Kings Welcome Phoenix To G1C In Preseason Home Opener
Oct 10, 2019, 8:10 AM | Updated: 8:43 am
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Sacramento opens up their preseason home slate tonight against the Phoenix Suns
After a long and historical trip to India, the Sacramento Kings are back in town as they will face the Phoenix Suns tonight in their first home preseason game.
The Kings dropped both contests against the Indiana Pacers in Mumbai, and will look to pick up their first win of the preseason against a Suns team that only won 19 games last season. Star guard Devin Booker had a breakout year for the Suns in 2018-19, averaging 26.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game.
The 22 year-old holds career averages of 22.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game against Sacramento.
De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield will hope to lead the Kings to their first preseason win on Thursday night after solid performances in India. On the trip, Hield scored 45 points over two games while draining seven three-pointers. Fox scored 16 points and dished eight assists in the first game, almost mirroring his production from last season when he broke out to average 17.3 points and 7.3 assists per game.
Second-year forward Harry Giles III will be held out for the third consecutive game on Thursday, as Head Coach Luke Walton stated to the media that he wants to ensure Giles is fully healthy for the regular season.
“He’s working.” Walton told Sean Cunningham of ABC 10 on Wednesday. “When he’s ready and the medical staff feels he’s ready to go, we’ll get him back out there.” The 21 year-old made his NBA debut last season, averaging 7.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Giles is highly regarded as a breakout candidate for 2019-20, as he will look to make an impact with more minutes in his second season of professional basketball.
In addition to Giles, newly-signed point guard Cory Joseph will miss tonight’s contest with a sore calf.
Catch all of the action right here on Sports 1140 KHTK with pregame coverage beginning at 6:30pm PST followed by tip-off at 7:00pm PST.
