The Kings and Wizards are two teams on opposite trajectories. Washington is tied for the 2nd worst record in the league at 4-21 and is thankful that the Detroit Pistons exist, while the Kings are battling for playoff position in the tough Western Conference. That doesn’t necessarily mean it will be a cake walk for Sacramento tonight, but it does mean that anything other than a win for the Kings tonight would be an extremely disappointing outcome.
Let’s talk Kings basketball!
When: Monday, December 18th, 7:00 PM PT
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
TV: NBC Sports California
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140
Last Time
This is the first matchup of the season between the Kings and Wizards. Last year these two teams split the season series, both winning by exactly 14 points on each other’s home floors. Domantas Sabonis infamously fractured his thumb last season in Sacramento’s first matchup against the Wizards, but would only miss one game because of it.
Three in the Key
No rest for the weary
The Wizards have actually been playing better than expected as of late, having led each of their last three games by at least 15 points. Unfortunately for them, they only managed to win one of those games. Last night they led the Phoenix Suns by 16 in Phoenix but were outscored 31 to 19 in the fourth quarter and eventually lost by four. The Wizards simply don’t do a good job of getting stops, with the 2nd worst defensive rating in the entire NBA, and their offense isn’t that much better, ranking 25th. This is the second night of a back to back for them and also their third game in four nights. Most of their starters played heavy minutes in Phoenix last night and they play at one of the league’s fastest paces (2nd), so hopefully they’ll be a bit tired for the Kings tonight.
Poozma
The Wizards did a bit of a tear down this summer by finally trading former franchise cornerstone Bradley Beal this summer, but they didn’t go all the way. The team re-signed Kyle Kuzma to a four year deal and also traded Chris Paul (a player they got in the Beal trade) to Golden State for Jordan Poole. Kuzma has been the team’s best player, averaging career-highs in points (23.1), FG% (.470) and assists (4.3). Poole has been more of a mixed bag, averaging 16.9 points (down from both of his prior two years in Golden State) and shooting just 40.9% from the field and 29.9% from three, while also turning the ball over nearly three times a game. Poole has not been the type of leader that the Wizards had hoped he might be when trading for him, and has seemed to care more about getting his own shots and numbers than in actually trying to win games, characterized by quotes like “my basketball legacy is taken care of with the ring”. Still, both Kuzma (who has had excellent games against the Kings in the past) and Poole are capable of big numbers and if the Wizards can upset the Kings it will likely be because one or both of them had big games.
Control the Glass and the Interior
The Wizards are one of the worst rebounding teams in the entire league, ranking 30th in offensive rebounding rate and 29th in defensive rebounding rate. Both of their centers, Daniel Gafford and Mike Muscala are only 6’10 and Gafford leads the team in rebounds at 7.8, followed by Kuzma at 6.0. The Kings lead the league in defensive rebounding rate, and they should look to keep it that way. They should also look to get Domantas Sabonis going inside early and often, especially if De’Aaron Fox sits out another game. Gafford is a pretty good shotblocker, but Sabonis should still have the advantage on him, and if they could get Gafford in foul trouble, the Wizards really wouldn’t have an answer on the interior.
Prediction
Keegan Murray follows up his 47 point performance with a 30 point game and Domantas Sabonis drops a 20 point, 20 rebound game as the Kings win their second blowout game in a row.
Kings 129, Wizards 107
Fan Predictions
Link to Leaderboard (Updated 12/3/23)
The Wizards have won very few;
SEGABABA for them tonight, too.
There’s a big talent gap,
But watch out for the trap.
Play the game as we know we can do!
+1 Poke the Wizards!
How about Keegan following up with a 50 point night?
I know Detroit looks pretty bad these days, but I consider the Wizards the worst franchise in the league. Detroit at least has youth on cheap deals, but the Wizards have hitched their wang to Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole for the next 4 years. It would suck to be a fan of that franchise right now. They only thing I like about their roster is Bilal Coulibaly.
Yeah, that roster ain’t very good. Johnny Davis looks bad, so that pick set them back. I do think Avdija is interesting but not a game changer.
I’m still amazed that the Wizards traded for Poole and his horrendous contract after how he performed in the postseason with the Warriors.
Well, there’s a minimum number of players required on an NBA roster, so…
I mean, could they have been any worse if they had just kept Chris Paul and had him mentor Bilal?
Was that even really on the table, though? Like, if they had kept CP3 are they sure he wouldn’t just retire?
They’re also likely moving to Virginia too. Poor downtown DC.
Gotta be careful who you hitch your wang to.
Dear Keegan,
Thank you for the historic outburst the other night vs. the Jazz. Tonight’s game may be against the Wizards, but I think you create much more magic than that team from D.C.
Without much resistance posed by these Wizards, I’m looking for some good things from you, young man.
P.S. I saw you try to hide the smile in the towel. Let’s try and keep those outbursts of emotion to a minimum going forward.
Sincerely,
Kings fan Baker
Badge Legend