The Sacramento Kings will head to Washington tonight to take on the 25-29 Washington Wizards. Both of these teams made big trades at the deadline this year. The Kings traded away Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristian Thompson in exchange for Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and a 2023 2nd round pick. Wow! The Kings gave away a possible stud in Haliburton to get Sabonis. This does not mean the Kings will compete for a championship but they have tremendous potential to make a playoff run this season, next season, etc. The Kings also made a crazy 4 team trade that ended up being a great move for the Kings (learn more in a chasessportsnews.com article posted on Feb. 11th)! The Wizards also made a crazy trade(s). They sent Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans to Dallas to get Kristaps Porzingis, a former All Star big like Sabonis! They also traded Montrezl Harrell to the Hornets in exchange for Ish Smith and Vernon Carey Jr. Aaron Holiday was also flipped to Phoenix for cash considerations. Unfortunately for Washington, Kristaps has been ruled out for tonight’s game but Ish Smith and Vernon Carey Jr. will play. After a crazy deadline, which team will be able to come up and play better on Saturday night?
Check out my Wiz Talk with Chase episodes to learn more about the Wizards and their trades!
My Prediction: Kings in a tight game, around 3-5 points!
This will definitely be a close game. While the Kings have the stars, the Wizards are a well rounded team that has talent. However, for the Wizards to win, one of Rui Hachimura, Deni Avdija or Corey Kispert needs to have a good game. I think this because the Wizards starters will easily get outplayed due to the fact that their 2 top players are out for the game. All 2 of the 3 guys I mentioned come of the bench. The bench play for the Wizards will make a difference. I don’t expect thee Kings bench to make that big of an impact as the Wizards bench, considering Washington will be gaining and backup center with Vernon Carey Jr. and a very good backup point guard with Ish Smith who is back in Washington for the 2nd time. However, the Kings still have depth on their bench. Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, Josh Jackson, etc. were all added at the trade deadline. The bench is still a high caliber despite the trades to get more star power.
The problem will be, I expect Sacramento to outplay Washington’s starting lineup at a high margin than the Wizards will against the Kings bench. Because of this, the Kings will win. However, the Wizards have been a better team this season for a reason and I think their overall play, plus the lack of defense in Sacramento’s starting lineup will keep it close. Expect a good game for Kyle Kuzma, the Wizards 21 point per game scorer since December 23rd, because of that lack of defense but the Kings will still win. However, it will be close!
Superman Sleeper: I expect Ish Smith to have to good game in his first game back as a Wizard. 1, he has experience with some of the Wizards players from when he was there in 2020 and 2021 and he also experience with Vernon Carey Jr. who he played with in Charlotte this season. That chemistry will make a big difference in this game. Smith’s veteran experience will outplay Davion Mitchell who will have to play a lot of minutes in tonight’s game. Expect Ish Smith to have a good game back as a Wizard in Capital One Arena tonight!
To learn more about this game, check out my #144 Wiz Talk with Chase episode that will post right before tip-off!
Starters
Wizards Kings
Neto Fox
Kispert Holiday
Caldwell-Pope Barnes
Kuzma Metu
Bryant Sabonis
Injuries
Wizards: Beal (IR), Gafford (health and safety protocols), Porzingis (Out)
Kings: Davis (Out), Harkless (questionable)
Chase Coburn
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chase@chasessportsnews.com
Wiz Talk with Chase
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