Kings at Blazers: How to watch, injury reports, 3 things to look for
Coach Doug Christie will be looking for a better effort from his starters when the Sacramento Kings play the Portland Trail Blazers in their second preseason game Friday at Moda Center in Portland.
The Kings suffered a 130-122 loss to the Toronto Raptors in their preseason opener Wednesday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. They trailed by 25 points before a group of rookies and reserves came back to cut the deficit to six in the final minutes.
The Kings had no injuries to report Thursday. All of their players are expected to be available against the Blazers.
The game will not be televised, but fans can watch on Kings.com or listen on Sactown Sports 1140.
Here are three things to watch in Friday’s game.
Stronger start
Sacramento’s starters weren’t good enough in Wednesday’s loss to the Raptors. They combined to go 17 of 37 (.459) from the field and 4 of 15 (.266) from 3-point range with seven assists and seven turnovers.
Domantas Sabonis scored 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Zach LaVine had 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting, but Dennis Schroder, DeMar DeRozan and Keegan Murray combined to go 5 of 20 from the field and 1 of 8 from beyond the arc.
Backup center
Veteran offseason acquisition Drew Eubanks appears to have the inside track on the backup center spot, but rookie two-way player Dylan Cardwell and rookie second-round draft pick Maxime Raynaud impressed in their preseason debuts.
Eubanks had four points on 1-of-3 shooting with four rebounds, three blocked shots and one steal in 13 minutes against the Raptors. Cardwell and Raynaud put up bigger numbers, mostly against Toronto’s reserves.
Cardwell had 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting with three rebounds, one block and one assist in 14 minutes. Raynaud had seven points on 2-of-5 shooting with six rebounds, and two steals in 12 minutes.
Defense
Christie wasn’t pleased with his team’s defense against Toronto. The Raptors shot 48.4% from the field and a sizzling 54.1% from 3-point range, making 20 of 37 from long distance.
The Kings gave up 36 points in the first quarter, 29 in the second, 32 in the third and 33 in the fourth. They were down 65-52 at halftime and trailed by 25 with less than two minutes to play in the third period.
Kings at Trail Blazers
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Moda Center
TV: Kings.com
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140
Odds: Kings -1.5
Over/under: 227.5
Injury report: Not available.
Preseason schedule
10/10 at Portland Trail Blazers
10/15 vs. Los Angeles Clippers
10/17 at Los Angeles Lakers
