It's a new season of Kings basketball and we're coming into it off of a winning season for the first time since iPhones have existed!
I had initially intended to write up a nice big thingy in the great tradition of Kingsfans.com Game Thread posts but work continues to pile up on me (the huge influx of foreign tourists to Japan has led to booming business in the translation industry at least in the field of in-person entertainment) so that will have come some other time when I don't have five different comedians managers breathing down my neck asking for a funny translation of someone's script that can also be easily spoken by someone with no English skills whatsoever.
It's been a damn long offseason with apparently the only thing longer than an offseason with no postseason basketball is an offseason when your favorite team is actually good. At this point, pretty much every single narrative that could be said about this team has already been said except for one: What if last season wasn't some sort of magical fluke and the Kings are actually good?
The Kings Prove It Tour 2023-2024 Edition kicks off with a quick stop in Salt Lake City (are they going to have to rename the city when the lake dries up?) for a bout with the Utah Jazz. The Jazz were runners-up in the "team that everyone thought would suck but actually turned out to be pretty fun" sweepstakes behind the Kings last season and added more young talent to their roster over the offseason. John Collins also finally finds himself free from Atlanta after being on the trade market pretty much every single season since he was drafted.
The star of the Jazz of course is Lauri Markannen, the best sniper to come out of Finland since the White Death (Google it, anyone under the age of 80!). Walker Kessler is probably the second most discussed member of the Jazz, partly because he's the best young shot blocker in the league but also mostly because the T-Wolves traded his rights (along with a buttload of picks) to the Jazz for Rudy Gobert, who they presumably wanted to do what Kessler is out there doing. Jordan Clarkson, Colin Sexton, Kris Dunn, and Keyonte George lead up a strong if not necessarily elite guard rotation with George being the prospect of the group.
Kelly Olynick, chronic Kings killer, is also playing.
It's the first game of the season and anything can happen. Rotations can change and preseason expectations can be shattered. The big national TV Warriors rematch home opener looms on Friday but the Kings can't overlook this game.
Final Prediction
Kings 117, Jazz 109
Keegs drops 30. Domas has a triple-double. After a full half year of Kings fans doing nothignbut complaining about him, Kevin Huerter has a bounce back game.
As a good friend of ours used to say, I LOVE THIS TEAM!
Go Kings!
I had initially intended to write up a nice big thingy in the great tradition of Kingsfans.com Game Thread posts but work continues to pile up on me (the huge influx of foreign tourists to Japan has led to booming business in the translation industry at least in the field of in-person entertainment) so that will have come some other time when I don't have five different comedians managers breathing down my neck asking for a funny translation of someone's script that can also be easily spoken by someone with no English skills whatsoever.
It's been a damn long offseason with apparently the only thing longer than an offseason with no postseason basketball is an offseason when your favorite team is actually good. At this point, pretty much every single narrative that could be said about this team has already been said except for one: What if last season wasn't some sort of magical fluke and the Kings are actually good?
The Kings Prove It Tour 2023-2024 Edition kicks off with a quick stop in Salt Lake City (are they going to have to rename the city when the lake dries up?) for a bout with the Utah Jazz. The Jazz were runners-up in the "team that everyone thought would suck but actually turned out to be pretty fun" sweepstakes behind the Kings last season and added more young talent to their roster over the offseason. John Collins also finally finds himself free from Atlanta after being on the trade market pretty much every single season since he was drafted.
The star of the Jazz of course is Lauri Markannen, the best sniper to come out of Finland since the White Death (Google it, anyone under the age of 80!). Walker Kessler is probably the second most discussed member of the Jazz, partly because he's the best young shot blocker in the league but also mostly because the T-Wolves traded his rights (along with a buttload of picks) to the Jazz for Rudy Gobert, who they presumably wanted to do what Kessler is out there doing. Jordan Clarkson, Colin Sexton, Kris Dunn, and Keyonte George lead up a strong if not necessarily elite guard rotation with George being the prospect of the group.
Kelly Olynick, chronic Kings killer, is also playing.
It's the first game of the season and anything can happen. Rotations can change and preseason expectations can be shattered. The big national TV Warriors rematch home opener looms on Friday but the Kings can't overlook this game.
Final Prediction
Kings 117, Jazz 109
Keegs drops 30. Domas has a triple-double. After a full half year of Kings fans doing nothignbut complaining about him, Kevin Huerter has a bounce back game.
As a good friend of ours used to say, I LOVE THIS TEAM!
Go Kings!
