Sacramento’s six game homestand is coming to an end, and the Kings have the opportunity to end it in incredible fashion if they can beat the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight on the second night of a back to back. The Kings have yet to win on the second night of a back to back, and the Timberwolves hold the NBA’s best record in the Western Conference. Minnesota will be without one of their stars however in Karl-Anthony Towns, and the Kings have already beaten the Timberwolves once this season. Hopefully the home cooking can pay off and Sacramento can end this homestand on a good note before heading out on the road for their next three games.
Let’s talk Kings basketball!
When: Saturday, December 23rd, 7:00 PM PT
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
TV: NBC Sports California
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140
Last Time
The Kings and Timberwolves faced off the day after Thanksgiving with the Kings beating Minnesota 124 to 111 in what is still Minnesota’s only home loss. De’Aaron Fox scored 36 points (16 in the 4th alone) to Anthony Edwards 35 and Malik Monk dropped 17 off the bench. The Kings were without Keegan Murray for that game, but Minnesota was without Jaden McDaniels. Both players will play tonight.
Three in the Key
Fox vs. Jaden
Few teams have managed to give De’Aaron Fox any issues this season, and when it does happen it’s usually because the other team has a large, athletic, defensive minded wing that can dedicate his time on the court to just guarding Fox. In Sacramento’s first matchup with the Wolves, Fox got basically whatever he wanted, but the Timberwolves were without the man who likely will get that task tonight in Jaden McDaniels. The Wolves have the #1 ranked defense in the league right now and a large part of it is due to Rudy Gobert and Jaden McDaniels. McDaniels is Minnesota’s go-to point of attack defender, with Rudy Gobert as the backstop should anything go awry. It won’t be as easy for De’Aaron to get to the rim tonight as in their last matchup with the Wolves, but if he and the team can figure this matchup out, the Wolves are in trouble. Alternatively if he does get slowed down, the Kings will need other guys to step up and take on more of the scoring burden.
Keep it close
So far in every single one of Sacramento’s second night of a back to back, the Kings have let go of the rope at some point in the game and let things get out of control. At that point they didn’t have the energy to attempt a full comeback. The Kings have played three of these games so far this season and they’ve lost each game by an average of 23.3 points. Two of those were on the road which makes it a bit tougher, but the Kings did not have to travel last night, and the only starter who truly played heavy minutes last night was Harrison Barnes at 37 minutes. The Kings need to at least keep this game close throughout so they have a shot to win in the final quarter. This would be a tough matchup and game regardless of the situation, but good teams find ways to win. The Kings have already been embarrassed once on this homestand, they can’t let that happen again. Protect the home floor, and get this monkey off your back with regards to back to backs. The Wolves aren’t at full health either, being without Karl-Anthony Towns tonight. That’s Minnesota’s second best scorer and another 7 footer that the Kings don’t have to deal with. These are opportunities the Kings have to capitalize on.
Bench Contributions
The Kings dominated the Suns last night but it could have been even better if the bench had managed to do anything of note. All of Sacramento’s starters finished with double digit scoring and every starter except Harrison Barnes (who was a +16) finished at least +21. The only bench player that finished with a positive +/- for Sacramento last night was Trey Lyles at +4, and he didn’t even score. The bench as a whole only scored 16 points, led by Malik Monk’s 7. The Kings need more production from their bench guys so the starters don’t have to do so much on a night to night basis.
Prediction
The Kings and Timberwolves go back and forth most of the game in what is a lower score game than is typical in the modern NBA. In fact, neither team hits 100 points until the final few minutes when De’Aaron Fox goes on a little bit of a streak to push Sacramento over the top.
Kings 109, Timberwolves 104
Fan Predictions
Link to Leaderboard (Updated 12/3/23)
The T-Wolves are sitting in first—
SEGABABA just makes matters worse.
It would be a big lift—
A nice holiday gift—
Overcoming these odds, so adverse!
+1 Kings win the second game of a back-to-back!
The Herald’s preview provides a place for us,
to read Jman’s words about Festivus,
with his excellent pre-game limericks,
the Mirror of Lear’s verbal pyrotechnics,
Expected this, like a double-double from Sabonis.
Well, we had our airing of grievances after that loss to the Celtics!
Here’s a semi-hot take: Jaden McDaniels is a more impactful player for the Wolves than KAT as it pertains to playing the Kings. Last game the Wolves, particularly KAT, put up no resistance on the perimeter, didn’t even rebound well, and only scored buckets in garbage time when the game was decided. McDaniels, on the other hand, really concerns me in his ability to disrupt the Kings offense all night long.
This would be another great win, but until the Kings show me something on SEGABABAs this season, I’m inclined to pick the Wolves. They absolutely can win, but if those threes aren’t falling early I could see this getting out of hand quickly. Hopefully i’m wrong. LTB!
Monk is doubtful now too. So fire up more…Davion? Lyles? Sasha?
Looks like KAT might be out.
Badge Legend