(Photo by Loren Elliott/Getty Images)
The Sacramento Kings stole the hearts of many NBA fans with their special showing in the 2022-23 regular season, but one NBA coach thinks the squad’s storybook campaign is about to come to an end.
The Kings, despite being the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, are widely viewed as underdogs in their first-round playoff matchup against the No. 6 Golden State Warriors.
And in the eyes of the aforementioned coach, the series is only going to last four games.
Full series schedule for Warriors-Kings is out pic.twitter.com/9spDYJybVD
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 12, 2023
The coach, who made the prediction anonymously to The Athletic, offered an explanation.
“Great matchup,” the coach told The Athletic. “I’m still going to say the Warriors (will win). The Kings don’t have that playoff heartbreak yet. And you need to go through the playoffs and have a little heartbreak to learn how to play in them, in my opinion.
“I’m going to go out on a limb here. And that place is going to be amped up in Sacramento in a couple of days. Sacramento’s had such a great year, but everybody I talk to, and I feel the same way, says this team is going to be set up for a letdown where the Kings just aren’t ready for the intensity of what Golden State’s going to bring them.”
Without a doubt, the coach’s prediction is bold.
“Coach’s pick: Warriors in four,” The Athletic relayed.
A sweep would require the Warriors to win the first two games of the series on the road at the Golden 1 Center, a task that’s far easier said than done.
Golden State was one of the worst teams in the NBA when playing on the road in the regular season (11-30), and it’s a safe bet that Kings fans are going to show up with tons of energy for home playoff games.
Moreover, if the Warriors were to steal the first two games of the series on the road, they’d still need to head back home and finish the job in Games 3 and 4 in order to complete the sweep.
Although not impossible, it’s a tall task.
Still, Golden State seems to have a lot of things working in its favor heading into the series, and playoff experience is one of them.
The Warriors have significantly more playoff experience than the Kings and know exactly what it takes to win when the lights are the brightest, and that could play a major role in the outcome of the series.
Time will tell how everything plays out, as Game 1 is set for Saturday.
The Kings will look to take a 1-0 series lead and immediately take the possibility of getting swept off the table.
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