Both teams are hitting reserve status, by playing their reserves. Who has the upper hand between the Kings and Nets?
The Sacramento Kings and Brooklyn Nets enter Sunday's tilt with a lot in common.
For starters, both have been stung by the injury bug. Brooklyn with lead scorers Michael Porter Jr., Egor Demin and now top rookie big Danny Wolf all out. Sacramento with Russell Westbrook, Zach LaVine, Drew Eubanks, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis not in the lineup with injuries.
Secondly, both have long been projected as the favorites to win the top pick of the 2026 NBA Draft. Even amid the new proposals that could alter tanking but also relater the draft.
Third, both teams have fans hoping one of the following lands to them come June: AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Cameron Boozer (Duke), Darryn Peterson (Kansas) or Kingston Flemings (Houston).
Someone here inside the Barclays Center is about to improve its No. 1 selection chances. But with so many ailments on both sides and both relying on reserves and rookies to carry the rest of the way, which one has the upper hand here?
The Nets are the ones who are the favorites...but only slightly. FanDuel Sportsbook lists Brooklyn as the two-point favorite.
Once again, this game is expected to see lots of rookie representation on both sides.
Brooklyn will lean into Nolan Traore for the role of facilitator and shot creator. He's flashed his potential multiple times on the floor amid some costly first-year mistakes. But he's one generating intrigue for the future inside Barclays Center.
Ben Saraf has come on strong as well. He's shown signs of becoming a double-double threat nightly as a post presence. He also threw down a monstrous dunk on Draymond Green.
Drake Powell has dealt with injuries and also playing time down with the Long Island Nets of the G-League. But has shown some explosion on the court when called upon especially with charging to the rim.
Brooklyn has rookies to build around. Sacramento will need to pivot to a younger looking squad for next season. Especially as the Kings build around Maxime Raynaud and first rounder Nique Clifford moving forward.
But the Nets may not have one valuable contributor on the floor.
Josh Minott is dealing with a hip contusion and is now listed as questionable for the evening contest. Minott has shown a knack for hitting double figures on the points end.
Both teams are depleted, but the current edge goes to the Nets in terms of available players. This game will be aired on the YES Network and NBC Sports California, the latter for a Kings audience.
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