NBA basketball is just around the corner and Kings fans received some good news Monday morning. NBC Sports California has added the first two scrimmage games to the local television schedule.
The Kings will open on Wednesday against the Miami Heat at the HP Fieldhouse for a 5 p.m. PT start. Gary Gerould and Doug Christie will call the game remotely from Golden 1 Center, with Jason Ross handling the radio play-by-play call for Sports 1140 KHTK.
Gerould and Christie will be back at it on Saturday morning when the Kings face the Milwaukee Bucks for a 9:30 a.m. PT start at The Arena.
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The first two games also will stream on the My Teams app.
Due to a scheduling conflict, the third and final scrimmage will not be seen on NBC Sports California. Fans will be able to stream the Kings vs. the Clippers on Kings.com for those within a 90-mile radius of Golden 1 Center. The final game is scheduled for Monday, July 27 at 1 p.m. PT.
Once the scrimmage schedule is complete, NBC Sports California will show all eight of the Kings’ seeding games beginning July 31 against the San Antonio Spurs.
Sacramento is currently in a three-way tie for ninth place in the Western Conference standings. The Kings, along with the Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Pelicans, trail the Memphis Grizzlies by three and half games for the eighth and final playoff spot.
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If the ninth place team is within three and a half games of the eighth place team after the eight-game seeding schedule, there will be a play-in game with the No. 8 seed having a double elimination and the ninth seed having a single-game elimination.
The Kings have a difficult scrimmage schedule, with three top tier teams on the docket. It should be a strong tune-up for the sprint to the finish line. As of Monday, starters De’Aaron Fox (ankle), Richaun Holmes (quarantine in Orlando) and Harrison Barnes (quarantine in Sacramento) are not expected to play in the scrimmage opener against the Heat.