Sacramento has won two in a row since overhauling their roster
In the first game with their full complement of new players, the Sacramento Kings defeated the Washington Wizards 123-110. All five starters scored in double figures and played a major part in Sacramento’s comfortable victory on Saturday .
The Kings trailed by as much as 13 points in the first half before rallying back and having their way with an injury-depleted Wizards team playing without in the second half. Sacramento outscored Washington 64-45, completely having their way on offense.
De’Aaron Fox continued his solid play, scoring a game-high 26 points on Saturday. Fox and Domantas Sabonis have already developed a nice on-court chemistry with their two-man game which has been great to see.
Speaking of Sabonis, he filled the stat sheet up once again on Saturday, scoring 16 points on nine shots while grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out seven assists. The Kings offense looks way different and more connected when he’s out there, which is crazy to say since he has only played two games with his new team.
After dishing out 32 assists as a team against Minnesota on Wednesday, Sacramento dished out 27 on Saturday. This influx in assists can mostly be attributed to Sabonis and his infectious passing ability, which has already begun to spread.
Moe Harkless was fabulous Saturday shooting 5-5 and scoring 17 points while playing his typical solid defense. Looking back on it, it is crazy that there have been long stretches this season where Harkless was catching DNPs.
Donte DiVencenzo made his Kings debut Saturday and really struggled to get his shots to fall, shooting just 2 for 9 in his 19 minutes. DiVencenzo did showcase his defensive instincts on the perimeter, which is a breath of fresh air for this team.
Saturday was a solid win, but looking at the Wizards’ depleted roster, it’s not worth throwing a parade for quite yet. But this new-look Kings team is starting to look like a changed squad. Let’s give it a few more games before any proclamations are made, but things are looking good.
The Kings will stay on the Eastern seaboard for the next matchup on Monday against the Brooklyn Nets. Brooklyn will be another depleted roster, likely playing without Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and new acquisition Ben Simmons in that matchup.