Preview: Warriors battle Kings in Sacramento

Get ready for an exciting matchup between Looney and Sabonis.

• By
  
  Daniel Hardee
  
• on October 15, 2023 11:21 am

The NBA preseason schedule makers have given Golden State a thrilling series to start off the basketball season. First, the Warriors had two games against their Pacific Division rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, a team that eliminated them in the playoffs last year.

The Warriors won those two games in a thrilling fashion, and now they face another division rival and playoff opponent, the Sacramento Kings, whom they defeated in a hard-fought seven-game series in the previous postseason.

Golden State Warriors vs Sacramento Kings

October 15th, 2023 | 6:30 PM PT

Watch: ESPN, NBC Sports California | Listen: 95.7 The Game

While the Warriors made a splashy offseason move by trading Jordan Poole for Chris Paul, the Kings focused on resigning their key players, including extending Domantas Sabonis, re-signing Harrison Barnes, and re-signing Trey Lyles.

Sabonis, a talented center who led the league in rebounding last year, became a controversial figure among Dub Nation in the playoffs, but it was Kevon Looney who outperformed the All-Star when it mattered most.

Looney effectively guarded Sabonis, limiting him to 26-of-55 shooting (47%) and forcing him to commit 11 turnovers in their matchups.

During that seven-game series, Looney averaged 15.1 rebounds per game, while Sabonis could only manage 11 boards per game. Sabonis struggled to compete with Looney on the glass. The Kings Herald, a popular publication among Sacramento fans, had this to say in their article, “Warriors 120, Kings 100: The End of the Road”:

Domas will face heavy scrutiny in the coming days and weeks. He finished with a respectable stat line of 22 points, 7 assists, and 8 rebounds, but most of that production came in the first half and during garbage time when the game was already decided. Sabonis struggled throughout the series against Kevon Looney.

It’s a delicate topic to discuss Sabonis because his shortcomings were a major reason for the Kings’ loss in this series. However, Sabonis’ play this year was a significant factor in why the Kings secured the 3rd seed in the standings. Sabonis is crucial to Sacramento’s success; this series was simply a bad matchup for him.

Even though Green will be absent from this game, I am excited for another clash between Sabonis and Looney in Sactown!

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