The No.9 seed Sacramento Kings are set to face the No.10 seed Golden State Warriors in the NBA Play-In to tip off the start of the NBA postseason as the second matchup on Tuesday night.
These two teams have built up quite the rivalry from their meeting last season when they met in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, where the Warriors knocked off the Kings in seven games behind a triumphant 50-point game-seven performance from Stephen Curry.
This time, the stakes are higher than ever. Both teams are on the brink and need a win to keep their postseason alive, with the winner advancing to play the loser of the No.7 and No.8 NBA Play-In matchup.
Will the Sacramento Kings light the beam one more time, or will the Golden State Warriors continue their dominance to another NBA postseason berth?
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2024 NBA Play-In: Kings vs. Warriors
Date: Tuesday, Apr. 16th
Time: 10:00 PM
Network: TNT
Location: Golden 1 Center
The Golden State Warriors finished the season on a high note, winning their final 10 of 12 games, and only losing 10 games in the second half of the season. The Sacramento Kings have lost seven of their final 11, defeating the Portland Trailblazers to close out the season.
The Kings managed to limp their way to the finish line, having been berated by injuries; losing Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk, two key rotational pieces who have played a major role in their success this season. While the Warriors have dealt with several lineup changes due to poor play, one notably being Klay Thompson now coming off the bench.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Kings Need to Contain Warriors Stephen Curry
The key for the Kings to win is to answer who will guard Stephen Curry, as Curry has proven to be hard to stop when he catches fire.
This was evident in several of Curry's biggest games being against the Kings, including his 50-point on 20-38 shooting game seven performance from last season, or his 41-point effort against the Kings earlier in the year.
Sacramento Kings head coach and former Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Brown has to find the right rotation to slow down Stephen Curry if he wants any chance of pulling this one out.
Throughout the season, Chris Duarte, Kevin Huerter, and Davion Mitchell have handled the Curry assignment with little success.
It would be interesting to see if Kings star guard De'Aaron Fox can step up to the task. Or if we will see sophomore forward Keegan Murray take a crack at guarding Stephen Curry.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Kings of the Court, Warriors Defense has to Stand Up
The Golden State Warriors will be tasked with stopping one of the league's most high-flying offenses, the Sacramento Kings.
Despite the dip from last season, the Kings are still pretty dangerous when they get going. They have a shooting up-tempo play style that could be run anytime on the court.
Power forward Domantas Sabonis has also been a force for the inside, and De'Aaron Fox has had another strong season in the young guard's career.
If Fox gets going and his shots are falling, then it may spell doom for the Warriors.
The Warriors will need to ground them early if they have any hope of pulling the victory out.
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2024 NBA Play-In: Final Verdict
If the Warriors' and Kings' encounters during the regular season is any indicator, then this one should be a close one. The Kings and Warriors managed to split the season series, with the final three games having been won by buzzer beaters.
While there is no doubt that Golden 1 Center would be rocking for the Sacramento Kings, the Warriors just have too much NBA postseason experience to not be able to pull out this one-game scenario.
We have the Golden State Warriors taking this one and advancing further.
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