't been blowouts, which makes them easier to watch and somehow more frustrating. Orlando came in missing Banchero, Suggs, Isaac and 3 others and still won 107-100 in Sacramento. The Magic built a 7-point lead in the 1st quarter, and the Kings never closed it, even though they won 2 quarters. Before that, the Kings lost to Miami by 6 and lost to the Lakers and Spurs by double digits, all at home. Their only win in the stretch came on the road, 115-100 at Dallas. The Kings keep falling behind early and never get all the way back. The 1-8 start was the 6th in franchise history, and 2 more losses have been added since.
Most of the questions belong to Portland. How hard will 2 nights against the Thunder hit the Blazers' legs? Does Lillard's workload go up, or does the staff protect him at the end of a long week? Sacramento has been home and off since the Orlando loss, so the Kings will be the fresher team. Rest has not been their problem, though. They need to get through a 1st quarter without falling behind.
Tipoff is 7:00 PM PT. If the Blazers come out of the Oklahoma City set in decent shape, this looks like a game they're supposed to win. If they come out of it worn down, a desperate home team with nothing to lose and plenty of rest has a real chance.
