NBA Matchups: December 8

SAC @ IND | PHX @ MIN | SAS @ NOP

Sacramento Kings at Indiana Pacers

Team Totals: Kings 116, Pacers 119.5

Injury Report: Keegan Murray (Q, trap), Dennis Schroder (Q, hip), Ben Sheppard (O, calf)

Kings projected starters: Russell Westbrook, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, Maxime Raynaud

Pacers projected starters: Andrew Nembhard, Ethan Thompson, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Jay Huff

Christie quotes: Said Raynaud “didn’t look out of place” and he protected the rim well, said they’re OK with Raynaud making mistakes.

Carlisle quotes: Said they had great transition defense against the Bulls, said he told Ethan Thompson to be ready and he was “very steady,” said Thompson “did not look tired,” said “we’re just getting to know [Thompson],” said “we wore Pascal out in the fourth quarter,” said it felt good to get a road win, said Quenton Jackson could be back on Friday, said Andrew Nembhard “is one of the best defenders in the world,” said Huff and i-Jax played very well for them on Friday.

Stats and Notes: 

*Even on a three-game night, we get the Mike Gallagher Bad Basketball Game of the Night™. The Kings finally changed their starting lineup to kick out Drew Eubanks and insert Maxime Raynaud, and of course they had their best win of the year in Miami. They were still giving up big rim volume, and that should be sticky with their scheme and lack of on-ball defense. For the Pacers, their defense has been all over the place with four excellent outings (Raps, Wizards, and Bulls twice) and two terrible ones (Nuggets and Cavs). They’re still getting killed at the basket even when they play well, and they have been below average with on-ball defense overall. 

*Zach LaVine went off for 42 points against Andrew Wiggins on Saturday, and his matchup should be a favorable one with either Ethan Thompson or Bennedict Mathurin on him. LaVine had been clamped by Josh Okogie in the previous game, and he’s generally been off this year. He’s not getting nearly as many assisted baskets, either. This is a good matchup for him, though.

*DeMar DeRozan should get the tougher matchup with likely Pascal Siakam on him. The good news is the Pacers put opponents on the line more than anyone in the league, and Doug Christie should give his main guys heavy minutes after a nice win on Saturday.