The NBA’s Murray twins will go to battle once again as the spiraling Sacramento Kings visit Moda Center to tangle with the Portland Trail Blazers tonight.
There have been at least eight sets of twins who have played in the NBA. Tonight the Murrays take the court as NBA foes for the seventh time. Thus far, Keegan Murray holds the series edge. Sacramento has won four of the seven twin matchups.
But the tide may be turning. These Kings arrive in Portland in disarray, giving the Blazers a legitimate chance to notch a second consecutive victory. Out of thirty teams, the Kings rank dead last in offensive rating, 29th in net rating, 28th in points per game and 27th in defensive rating. The team has struggled with injuries to Domantas Sabonis and Murray as well as a lack of chemistry between Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Sabonis. Persistent defensive struggles that have led to frequent blowout losses. Many analysts speculate that the team is heading for a complete rebuild.
Meanwhile, Portland is fresh off a victory over Golden State that drove Joe Lacob to publicly throw shade on Steve Kerr’s coaching, and made Kerr announce a change to the team’s starting lineup. The banged up Blazers squad takes the court after four days of rest.
What You Need to Know
Portland Trail Blazers (10-16) vs. Sacramento Kings - (6-20) Thurs., Dec. 18 - 7:00pm Pacific
How to watch via antenna or cable: See your options on the Rip City Television Network
How to watch via streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else
How to listen: Trail Blazers Audio Network
Trail Blazers injuries: Scoot Henderson, Jrue Holiday, Damian Lillard, Matisse Thybulle, Blake Wesley (Out)
Kings injuries: Drew Eubanks, Domantas Sabonis, Zach Lavine, Javonte Cooke (Out)
What to Watch For:
Tale of the Tape/Brotherly Love:
This year, Kris Murray is playing 25-minutes-per-game for Portland’s second unit. He averages 5.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. His twin brother, Keegan, is the cornerstone of the Kings’ rebuilding effort. Though he has battled injuries and inconsistency this season, he averages 14.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.7 blocks in 37-minutes-per-game. They resume their lifelong battle for basketball supremacy.
“Before college, we played one-on-one so much that it was kind of hard for both of us to score,” Keegan said. “And my dad was getting fed up with us arguing and pushing and stuff like that and he just told us to walk out the gym. And that was probably the best moment because that was kind of when we knew we kind of had each other lock down a little bit. But we’ve had a lot of good moments and stuff like that back and forth.”
Just nobody pull a Josh Hart, please.
The Scouting Report. The Kings should be a familiar foe. Trail Blazers assistant coach, Quinton Crawford, started his NBA coaching career as an assistant video coordinator with the Sacramento Kings in 2015 and previously served as the head coach for the G League affiliate of the Kings. He led the Stockton Kings to the G League championship in the 2024-2025 season. Head coach of the Rip City Remix, Jonah Herscu, previously spent time with the Sacramento Kings’ coaching staff as an assistant and as a scout.
What Others Are Saying:
Missing Rick Adelman. Since Vivek Ranadive became the Kings’ co-governor, the team has had nine different head coaches. Under Doug Christie, it’s circling the drain.
Doug Christie hasn’t been able to figure out how to make a workable offense despite having some very good scorers on this team. Last year, he managed to keep the team together but was relying on Mike Brown’s old coaching staff. This year it’s an entirely new staff and nothing is working. This team is miserable to watch, and it looks like they’re miserable when they’re out there. That’s the biggest indictment of Christie as full time head coach so far.
A Buyers Market. Kings GM Scott Perry reportedly has signaled to the rest of the NBA Sacramento he is open to trading the team’s veteran players ahead of the trade deadline.
Young building blocks Keegan Murray and Nique Clifford are both said to be off limits in trade talks. Veterans like Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis are expected to be available via trade.
It’s Deni Time. Let’s all learn to say the man’s name correctly. (It’s AHV-Dee-Yah.) Turbo has been the Blazers’ breakout success this year, and the team has officially launched the its campaign to send Deni Avdija to the NBA All-Star Game. Get out the vote!
If You Go:
The Blazers will be celebrating Pride Night. The team will make a donation to YouthLine, a free peer-to-peer help, support and crisis line, promoting positive youth mental health.