Which NBA teams should make trades
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The Sacramento Kings hope to rebound from their Thursday overtime loss against the Portland Trail Blazers when they host them in a Saturday evening matchup at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local) at the Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento.
Guard DeMar DeRozan led the Kings in scoring Thursday night, dropping 33 points on 62% shooting against the Blazers. He had help from Kings rookie Maxime Raynaud, who scored a career-high 29 points and added 11 rebounds. Veteran guard Russell Westbrook added a double-double, notching 20 points and 10 assists.
The Kings (6-21) have had a lackluster start to the season and Thursday provided more lows, despite a breakout game from rookie center Raynaud and late-game heroics from DeRozan, who knocked down a 3-pointer to send the game into the extra period and netted a turnaround fadeaway with 4.4 seconds left in overtime to give the Kings a 133-132 lead.
The next play, Westbrook was called for a foul on Blazers’ forward Deni Avdija, who led all scorers in the game with 35 points. According to the NBA Last Two Minute report, it was the right call as Westbrook raised “his right arm up into Avdija’s arm and initiates contact that affects his shot attempt.”
Avdija knocked down both free throws to win the game and improve the Blazers’ record to 11-16.
Here’s what to know about Saturday’s Kings vs. Blazers matchup.
Kings keys to victoryPlay an inside-out game. The Kings should continue to attack the basket and look for easy points in the paint. Last game they scored 74 paint points and got to the free throw line 34 times, while shooting 32% from deep as a team.Stay aggressive, on both sides. While offensively attacking the basket, they need that same tenacity on defense, an area Kings coach Doug Christie has preached all year long. Sacramento needs to be disruptive defensively and give an extra effort.How to watch Kings vs. Trail Blazers today?Start time: 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local)Location: Golden 1 Center (Sacramento)TV Channel: NBC Sports CaliforniaLive stream: FuboKings vs. Trail Blazers odds
Odds provided courtesy of BetMGM, as of Saturday:
Spread: Trail Blazers by 3.5 (-118)Over/Under: 236.5 (O/U -105)Moneyline: Trail Blazers -175