The Sacramento Kings have an opportunity to climb back to .500 Friday evening when they host the Washington Wizards at Golden 1 Center. After outlasting the grit-and-grind Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday evening for their first home win, the Kings will lace up their track shoes and prepare for an uptempo battle against the Wiz.
De'Aaron Fox vs. John Wall is the marquee matchup of the evening. Both point guards like to get out and run and have elite speed. Fox is the youngster looking to build his reputation in the league, while Wall is the seasoned vet with five straight All-Star game appearances.
Pregame show on NBC Sports Bay California begins at 6:30 p.m., with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 pm.
Following the game, the Kings head back out on the road for a four-game trip beginning Monday in Miami. They'll make stops in Orlando, Atlanta and Milwaukee before returning home to take on the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 7.
Line: Wizards by 5
Projected Starting Lineup
Kings
Sports
PG De'Aaron Fox
SG Buddy Hield
SF Iman Shumpert
PF Nemanja Bjelica
C Willie Cauley-Stein
Wizards
PG John Wall
SG Bradley Beal
SF Otto Porter
PF Markieff Morris
C Jason Smith
Injury Report
Kings
SG Bogdan Bogdanovic (left knee) OUT, C Kosta Koufos (hamstring) OUT, SG/SF Iman Shumpert (hip) QUESTIONABLE.
Wizards
SG Bradley Beal (chest) DAY-TO-DAY, C Ian Mahinmi (back) QUESTIONABLE, C Dwight Howard (back) OUT.
Rotation Outlook
Kings
Coach Dave Joerger has his young Kings flying up and down the court. He's centered on a 10-man rotation, but Joerger is quickly showing that he will play the hot hand in the second half of close games as the team searches for wins.
Iman Shumpert started two games at the small forward position, but for the second straight contest, he's questionable to play with a hip injury. If he's healthy, he'll likely start. If not, Justin Jackson should fill the void.
Marvin Bagley continues to impress off the bench, but his minutes will fluctuate, depending on matchups. The team has been patient with Harry Giles and that will continue as he searches for a comfort level at the NBA level.
Kosta Koufos is getting close to a return, but whether he'll see minutes when healthy is unknown. Zach Randolph is out of the rotation and not expected to see minutes anytime soon.
Wizards
Scott Brooks loves to go small with his nine-man rotation, but that might be out of necessity with both Mahinmi and Howard missing time early in the season.
Stocked with versatile players off the bench like Austin Rivers, Tomas Satoransky, Jeff Green and Kelly Oubre, Brooks has his team pushing the pace and putting up big offensive numbers.
Seven players are seeing 25 minutes or more for Washington, with another two playing 13-15 minutes a night. When healthy, Mahinmi starts, but plays only 11 minutes per game. Jason Smith started in his place last game, but played a total of 10 minutes.
