Defensive rebounds, pace expected be crucial in Kings, Mavs matchup

The Sacramento Kings find themselves in the NBA play-in tournament once again, as they’re set to host the Dallas Mavericks in the 9/10 matchup Wednesday night in Golden 1 Center.

Having swept the Mavericks 3-0 in their regular season battles in encouraging, but both rosters have seen significant turnover throughout the year.

None of their previous matchups featured Anthony Davis or Luka Doncic. Their first matchup was days after Mike Brown’s firing, when De’Aaron Fox was still a member of the Kings.

The latter two, however, featured Zach LaVine wearing royal purple. When healthy, Dallas possesses one of the largest lineups in the league between Davis, Daniel Gafford, and Dereck Lively II.

But, they haven’t gotten many chances to be alongside each other much prior to the conclusion of their 2024-25 regular season.

After Monday’s practice, Christie said that reality “absolutely” makes their opponents a tough scout.

“There are a lot of different things that they do, obviously,” he continued. “But they’re finding their way at the same time because when you have injuries, guys are rusty… and it’s tough to kind of work them back in but when they’re your main guys you have to live through the rust as they knock it off.”

Having previously harped on the importance of having a “faceless opponent,” that goes out the window with the arrival of the postseason.

“The opponent has a face,” Christie said. “But when we look in the mirror, we need to always see ourselves because until we are really, definitive on who we are on a night-to-night basis and we understand it even without me having to coach that part of it… until we get there, we always have to look at ourselves.”

One of their staples this season has been playing with pace. Fox’s speed was a crucial part of that early on, but it also plays into LaVine’s strength while serving as a potential counter to Dallas’ frontcourt size.

The Kings finished their season ranked 24th in transition frequency (14.2 percent), but ninth in points per possession (116.7).

“You don’t want to get into a halfcourt battle with them, especially in the halfcourt defense,” LaVine said Monday.

“The easier we can make our lives with getting out and getting easy baskets… we will take that all day.”

Transition basketball simplifies the game for everyone on the floor. The easiest way to accomplish that is by forcing turnovers, but securing defensive rebounds and being able to run after missed shots is vital as well.

Sacramento’s 72.8 percent defensive rebounding percentage in the regular season finished second amongst NBA teams, trailing only the Los Angeles Clippers (73.4 percent).

Domantas Sabonis leads that charge, pulling down 10.1 defensive rebounds per game, the highest rate in the league.

But Keegan Murray has shown tremendous growth on that end as well, and he’s the one expected to be matched up with Davis. Increasing his rebounds per game from 5.5 in his sophomore season to 6.7 bodes well for their play-in battle.

“If we can get the defensive rebound and push the ball in transition, I think we’ll have a good chance of winning and scoring easy baskets that way,” Murray said Monday.

“Because when they set up their halfcourt defense, they’re tough.”

Keeping Davis, Lively, and Gafford off the glass will be essential to not only limiting the Mavericks’ offensive production, but enabling Sacramento to get out in transition where LaVine and others thrive, getting downhill while shooters sprint to the corners.

More Kings coverage on Sactown Sports

Domantas Sabonis has been a force on the glass since joining the Sacramento Kings in 2022. In fact, nobody else has out-rebounded the three-time All-Star since he joined the Beam Team.

Sabonis put the finishing touches on another impressive regular season on Sunday, scoring 20 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, and handing out six assists while shooting eight-of-ten from the field (four-of-four from long distance) over just 24 minutes as Sacramento defeated Phoenix.

Read More:

Domantas Sabonis secures third-straight rebounding title

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

It’s win-or-go-home time for Sacramento.

The postseason has arrived as the Kings will play in a do-or-die Play-In game against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center.

If Sacramento wins, they will advance to play the loser of the seventh vs. eighth seed game on Friday night on the road.

The Kings had Dallas’ number this season, sweeping the three-game regular season series while winning each contest by an average of 11.6 points. While the Mavericks have struggled on the road this season (17-24), they have found success at Golden 1 Center over the years (4-3 in Sacramento since the start of the 2020-21 season).

Be sure to catch all of the Sacramento Kings vs. Dallas Mavericks drama right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 5:30 PM PT on Game Night before action tips off at 7:00 PM PT from downtown Sacramento.

Upcoming schedule for the 2024-25 Sacramento Kings

• Wednesday, April 16th – vs. Dallas Mavericks – Time TBD (Western Conference Play-In Tournament – 9th vs. 10th seed game)
• Friday, April 18th – TBD – Western Conference Play-In Tournament (8th seed game)
• Sunday, April 20th – Start of the NBA Playoffs

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