SACRAMENTO – With the season just around the corner, the Kings will face a New Orleans Pelicans team that has bullied and embarrassed them five times in the past five months.
The Kings will face New Orleans on Friday night at the Smoothie King Center in a do-or-die NBA Play-In Tournament game, but they will not only avoid going 0-6 in a season against the same team, but also You're probably trying to avoid losing. That means their 2023-24 NBA season will end at the hands of those who tormented them throughout the season.
But the Kings don't see it that way.
After Tuesday's big game against the Golden State Warriors, Kings forward Keegan Murray said the team atmosphere is as good as it has been all season, and the team is confident heading into Friday's contest. He added that there is. Murray dismissed the idea that New Orleans' 0-5 record against Sacramento would affect Friday's big game.
“Not at all. We're just focused on this one game,” Murray said after Thursday's practice. “This is a one-game series. We know if we win this we'll move on. None of the other games are important or as important as this one.”
The teams played three times before Dec. 4, once in January, and a fifth and final time exactly one week earlier, on April 11.
Of Sacramento's five losses to New Orleans, four were by double digits and two were by 30 points or more. The respective results were, chronologically, 129-93, 117-112, 127-117, 133-100, and 135-123.
“We've got to be better,” Kings star guard De'Aaron Fox said Thursday. “It doesn't matter what happened before. This is a one-game series. We have to go to their place and we have to come out with a win.
“We've got to get a win against a team that hasn't won this year. You want to go out there and prove it to yourself. This is how we lined up the chips. To get to where we want to go. must win this match.”
The Kings (46-36) finished as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference, while the Pelicans (49-33) finished as the No. 8 seed. New Orleans faced the seventh-seeded Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday in a first-round series against the sixth-seeded and reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Sacramento took care of business and hosted No. 10 seed Golden State, but there's one more hurdle on the road to a first-round series, and the Kings must face their fear against their biggest opponent.
However, despite the extremely high stakes, Murray feels no added pressure, although he admits that these games “feel like Game 7”.
“Honestly, not really,” Murray said. “We want to go out and give it our all because it's basketball at the end of the day. At the end of the day, my goal is to finish the game with no regrets, and if I can do that, I can always go into the offseason with no regrets.” I would like to welcome you.”
The Kings, who currently have three elimination games ahead of them, including Games 6 and 7 of last season's first-round playoff series against the Warriors and Tuesday's game, feel they are ready at this point. .
Asked if he felt his team was ready, Fox said: “Yes, for sure.” “Of course there will be a shootout tomorrow, but I'm ready.”
Kings coach Mike Brown feels the same confidence and believes the adversity that hit his team like lightning late in the season helped prepare them for high-pressure moments.
Sacramento lost two key pieces to its offensive line with Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk going down with injuries. However, under unfortunate circumstances, the rise of two-way player-turned-NBA standout Keion Ellis and the resurgence of third-year guard Davion Mitchell prevented the Kings from turning the corner at the right time. did it.
“I think our players are like that.” [ready]” Brown said. “What we went through at the end of the season, where we felt like every game was a must-win for us, will help us grow and get the right mindset for future games like this. I did.”
After the Warriors ended the Kings' storied season with a heartbreaking seven-game series last April, the Kings got their revenge two nights ago by giving back to their Northern California neighbors.
While the team is putting the past behind them and heading into Friday's game with a clean slate, Mitchell is feeling a little rested and looking for more revenge.
“We're definitely looking forward to it,” Mitchell told reporters after Tuesday's win. “They kept beating us in the regular season. They just knew our numbers and talked trash the whole time, so we're looking forward to that.
“We have to get back. That's one of the things we have to get. The Warriors were one of the teams we wanted to play just because it was Game 7. [last season], but that's a team we definitely have to get. ”
Brown doesn't necessarily see it that way, but he doesn't care where or how his players get motivated.
“Davion said the last game was a revenge game, and if the players feel that way, anything that motivates them or pushes their buttons is good,” Brown said. . “I didn't care if it was Golden State. I didn't care if it was New Orleans. We have to win no matter who's in front of us. And whatever motivation it takes to produce a win, I don't care if it's New Orleans. agrees with that.'' ”
