The opening game of the Western Conference Finals between the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors will be played on Saturday night. The puck drops at the Golden 1 Center at 8:30 p.m. EDT.
Latest updates on Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, and Domantas Sabonis
The Golden State Warriors, the defending NBA champions, have history, momentum, and even the season series on their side.
Meanwhile, the Kings will have home-court advantage when the Northern California rivals meet in the NBA playoffs for the first time in an opening-round series that begins Saturday night in Sacramento.
The Golden State Warriors finished the regular season with a 44-38 record, good for sixth place in the Western Conference. They finished the regular season on a high note, winning eight of their final ten games to move up to sixth place.
Steph Curry had another exceptional season, averaging 29.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game. Klay Thompson, the other big brother, had a successful season, averaging 21.4 points per game.
The Warriors have had their fair share of injuries, but they enter this series in good shape.
Andrew Wiggins, the All-Star forward, had missed the last few games of the regular season due to personal reasons, but all indications are that he will be ready to go for game 1. All of the other key players are also ready to go.
The Sacramento Kings had their best season since Chris Webber and Mike Bibby were in charge. They finished 48-34 and won one of the NBA’s toughest divisions, the Pacific Division.
De’Aaron Fox, the Kings’ point guard, had a breakout year, averaging 25 points and 6.4 assists per game. Damontas Sabonis had a fantastic season as well, averaging 19.1 points and an NBA-leading 12.3 rebounds per game.
When the Kings rested four key players, including All-Stars Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox, on the third-to-last day of the regular season last Friday, they had already clinched the Pacific Division title and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. It was a game in Sacramento that the Warriors won 119-97 to set up the upcoming rematch.
The good news for the Kings is that they achieved their goal of keeping their stars healthy. Sacramento comes into the series with all hands on deck, just as it did the last time Golden State came to town this season.
That was on Nov. 13, when Sabonis had 26 points, 22 rebounds, and eight assists in a 122-115 victory over Fox.
The question now is whether an inexperienced team can sustain that level of success in the playoffs, particularly when facing the playoff-tested defending champions in the first round.
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Kings injuries:
- Harrison Barnes (Ankle) – Questionable
- Davion Mitchell (Knee) – Questionable
- Matthew Dellavedova (Finger) – Out
Warriors injuries:
- Ty Jerome (Illness) – Questionable
- Andre Iguodala (Wrist) – Out
- Ryan Rollins (Foot) – Out for the season
