Golden State basketball is on the way! Come join our game thread and chat about today’s matchup here.
For their second preseason game, the Golden State Warriors will make the short trip up north to play the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM PT in Sacramento and can be watched on ESPN and NBC Sports Bay Area.
Previously with the Warriors:
The Warriors won their first preseason game on Saturday, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 91-90. Lindy Waters III emerged as the unlikely hero off the bench, scoring a team-high 15 points, all of which came from beyond the three-point line. His clutch performance was highlighted by a game-winning three-pointer with just 1.6 seconds left, thanks to a perfectly executed inbounds play drawn up by head coach Steve Kerr.
FOR THE WIN
Lindy Waters III drills the buzzer-beater to win it for the @warriors in Hawaii! pic.twitter.com/cH695pjRP0
— NBA (@NBA) October 6, 2024
What to watch for tonight:
One of the biggest questions heading into this season was Golden State’s starting lineup. Their first preseason game provided some insight as Kerr opted for a bigger front court with Trayce Jackson-Davis starting at center alongside Draymond Green at the four and Jonathan Kuminga at the three. Steph Curry and De’Anthony Melton rounded out the rest of the starting lineup which, despite the new look, came out to a slow start after trailing 17-12 within the first seven minutes of the game.
“Not great. Not great, but it’s preseason for everybody so we don’t have really good rhythm coming out, slow start but still good to get those 5 guys on the floor & see what that looked like.”
Steve Kerr on the Curry, Melton, Kuminga, Draymond, TJD starting lineup. pic.twitter.com/br5xB4uTTn
— KNBR (@KNBR) October 6, 2024
The Warriors’ backcourt appears to be set for now with Melton impressing in his first outing and likely getting the nod again tonight. However, his defensive abilities will be put to the test against Kings star point guard De’Aaron Fox.
Meanwhile, in the frontcourt, Kuminga is likely to continue at the small forward position with Andrew Wiggins already ruled out for tonight’s game due to illness. He faces a challenging defensive task of his own as he’s set to match up against Sacramento’s newest addition this season, six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan.
Jackson-Davis is expected to start at center again, but it will be interesting to see if Kerr experiments with starting Kevon Looney, who has historically matched up well against Kings center Domantas Sabonis. This offseason, Looney has worked on improving his quickness by shedding weight and has focused on becoming a more willing jump shooter — something that showed itself during Saturday’s game.
Loon gets the takeaway and bucket pic.twitter.com/HwciEkA7Zj
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 6, 2024
Midrange Loon pic.twitter.com/dEfLsGhkgX
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) October 6, 2024
Whatever direction the Warriors decide to go in, expect Kerr to experiment with his different options throughout the game as he continues to search for the optimal lineup combinations to use in the regular season.
Enjoy the game Dub Nation. GO WARRIORS!!!
Projected Starters
Warriors: Steph Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney
Kings: De’Aaron Fox, Keon Ellis, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis
How to watch Preseason Game #2
Who: Golden State Warriors (1 – 0) vs. Sacramento Kings (0 – 0)
When: Wednesday, October 9th, at 7:30 p.m. PT
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
TV: ESPN and NBC Sports Bay Area (available on fuboTV)