In-season tournament, injury updates and scouting reports
The Kings will face the top team in the Western Conference when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves in an NBA Cup in-season tournament game Friday at Target Center in Minneapolis. The Kings are reeling from back-to-back losses to the New Orleans Pelicans as they close out a long, arduous and injury-plagued six-game road trip. They have fallen to sixth in the conference standings, but they still sit atop West Group C in the NBA’s new in-season tournament. Sacramento and Minnesota lead the group with 2-0 records in group stage games. The Kings (8-6) currently hold the tiebreaker by virtue of their plus-16 point differential. They will play the Golden State Warriors in their final group stage game Tuesday at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The Timberwolves (11-3) are 2-0 with a plus-10 point differential. They will play their final game in the group stage against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. Here are the current West Group C standings with point differentials in parentheses: ▪ Kings 2-0 (+16) ▪ Timberwolves 2-0 (+10) ▪ Warriors 1-1 (-1) ▪ Thunder 1-2 (+27) ▪ Spurs 0-3 (-52)
The Kings won six in a row before suffering back-to-back losses to the Pelicans. They looked like a tired and road-weary bunch in Monday’s 129-93 loss on the second night of a back-to-back. They stormed back from a 17-point deficit but still came up short in Wednesday’s 117-112 loss. Kings forward Keegan Murray (lower back soreness), guard Keon Ellis (left ankle sprain) and center Alex Len (right ankle sprain) were out for Wednesday’s game. All three have been ruled out for Friday’s game as well. Chris Duarte (thumb), Kevin Huerter (finger), Trey Lyles (calf) and Sasha Vezenkov (thumb) have also missed time during this road trip due to injuries. Lyles returned Wednesday to score 12 points in his season debut. The Kings are led by the All-NBA duo of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. Fox is averaging 29.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.7 steals. He is shooting 36.7% from 3-point range despite going a combined 4 of 19 from beyond the arc in two games against New Orleans. Sabonis is averaging 20.2 points, 12.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists. SCOUTING MINNESOTA Minnesota has won three in a row and 10 of its last 11, including impressive victories over the Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, Pelicans (2), Golden State Warriors (2), New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers.
The Timberwolves are coming off a 112-99 victory over the 76ers, who were missing Joel Embiid. Anthony Edwards scored 31 points. Karl Anthony Towns had 23 points and 11 rebounds. Edwards, the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA draft, averages a team-high 26.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists in his fourth season out of Georgia. He is shooting a career-best 38.9% from 3-point range on 6.8 attempts per game. Towns, the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft, is averaging 21.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists in his ninth season out of Kentucky. He is shooting 37.5% from 3-point range on 5.1 attempts per game. Mike Conley (10.1 ppg), Jaden McDaniels (9.5 ppg) and Rudy Gobert (12.1 ppg, 11.8 rpg) round out the starting five for Minnesota, but McDaniels is out with a right ankle sprain. Nickeil Alexander-Walker will likely start in a three-guard lineup against Sacramento.
