NBA Game of the Week: Sacramento Kings vs. San Antonio Spurs

It is the time for a game that De’Aaron Fox has had circled on his calendar since he was traded to San Antonio the night of Feb. 2. It is his return to Sacramento, the Spurs will be taking the trip to California to face the Sacramento Kings at 7 p.m. on Friday.

This matchup unfortunately will be without two major pieces. Domantas Sabonis for the Kings will be out due to a hamstring sprain, while for the Spurs Victor Wembanyama is out for the season due to deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.

These two massive pieces being out will put an even larger focus on the guards, the matchup between De’Aaron Fox and new Kings guard Zach Lavine will be a highly anticipated matchup.

Other guards such as Malik Monk and Demar Derozan for the Kings and Stephon Castle, who will be a gametime decision Friday, will be sure to make huge contributions to the game.

Both of these teams find themselves in interesting positions in this Western Conference.

The Spurs, prior to the injury to Wembanyama, looked as though they would be a lively play-in-bound team but now they find themselves as the 13th seed with a disappointing 25-34 record and a 3-7 record in their past ten games.

It seems the Spurs are poised to return to the lottery where they will draft a complimentary piece to this team as they begin to look forward to next year, where they hope to bring Victor Wembanyama to the playoffs for the first time in his career.

On the other hand, the Kings currently hold the eighth seed, in the most contentious battle in the NBA, with the sixth seed through the 10th seed separated by just one and a half games.

So, it is an understatement that every game matters for the Kings, with a win they could become the sixth seed and completely avoid the play-in, but with a loss, they risk being the 10th seed. A play-in for them means a single-game elimination.

​​The Kings, who have been fairly streaky all season, find themselves as one of the hottest teams in the Western Conference, coasting in the midst of a four-game win streak and boasting a 7-3 record in their past ten.

That is the exact type of momentum they need to make the playoffs and loses to teams like these San Antonio Spurs would be more than detrimental to their season especially after they made a move by trading De’Aaron Fox for Zach Lavine.

They could have instead gotten a young piece like Stephon Castle, to get older and more veteran-led to possibly win more immediately.

The Spurs, coming off two days off, will face the Kings in Sacramento before traveling to the Timberwolves for their matchup this Sunday. They will then return home for a four-game homestand before their sixteen-game race to the end of the season.

The Kings face the Spurs before going to the Intuit Dome in a huge matchup against the Clippers to possibly decide the provisional owner of the sixth seed in the West. They will then have to face the Knicks and Warriors, both on national television.

A trip to Phoenix before beginning a massive seven-game homestand with visits from the Cavs, Bucks, Celtics and Thunder could certainly make or break this Sacramento team’s season,

Massimo Manfra is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mgm6116@psu.edu.