Sacramento Kings vs. Phoenix Suns: Game Preview
The 1-2 Sacramento Kings head to Phoenix to play the 0-3 Suns. After the Kings had a rough game in Denver, can they bounce back?
The Sacramento Kings, after a day off from a back-to-back, head to Talking Stick Resort Arena to play the Phoenix Suns who are still in search of their first win this season.
This is the third straight road game for the Kings who look to cap it off with a win before DeMarcus Cousins makes his return to Sacramento with the Pelicans on Thursday.
It was an incredibly rough game for the Kings on the road in Denver. They fell 96-79 and it was tough to watch.
Let’s leave the past in the past and focus on what lies ahead — and that is the Suns, who are definitely playing some terrible basketball.
Adding to terrible play on the court, is the drama currently surrounding the team.
Phoenix point guard Eric Bledsoe recently made his dissatisfaction with the organization abundantly clear.
I Dont wanna be here
— Eric Bledsoe (@EBled2) October 22, 2017
Following that Tweet, he was sent home early from shootaround as the Suns seek to trade him — Bledsoe has already been ruled out for tonight’s game with the Kings.
And if that wasn’t enough, head coach Earl Watson was also fired ,so Jay Triano will take over as interim head coach.
Suffice it to say, the Suns have had a rocky start to this 2017 season.
The Kings look to get back to .500 with a win today, but here is what they need to do:
Convert the Easy Looks
One of the key reasons the Kings struggled was their inability to hit shots — even when they were open. They ended the game with a final field goal percentage of 36.5 percent, making 31 out of their 85 shots.
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The two most notable players who weren’t struggling as badly were De’Aaron Fox and Skal Labissiere. Fox led the Kings in scoring with 18 points, while shooting 8-13 from the floor. Labissiere finished with 13 points on 6-12 shooting.
The Kings will need guys like Buddy Hield, George Hill and Willie Cauley-Stein to step up against the Suns, given that they were a combined 3-20 from the field in Denver.
Considering the fact that the Suns have allowed over 124 points in each of their three losses, the Kings could be in for a big game offensively if the Suns cannot fix their defensive woes.
Grab Rebounds
Against the Nuggets, the Kings missed opportunities to grab easy rebounds, especially Cauley-Stein.
In total, the Kings grabbed just 39 rebounds against the Nuggets compared with Denver’s 58 boards. Given the -19 rebound differential, it’s not hard to see why the Kings struggled.
If the Kings can actually hold onto the balls in the air, they will have way more opportunities to score and more importantly, to win.
Demonstrate Effort
Perhaps, it was because the Kings were on a back-to-back, or maybe because the altitude in Denver really had a negative impact on the team, but for the most part, the Kings displayed little to no effort.
Against a Suns team that allows so many points, the Kings need to pour it all on against the Phoenix defense — and hustle on their own, defensively speaking.
Predictions!
Score: The prediction here is that the Kings take this road game by a score of 117-105.
Leading scorer: Buddy Hield. After he shot 1-10 against the Nuggets, expect Hield to go off for 24 points.
Leading rebounder: Willie Cauley-Stein. He missed plenty of easy rebounds in Denver, so expect him to get 12 today.
Leading dimer: De’Aaron Fox. The Kings only had 15 total assists in Denver. Expect Fox to put up another 10 assist performance similar to the game he had against the Mavericks.