Three Early Takeaways From Sacramento Kings Schedule

1. Kings Face Defending Champs Early and Often

There always seems to be a team in the schedule that the Kings face multiple times in a small span of games. Last year it was the Los Angeles Lakers, and this year, it's the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

They face the Thunder three times in their first 15 games of the season, which could be three early-season losses for the Kings against arguably the most difficult opponent in the league. The Kings got swept by the Thunder last season, and it wouldn't be shocking if the same thing happened this year as well.

The good news is that the Kings don't have another game against the Thunder for the rest of the season, barring a matchup in the games that are still to be determined with the Emirates NBA Cup. The hope for Sacramento is that the Thunder start slowly after coming off a championship, but that doesn't seem likely for a team that prided itself on consistency every night last season.

2. November Could Be a Very Long Month

The Kings schedule starts out pretty tame, with games against the Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, and Los Angeles Lakers to open up the season, but when the calendar turns to November, Sacramento is in for a brutal month of games.

Sacramento not only has two games against the Thunder in the month, but three games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, three against the Denver Nuggets, who should be better this year, and the Memphis Grizzlies twice.

They also face the Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, and San Antonio Spurs, all of whom should be at least competitive this season. The only two games that stand out in the Kings could be favored in are against the Suns and Jazz towards the end of the month.

For a season that could go sideways quickly for the Kings, getting through the month will be an extremely early test that could shape the rest of the season for Sacramento.

3. Late Season Games Could Decide Standings

Taking a turn from the beginning of the schedule to the end, the Kings finish their season against the New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Clippers, two games vs. the Warriors, and a season finale against the Portland Trail Blazers.

That's five Western Conference teams that have the potential to be around the Kings in the standings. Not so much the Clippers, but the Pelicans, Warriors, and Trail Blazers could all feasibly be in the play-in portion of the standings.

If the Kings are able to finish around .500 this year, they should also put themselves in that conversation, and those games could be crucial to finish the season against the Western Conference foes.

At the end of the day, every team has 82 games on its schedule that are filled with weird stretches, back-to-backs, and road trips. And while it's fun to look at schedules and try and project wins, we won't know anything until games get started. And October 22nd can't get here fast enough.