Fresh off a dominant season-opening win, the Portland Trail Blazers are back in action Friday night when they head to Sacramento to take on the Kings. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Pacific.
The Blazers (1–0) obliterated the Suns 124-83 Wednesday night in Portland behind 25 points from Damian Lillard. Deni Avdija notched a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Ja Morant was stellar in his Blazers debut, chipping in 14 points and a team-high eight assists.
The Kings (0-1) were on the other side
of a blowout, falling 121-96 to the Los Angeles Clippers. Domantas Sabonis filled up the stat sheet in a losing effort, finishing with 14 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists.
These teams met once in the preseason, but ignore those results. The Blazers won 110-98 as the Kings rested most of their core rotation players. This time, the game counts. Let’s take a closer look at how the teams match up.
What you need to Know:
Portland Trail Blazers (1-0) at Sacramento Kings (0-1) — Friday, October 23rd — 7:00 p.m. 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: Rip City Radio 620AM
Trail Blazers Injuries: Shaedon Sharpe, Branden Carlson, Chris Youngblood (Out).
Kings Injuries: Dylan Cardwell, Maxime Reynaud, Ben Simmons (Out); Malik Monk (Probable).
What to Watch For:
Perimeter Defense: The Blazers were excellent defensively in their season-opening win. They made life difficult for Devin Booker, while limiting Jalen Green to just 4-of-12 shooting.
They’ll have their hands full against Zach LaVine, who had 28 points on Wednesday night. Can the Blazers’ small guards continue to hold their own against bigger scorers like LaVine?
Attacking the Basket: The Kings are vulnerable at the rim. On Wednesday in Los Angeles, they had no blocked shots and allowed the Clippers to shoot 28-of-41 in the paint, including 16-of-19 in the restricted area. That’s 56 points in the paint against a Clippers squad that started offensively-challenged former Blazers Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr.
Look for the Blazers, particularly Avdija, Morant and Henderson, to attack the lane early and often.
Back to Reality: On their respective opening nights, the Blazers beat the Suns by 41 points, while the Kings lost to the Clippers by 25. Expect this one to be a little more competitive.
Kings rookie Darius Acuff Jr. had a forgettable debut, making just 5-of-24 shots overall and missing all seven of his three-point attempts. Keegan Murray had two points on 1-of-8 shooting. If they bounce back and provide more support for Sabonis and LaVine, the Kings might just have enough offense to keep up with the Blazers.
What Others are Saying:
But will the Kings be able to get any stops?
In his season preview, The Ringer’s Michael Pina predicts that the 2026-2027 Kings might have the NBA’s worst-ever defense.
Last season, Sacramento had the third-worst defense and ranked dead last in defensive rating when competing against teams that ranked in the bottom-10 in offensive rating. Those opponents registered an effective field goal percentage of 56.3. Translation: They helped some of the NBA’s least-efficient clubs look like a team full of Luka Doncic clones.
It’s a small sample, but one that generally carries over from their entire time together: In 351 minutes with LaVine and Sabonis on the court, the Kings were ripped to shreds, allowing 130 points per 100 possessions. I’m almost looking forward to seeing the levels of obliviousness that are reached when Acuff gets thrown into an environment that, last seen, barely resembled professional basketball.
