Kings vs. Jazz Preview: 48 Minutes of Mitchell

It’s a new day in the NBA and that means your Sacramento Kings have come home to prove to their loss-weary fans that this team, this team ain’t that same ol’ product your used to seeing up on the screen. This time they mean it, this time they’re for real. Well, they’re opening their 41 games at home tonight against a formidable Utah Jazz team, who opened their own season Wednesday night with an absolute walloping of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and are going to have to fend off a team with championship aspirations if they hope to start this season 2-0. We’ve got a match-up of D. Mitchells, each with their own set of lofty expectations placed on their shoulders, as well as a rematch against the team that hung 154 points on the Kings last year (beating them by 49 points).

If the Kings are actually serious to the notion of making the playoffs, they’re going to have to surprise a few teams ahead of them and what better time to do so than when you know your team is healthy and rested? Keep me in your thoughts and prayers – if this team is actually good, I’ll have absolutely nothing to write about anymore.

Let’s talk Kings basketball!

When: Friday, October 22nd, 7:00 PM PST

Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA

TV: NBCSCA – Kyle Draper (play-by-play)

Radio: KHTK Sports 1140 AM

For Your Consideration

Strike Up the Band: Before we get into anything today, I need to try something here. Monte McNair, if you’re reading this – I need you to post a gif of a thumbs up, win or lose tonight. Just, just send me a sign!

Okay now that we’ve attempted some back channel communications with the management of this franchise: how’d everyone feel about the season opener in Portland? The game was entertaining enough to keep me engaged and had the second half continued on with what that first half had laid down, I’d be in here after 48 minutes of the season apologizing for my various team predictions this season. I still might after a few more games. Then again, Richaun isn’t going 9/10 from the field most games and while I’d like to see more of those deep threes from my center, I doubt that’s in the game plan either. I’m not going to punish the Kings for their center playing well either. For every “Haliburton didn’t play well” there was a “Harrison Barnes is a mutant with the ability to steal other’s skills”.  Seriously, the man yanked Dame Lillard’s talents straight from his marrow. He really should have gone back to the hotel after the game and tried to throw down a few bars on an old RZA beat, just to make sure it didn’t extend to everything Dame does. His teammate Marvin “Off (the court to)night” Bagley might not have liked it too much but….

Overall, it was a decent first game. After a whole off-season of normalcy it was tough to see some Kangz stuff at the end and defense does take time to really come together. 121 points isn’t getting anyone to the middle of the pack for defensive rating, but they know that. A good win that was closer than it should have been.

Tonight’s game is going to be a whole other beast. The Jazz aren’t a team hovering between the 6th and 9th seed most years. They didn’t just fire an incredibly successful coach for a question mark both on and off the court. They weren’t a bad defensive team last year. In fact, they were Top-5 in opponents points per game and defensive rating and gave up less than ninety points in their opener Wednesday night. Now, that was also to a team who sees the NBA standings like a leaderboard in golf this year, but the fact remains, the Jazz are a damn good basketball team. When Donovan Mitchell struggled early, Rudy Gobert was there to eat. Bojan Bogdanovic looked all the way back and healthy, scoring a pretty effortless 22 points on 10-17 shooting after struggling with a wrist issue at the end of last year. Even Hassan Whiteside was a +1 in his 18 minutes in the game as the back-up center! He also had 5 fouls in that time frame… but it’s Hassan. You assumed that already didn’t you?

The Jazz are deep. They’ve got the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, Rudy Gay and Joe Ingles all coming off the bench for them this year (although Gay is out tonight with an injury), with Davion Mitchell’s former running mate Jared Butler also getting some run. The Jazz have championship aspirations, a world-class head coach, a superstar for each end of the court and intelligent, crafty veterans filling out the rest of the team. If Portland was a decent test for Sacramento, the Jazz are the California Bar Exam.

Will this sway whether or not the Kings are ‘For real”? Probably not. If the Kings win this will I immediately feel the flop sweat from predicting they at around 35 wins? Let’s just say I’m keeping the anti-perspirant handy tonight.

Prediction

De’Aaron is going to maneuver around Mike Conley like he’s water rolling down a cobblestone street, dropping 35 points to go along with 8 assists. Haliburton is going to shot-hunt a bit more tonight, dropping 15 and Harrison Barnes will select Rudy Gobert as his victim tonight, using his energies to block two shots and then making four threes for good measure. Davion gets a highlight reel stop on Donovan.

Kings: 112, Jazz: 108