Frontcourt depth and rebounding proved to be a problem for the Sacramento Kings in a season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns, but help could be on the way.
Two-time All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis has been upgraded to questionable for Friday’s home opener against the Utah Jazz at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Sabonis, who led the league in rebounding last season, missed the season opener due to a strained right hamstring.
The Kings were outrebounded 51-37 in a 120-116 loss to the Suns. The outcome might have been different with Sabonis in the lineup on a night when undrafted rookie center Dylan Cardwell closed out the game after the Kings blew a 20-point lead.
“We’ve got to find a way to box out, make sure we’re rebounding the basketball, just the fundamentals, simple things that we talk about,” Kings coach Doug Christie said. “Scoring the basketball, we can obviously do that, but defense is where everything is going to happen.”
The Kings (0-1) have ruled Keegan Murray (thumb) and rookie first-round draft pick Nique Clifford (hamstring) out against Utah. Isaac Jones will be available after missing Wednesday’s game due to illness.
Isaiah Collier (hamstring) and Georges Niang (foot) have been ruled out for the Jazz (1-0), which is coming off a surprising 129-108 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Here are three things to watch in Friday’s game.
Utah’s size
Christie went with a small-ball lineup against the Suns, starting Dennis Schroder, Zach Lavine, Nique Clifford, DeMar DeRozan and Drew Eubanks.
That probably won’t work against the Jazz. Utah starts a huge front line with 7-foot-1 Lauri Markkanen and 6-11 Kyle Filipowski at the forward spots and 7-2 Walker Kessler at center. The Kings will have to consider starting Isaac Jones or Dario Saric at power forward with Sabonis or Eubanks at center.
The Jazz outrebounded the Clippers 46-38 with six blocked shots and a 58-46 advantage on points in the paint. Markkanen, Filipowski and Kessler combined for 51 points, 19 rebounds, 14 assists and five blocked shots with Kessler accounting for four blocks.
Keon’s minutes
Keon Ellis came off the bench to score nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, but he only played 13 minutes. The Kings have an imbalanced roster with a glut at the guard spots, but Ellis should get more minutes with Clifford out due to injury.
“Keon is an ultimate professional, and he is always ready to play,” Christie said. “In these situations, we have a logjam, so it’s going to be who’s playing, but with his aggressiveness, his ability to knock down shots and his defensive ability, he’s going to be on the floor.”
DeRozan and LaVine
The Kings got big games from DeRozan and LaVine in the season opener. They will need more of those with Sabonis sidelined at the moment and Murray expected to miss at least four weeks.
LaVine scored 30 points on 13-of-24 shooting against Phoenix, but he went 2 of 10 from 3-point range. DeRozan had 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting with six rebounds, nine assists, two steals and one blocked shot.
Jazz at Kings
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Golden 1 Center
TV: NBC Sports California
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140
Odds: Kings -6.5
Over/under: 232.5
Injury report
Jazz: OUT — Isaiah Collier (hamstring); Georges Niang (foot).
Kings: QUESTIONABLE — Domantas Sabonis (hamstring). OUT — Nique Clifford (hamstring); Keegan Murray (thumb).