With a win over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night, the Sacramento Kings are feeling good heading into their first back-to-back on Saturday. They'll face a Denver Nuggets team that lost their season opener to the Utah Jazz and is looking for their first victory of the season.
The combination of George Hill and De'Aaron Fox at the point guard position was too much for Dallas to handle on Friday. Hill poured in 21 points, including two huge shots down the stretch and Fox came away with his first 10-assist game of his career.
Denver added veteran Paul Millsap in the offseason to match with rising star Nikola Jokic. Jokic struggled in the opener, but still managed to post seven points, eight assists and 12 rebounds. The Kings will have their hands full trying to slow the 7-footer.
OPENING LINE:
Nuggets by 11
MATCHUP TO WATCH:
Willie Cauley-Stein vs. Nikola Jokic -- Cauley-Stein has posted back-to-back double-doubles to start the season and comes in averaging 15.5 points, 10.5 rebound and two blocks in 29 minutes per game. Jokic is one of the more versatile bigs in the game. He picks and chooses his spots to score, but his passing ability makes him a dangerous player.
WHERE THEY STAND:
Kings: 1-1
Nuggets: 0-1
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INJURY REPORT:
Kings: SG Bogdan Bogdanovic (right ankle sprain) out, PF Harry Giles (bilateral knee rehab) out
Nuggets: No injuries to report
SERIES HISTORY:
These two teams split the season series last year and hold an identical 86-86 record against each other all-time. The Kings lead the Nuggets 65-63 during the Sacramento-era.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH:
MORE TIME FOR FOX - The Kings speedy young guard is showing that he's ready to carry more of the load. In his first game, he posted 14 points and five assists. In Game Two, he set up his teammates for a team-high 10 assists while adding nine points and six rebounds. He's averaged 25 minutes a game in the first two, but his play is already commanding more.
GIVING BUDDY SOME LOVE - Lost in the shuffle of the team's first win was an nice all-around performance from Buddy Hield. The second-year guard was one of eight Kings to grab five rebounds or more against the Mavs, but Hield's late board in traffic was probably the play of the night. If he can post more 13 point, six rebound, three assist games early in the season, he'll find himself on the court more often than not.
MORE FROM SKAL NEEDED - Skal Labissiere has all the potential in the world, but he's off to a quiet start through two contests. He needs to be more aggressive calling for the ball and continue to hit the glass hard. He's averaging 10 points and 7.5 rebounds in 23 minutes per game, but one of those came with Zach Randolph on the shelf. He'll need to earn minutes like everyone else on this team.
QUOTE:
"My coach has that much confidence in me, a 19-year-old kid to stay on the floor in crunch time, and when he has that confidence in me, my confidence goes up that much more." -De'Aaron Fox on coach Dave Joerger sticking with him down the stretch in the Kings' first win.
