The Kings have won four straight and are heading into tonight’s matchup with the Denver Nuggets looking to make it five in a row and add a perfect road trip to their resumé. The last time the Kings put together a perfect trip of four or more games was back in 2021.
Let’s talk Kings basketball!
When: Wednesday, March 5th, 6:00 PM PT
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
TV: NBC Sports California
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140 AM
For Your Consideration
The Nuggets entered the All-Star break as one of the hottest teams in basketball, winning eight in a row heading into the break, and then adding one more immediately after. However, they’ve gone just 2-3 since that nine game streak, albeit with the losses being to the Lakers, Bucks and Celtics, three of the best teams in the league. The Nuggets are also dealing with some injuries to their frontline, with Aaron Gordon, Zeke Nnaji, Peyton Watson, and most importantly, Nikola Jokic, all being listed as questionable coming into tonight’s matchup with the Kings.
Still, Denver is one of the hardest places in the league to get a win, especially on the back end of a road trip as fatigue sets in. Thankfully this isn’t on the second night of a back to back like the last time the Kings were in Denver, but even still, the Kings will need to bring their A-game in order to beat a team that nobody would be surprised to see in the title contention race. One player who has been bringing his A-game fairly consistently over this winning streak has been newcomer Zach LaVine, recently named the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week. LaVine got off to a rough start with the Kings before the break but over his last six games he’s averaging 25.2 points on 57.4% from the field and 54.3% from three on 7.7 attempts a game as the Kings have gone 4-2 over that stretch. There was always going to be an adjustment period working in such a ball dominant player, but both LaVine and his teammates appear to have settled in a bit more into their roles. The Kings definitely need all they can get from LaVine, especially with Domantas Sabonis remaining out with a hamstring injury.
Sacramento’s newfound depth since the deadline has also been a boon. Jonas Valanciunas has stepped in seamlessly as the starting center in Sabonis’ absence, and while he’s a different type of player that the offense doesn’t revolve around, he’s still providing efficient offense and tenacity on the glass. Jake LaRavia is leading the team in “hustle per minute”, a stat I just made up but when you watch film of him it’s hard not to notice just how active he is on every possession. Even Markelle Fultz has provided some nice minutes despite coming off months of not playing professional basketball. And then there’s Keon Ellis, who can manage to play 27 minutes and miss every shot he takes (which he did against Dallas) and still finish with a positive +/-.
For Denver, it will be like facing a completely different team if Nikola Jokic doesn’t play. Everything about Jokic’s statistics are absurd, but just look at his on-off numbers to see how much better Denver is with him. Denver’s Offensive Rating this season with Jokic on the floor is 127.3, which would be 4 points per 100 possessions than Boston’s NBA record offensive rating from last season. When Jokic sits, that offensive rating plummets to 105.2, worse than the last place Washington Wizards. That gulf is enormous, and it speaks to both how good Jokic is and how integral he is to Denver’s entire offense. Nobody else can replicate what Jokic does, and the fact that he somehow keeps getting better after already winning three MVPs (career-high in Points, 3P%, Assists, and Steals this season, all while comfortably averaging a triple-double) is absurd. I’m not biased or anything, but I feel like Denver should just give him the night off, ankles can be tricky you know, and they should make sure he gets some extra rest before the stretch run.
Sacramento can’t focus on who might or might not play though, they’ve got to play their own game and beat whoever is in front of them. They’ve been playing better basketball of late, but the difficulty is only going to ramp up from here. Over the next 12 games, the Kings play nine opponents ahead of them in the standings. It’d be nice to get a win to start that stretch.
Prediction
Jokic plays, the jokes on Denver as the Kings still win after Keegan Murray hits his first career game-winner.
Kings 133, Nuggets 130
