featured-image

Game Preview: Warriors at Kings - 12/14/18

Established 1946 | 7-time NBA Champions

The Dubs head to Sacramento for their second of this season's four head-to-head matchups with the Kings.

Warriors at KingsFriday, December 147 p.m.Golden 1 CenterSacramento, CA

WATCH: NBCSBA
RADIO: 95.7 The Game, Warriors Mobile App and Warriors Radio Network

FROM THE BAY AREA TO SAC-TOWN
The Warriors are in a stretch of seven of nine games being played at home, but one of those away dates is set for Friday just up the road in Sacramento. This will be the second of four meetings this season between the Northern California neighbors, and the Dubs squeaked by the Kings in the first one at home last month when Klay Thompson put back his own miss in the waning seconds of a one-point victory. Kevin Durant had 44 points and won a key jump-ball in that victory in which the Dubs were without Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. The Dubs will be much closer to full strength for this matchup of Pacific Division rivals, and they’ll be looking to bounce back from Wednesday's defeat.

LAST TIME OUTThe Warriors fell behind early and trailed by double digits for the entire second half in Wednesday's 113-93 loss to the Raptors. Full Recap

MATCHUP AT A GLANCE

LAST GAME'S STARTERS

GSW: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney

SAC: De'Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Iman Shumpert, Nemanja Bjelia and Willie Cauley-Stein

INJURY & ROSTER NOTES

GSW: DeMarcus Cousins (left Achilles rehab), Shaun Livingston (right pelvic contusion) and Damian Jones (left pectoral surgery) are out. Andre Iguodala (left hip soreness) is questionable. Team Notes

SAC: N/A. Team Notes

LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD
Friday’s game will be a matchup of the top two 3-point shooting teams in the league. With the Dubs struggling from beyond the arc on Wednesday, they actually fell to second place in 3-point shooting percentage (39.0 percent), just behind the now front-running Kings (39.4 percent). The Northern California neighbors are both in the top six in the league scoring, but they go about it in different ways. While the Warriors rely on ball movement and precision from an All-Star cast, the Kings are more set on pushing the tempo, ranking second in the league in pace (team possessions per 48 minutes), second in points off turnovers (21.2) and first in fast break scoring (21.9). As a result, the Dubs should focus on taking care of the ball, as they yield 18.6 opponent points off their own turnovers, which is the fourth most in the league. The Kings feast on opponent miscues, so limiting those opportunities will be a key an area of focus for the Dubs.

TEAM LEADERS

SACRAMENTO SCOUTING REPORT
The Kings head into Fridays game as winners of five of their last six. In their most recent game, they scored 45 points in the fourth quarter of a 141-130 victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday. Sacramento has six players averaging double figures in scoring, and as a team they rank third in field goal percentage (48.2 percent), and fourth in points in the paint (53.5). Buddy Hield leads the team in scoring with 18.6 points per game and is a very dangerous shooter from the perimeter, shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc. Hield had 28 points and rookie Marvin Bagley III notched 20 points and 17 boards off the bench in their last matchup with the Dubs, and there’s no question they’ll be looking to avenge their narrow defeat in this season’s prior meeting with the Dubs.