What team should the Sacramento Kings want to play in round 1? | Devine Intervention

Yahoo Sports NBA writer Dan Devine is joined by Greg Wissinger of The Kings Herald to discuss the Sacramento Kings heading into the playoffs. Currently slated as the 6-seed in the Western Conference, Sacramento currently would play the Denver Nuggets if the playoffs began today. Dan and Greg investigate who should the Kings want to play and if would they match up best against the top-seeded Oklahoma Thunder. Hear the full conversation on “Devine Intervention” - part of the “Ball Don’t Lie” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.

Video Transcript

DAN DEVINE: The Kings sort of profile as that team that maybe they're your friendliest matchup in round one. That was the conversation last year-- who's going to want to line up with them? This year, they wouldn't be the favorite in that series-- or have the home court advantage in that series, but I think still people look at the Kings and say, if you had your druthers, you'd go with them.

I'm going to flip that, because the track record of the Kings against good teams has been so positive. So I'm going to ask you-- if you're the Kings, who are you looking at in the first round? I think we've established that the Pelicans are not the ones. You don't want that particular kind of smoke. But if you're the Kings, who are you thinking you get your pick of the seeding matchups, who would you like to see?

GREG WISSINGER: I mean, if we're looking at the current top four-- right now, the top four is Thunder, Wolves, Nuggets, Clippers. And if we're assuming the Kings don't launch themselves into the top four, because that feels pretty unrealistic--

DAN DEVINE: It would be an incredible last few weeks.

GREG WISSINGER: It'd be pretty crazy. But if we're just picking based on the current top four I think that the team, that they would match up best with is going to be the Thunder. You know, you're looking at another young team, doesn't have the wealth of playoff experience. Shai has a little bit.

But they match up fairly well and have played them well. I don't know that the Kings would win that series. But of the four, it would probably be my pick. You know, I like Sabonis going at Chet just because the physicality has given Chet some problems this year. That would be my pick.

But it's also one of those things where you're like, you're picking amongst four, like, really great teams. So, like, any one of those is going to be a really tough matchup. But the Kings have actually played well against all four of those teams. So I feel like they'd have a decent shot at maybe having an upset.

But you also wouldn't be, like, too surprised if they didn't advance past any of those teams. So it's kind of a weird thing. But I do think that they would match up best against the Thunder out of the current top four.

DAN DEVINE: There would be a certain poetry to that to where it's like, one year after the Kings were the darling story of the league and everyone's like, you know, how wonderful that they've gotten to this place this early, to then turn around and just end the Thunder's version of that-- we like that. There's the joy that we aspire to, but also this, like, viciousness that comes along on the other side of it. This is still a game about buckets and competitors.