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The NBA preseason schedule makers have given Golden State a fun slate to kickoff basketball action. First there were two games against fellow Pacific Division rival Los Angeles Lakers, a team that knocked off the Dubs last spring in the playoffs.
The Warriors took those two games in entertaining fashion, and now face another division foe and playoff opponent, the Sacramento Kings, who Golden State dispatched in seven hard fought games last 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 the splashy offseason move of trading Jordan Poole for Chris Paul, the Kings kept most of their big moves in-house. using cap space to extend Domantas Sabonis, re-sign Harrison Barnes, and re-sign Trey Lyles,
Domantas Sabonis on seeing the Warriors Sunday night in Sacramento, his Kings facing Golden State several times over the next few weeks, the improvement Chris Duarte showed from the preseason opener and the changes happening to the offense. pic.twitter.com/w6JKnQHvzD
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) October 14, 2023
Sabonis is a heckuva center who led the league in rebounding last year. He drew the boot of Draymond Green ire of Dub Nation as an antagonist in that series, but it was Kevon Looney who thoroughly out played the All-Star when it counted most.
Looney swarmed Sabonis at every turn, limiting the All-Star to 26-of-55 shooting (47%) and 11 turnovers in their matchup.
Looney averaged 15.1 rebounds in that 7-game series while Sabonis could only muster up 11 boards per game. Sabonis was routinely on the wrong end of the fight on the glass when Loon was around. Here’s what Sacramento fan favorite publication The Kings Herald had to say:
Domas will be the subject of a lot of scrutiny in the days and weeks to come. 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 in garbage time with the game already out of reach. Sabonis struggled this entire series against Kevon Looney.
It’s a difficult line to walk when discussing Sabonis, because his shortcomings were a big reason the Kings lost this series. But Sabonis’ play this year is also a huge part of why the Kings were the 3 seed to begin with. Sabonis is critical to Sacramento’s success, this was just a terrible matchup and a terrible series for him
Even though Green is slated to miss this contest, I’m looking forward to another round of Sabonis vs Loon in Sactown!
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