Warriors at Kings
The Golden State Warriors have been picking away at the teams at the top half of the Western Conference and are hoping the hiring of new coach Steve Kerr can move them into elite territory. The Warriors will begin the Kerr era by visiting the Sacramento Kings in the season opener on Wednesday. Kings center DeMarcus Cousins got some experience with Golden State stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson over the summer and is ready to take a step forward.
Curry, Thompson, Cousins and Sacramento forward Rudy Gay were together on the gold medal-winning Team USA over the summer and all figure to remain a part of that elite group through the next Olympic cycle. Curry and Thompson set and NBA record for 3-pointers by teammates with 484 last season, besting their mark of 483 from the previous campaign, and are now working under a coach with the best career 3-point percentage in NBA history. “This is going to be fun,” Kerr told the team’s website. “We’ve got a good team, we’ve got a chance to have a great season.”
TV: 10 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (Golden State), CSN California (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (2013-14: 51-31): While the guy in the suit at the end of the bench is changed, Golden State maintained consistency on the roster and figures to have the same starting five of Curry, Thompson, Andre Iguodala, David Lee and Andrew Bogut. “When you have chemistry with guys going into a season, having that established, it makes it a lot easier when you go through transition together,” Curry told reporters. “…When you have that experience with each other the last two, three years, it’s a lot easier to adjust to a tweak here or there.” Beefing up the bench is veteran guard Shaun Livingston, who is likely to miss the opener due to a toe injury.
ABOUT THE KINGS (2013-14: 28-54): Sacramento has not made the playoffs since 2005-06, and its .341 winning percentage in 2013-14 matched its best since going 38-44 during the 2007-08 campaign. The Kings are counting on Cousins, who averaged 22.7 points and 11.7 rebounds last season, to improve his consistency and carry the team. Sacramento changed up the players delivering the ball to Cousins in the post, trading away Isaiah Thomas while importing point guards Darren Collison and Ramon Sessions to add some veteran help to the backcourt.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Golden State took all four meetings last season, including a 102-69 demolition on Apr. 4.
2. Sacramento G Ben McLemore (eye) and Gay (jaw) are both expected to play on Wednesday.
3. Lee (hamstring) missed practice on Monday and is day-to-day.