The matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings is becoming quite a rivalry in the NBA. After meeting in the first round of the 2023 postseason, the teams are set to face off again, this time in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
The Kings, who finished in ninth place in the Western Conference, will be hosting the Warriors, who finished in 10th. The winner of the game will go on to face the loser of the other Western Conference NBA Play-In matchup between the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers. The loser will head home with their season over.
While it could be easy for the championship-laden Warriors to look ahead of the Kings, Draymond Green knows better. They need to handle business on Tuesday night before thinking about what could come in the NBA Playoffs this year.
“It’s always a playoff-type game, Green said about the looming do-or-die showdown against the Kings (h/t Kendra Andrews of ESPN). “Their fans want to light the beam and see us lose and beat the crap out of us, and we want to beat the crap out of them … it has brewed into (a NorCal rivalry) but for us it’s another game that we have to win” (H/T ClutchPoints)
This is a huge opportunity for the Kings to cement their status as an up-and-coming team in the Western Conference. The Warriors could be seen as the gatekeepers in the conference, a veteran-laden team that is the last stepping stone for a franchise such as the Kings to get where they want to be.
During the regular season, the teams met four times and each won twice. These are two evenly matched teams that know what the other wants to do as Pacific Division rivals. Three of the four meetings were decided by a single point, as Tuesday’s matchup should be another great game.
Last season’s series went seven games in Round 1 as Golden State relied on its postseason experience to win in Sacramento. Will they be able to replicate that success in another elimination game tonight? Or will the Kings finally get past them, potentially ending the Warriors’ dynasty as we know it?
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