In a rare NBA scheduling quirk, the Kings will face the Blazers again tonight following their 134-133 OT loss in Portland on Thursday.
Who: Sacramento Kings (6-21) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (11-16)
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
When: 7:00 PM PT / 10:00 PM ET
Watch: NBCSCA / League Pass
I didn’t think Maxime Raynaud would be the most exciting part about the 2025-26 Sacramento Kings season, but here we are. In Domantas Sabonis’ absence, Raynaud is averaging 15.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists on .534 shooting from the field, and .333 shooting from three in his 5 career starts. The best game of his career came against Portland on Thursday where he posted 29 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 37 minutes while shooting an efficient 50% from the field.
And with the news that Sabonis is expected to miss at least another month while he recovers from a knee injury, Raynaud will continue to get both the minutes and opportunity to show the Kings, the fans, and the league that he’s the real deal.
For as critical as I’ve been about the Kings front office and Scott Perry’s hideous roster, the most important thing Sacramento can do to improve their standing in the league longterm is hit on their draft picks. It’s obviously early, but drafting Raynaud has been the new regimes most promising move to date. By far.
Also of note coming out of the Portland game on Thursday was the mysterious disappearance of Malik Monk. According to local media in attendance, Monk was a healthy scratch behind Nique Clifford, Keon Ellis, and Dennis Schroder as the only guards to play off the bench. Will that trend continue tonight? Who knows, but it’s a new wrinkle to Doug Christie’s rotation, and maybe, just maybe, our first real indication that some of Sacramento’s young players will start taking minutes priority. Stay tuned.
Prediction: Kings 123, Blazers 114.