Sacramento Kings at Cleveland Cavaliers Game Preview

They have got their point guard of the future in De’Aaron Fox and his possible running mate in Tyrese Haliburton. Besides the two of them, it seems the entire roster is still in flux, with a number of veterans around that probably won’t be part of the future vision. They seem to have found their center in Richaun Holmes, but still, there are a number of questions here. And they might not be able to fetch much in return of Hield/Barnes/Bjelica.

Cleveland, meanwhile, is feeling good after that Toronto win. They sit at 16-26 for the year and would have an identical record to Sacramento if they’re able to pull another win out of their hat in this one. Look for Collin Sexton to continue to be aggressive as he tries to build some more momentum off his 36-point performance.

ODDS: The Kings are the favorite in this one, at -4.

Kings Seeking Victory

After the loss to the 76ers over the weekend, Sacramento’s recent win over the Wizards just gets forgotten about. They started the year pretty well and in a similar position to last year. The Kings did have an outside opportunity to make the playoffs last year before COVID halted everything. When play resumed, they just didn’t have the same flow to their game. They had started to turn a corner in the weeks prior, late February into March.

As well as De’Aaron can continue to play, the holes in the lineup make things tough. Marvin Bagley’s injury isn’t even surprising at this point, as he’s shown to have been made of glass through three years. Picking him ahead of Luka Doncic and Trae Young will forever be an inexcusable decision, no matter how good he might turn out to be.

To win this one, the Kings will need their backcourt to outshine Cleveland’s.

Cavs Look to Make it a Streak

Most of the Cavaliers season has been dictated by streaks. They have won three or more games in a row on three occasions while also suffering through separate losing skids of four and ten games. They’re not one of those teams that will go win-loss-win-loss in that type of order but establish consistency or inconsistency over a select period of time. 

The team tends to perform well when Collin Sexton scores over 30 points. They’re 4-1 this year when he tops that threshold, and it remains a key. How can he get there more often? Sexton is an effective scorer that knows how to take games over. If he can figure out how to become the 30-a-night guy, the future for Cleveland could be exceptionally bright.

There will be a fun rookie battle between Haliburton and Isaac Okoro tonight. Either of them have the ability to change the game with their skills. Tyrese as an electric offensive player, and in the passing lanes, Okoro as a clamp-down defender and finisher in transition.