Nets vs. Kings preview: Sunday night hoops

SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 17: DeMar DeRozan #10 of the Sacramento Kings high fives fans as he runs onto the court prior to the game against the San Antonio Spurs on March 17, 2026 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and

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What is the story about?

Back home. The Brooklyn Nets wrapped up their four game West Coast road trip with a late night affair against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nets gave the Lakers a good fight, but not good enough to come away with a win. The losing streak is at ten.

The opponent tonight is counting the clock down as well. The Sacramento Kings are finishing up another lost season and were on the road last night to take on the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks continued their good run and beat Sacramento 123-113.

At the start of

Sunday, Brooklyn is in second place in lottery odds, one game behind the Indiana Pacers while Sacramento is in fourth, two and a half back of the top spot with eight games left. Indiana plays the Heat at home at 5:00 p.m. ET. The season ends two weeks from tonight and race to the bottom is going to be unpredictable.

YES Network on TV. Gotham Sports on streaming. WFAN on radio. Tip after 6:00 p.m. ET.

🤕 Injuries

The following are out:

Egor Demin
Danny Wolf
Michael Porter Jr
Day’ron Sharpe

Josh Minnott is questionable. The Nets three two-ways and one 10-day are available.

The following are out:

Russell Westbrook
Domantas Sabonis
Zach Lavine
Keegan Murray
De’Andre Hunter
Drew Eubanks

🏀 The game

Sacramento won the first meeting.

Everyone’s locked in to this game for tank purposes, so it helps to start thinking of who the top prospects are. One of them who will be playing before this game starts is Cameron Boozer of Duke. Over at The Kings Herald, Akis Yerocostas wrote about Boozer and what he brings to the table:

I’ve seen some fans and analyst be wary of Boozer because of past production from Duke guys that didn’t pan out in the league like Mavin Bagley or Jahlil Okafor. Boozer is a far different player from both of those guys. He’s more polished than Bagley, and more mobile than Okafor. He’s a better playmaker than both of them, and while he’s not a shotblocker, has good defensive instincts. If you were to compare him to any former Duke big man, Paolo Banchero would be a closer comparison, but Boozer has been better in every category than Banchero was in college. I do think Boozer would need to be built around a little more differently than some of these other guys, but I think any team drafting him will end up with a #1 option they can rely on.

The Draft Lottery will be here quicker than we know it. In the meantime, we’ve got you covered.

This one could turn in to a three point bonanza. These teams are dead last in opponent’s three point percentage and one big run on either side could turn this game ugly in a hurry. The Kings are on the second leg of a back-to-back and we’ll see if they have enough energy to make it through this one.

Nic Claxton playing this game should help against Maxime Raynaud. Raynaud hit the Nets for 22 points and ten rebounds in the first meeting, and Clax’s assignment tonight will be to push him out of the paint. Raynaud has been a positive presence for Sacramento and might be a player that is part of their future going forward.

👀 Player to watch: DeMar DeRozan

You look up one day and suddenly realize that DeMar’s been in the NBA for 17 years and has scored 26,660. He’ll likely surpass Dominique Wilkins for the 17th spot all-time tonight. He only need eight. DeRozan has been a solid and steady pro for much of his time in the league and could probably play 20 seasons if he wanted to. He’s most comfortable in the midrange area and is shooting close to 50 percent in that area of the court. Great players always know how to get to their sweet spots on the court, and DeMar is able to make things happen when the moment calls for it. As Sacramento tries to get back to respectability, we’ll see if DeRozan can be a long term presence going forward.

Ziaire Williams will get the start and look to make things hard on the former All-Star. Williams has crossed the 20+ minute mark in five consecutive games and figures to do so tonight as well. He’ll be tasked with contesting all of DeRozan’s shots and forcing him into mistakes. A good showing tonight will go well in making his case for being part of the team next season. The games may not mean much across the greater NBA landscape, but every day is an opportunity to impress someone.