The Sacramento Kings welcome the San Antonio Spurs to Sleep Train Arena on Thursday.
The Kings (1-0) were dealt a difficult back-to-back to open the season, but come off a an impressive win visiting the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay combined for 46 points, while Sacramento shot 51.2 percent as unit in a 113-94 rout to spoil the Suns home opener. Ty Lawson will continue to lead the charge at point guard with Darren Collison (suspended) for the next seven games. The Kings fired George Karl in the offseason, but welcomed Dave Joerger, who had a successful tenure with Memphis Grizzlies from 2013-2016. The creative play-caller got off to a strong start with his new club and will look to continue the trend in the second game of a back-to-back.
The Spurs (1-0) thrashed the Warriors 129-100 in an all around powerhouse performance from Kawhi Leonard on Tuesday. The heavily anticipated Western Conference clash that featured two of the heavy favorites to make another run at the Western Conference No. 1 seed again this season, flipped the script after limiting the high power Warriors offense. Leonard finished with a career high 35 points and added five steals. The x-factor will once again fall on the 2014 NBA Finals MVP who’s transition defense will cause some matchup issues for the Kings. Jonathan Simmons put on a career night of his own against Golden State. Simmons defensive prowess was noted by many last season, but the addition of some offensive moves to arsenal was one of the bigger takeaways. Newly acquired Pau Gasol was not too effective on the defensive end in the opener for the Spurs, and will have his work cut out for him in a difficult matchup with DeMarcus Cousins.
