Sacramento Kings
First, let’s start with the Warriors’ NorCal rivals, the Sacramento Kings. Despite playing in a new arena next year, the Kings are a mess. Their starting point guard, Darren Collison recently got into a domestic abuse matter, which is still trying to get worked out.
The Kings’ backup point guard, Ty Lawson has been on the decline for a couple years since his DUI arrest a couple summers ago. Rudy Gay recently told the Kings that he will not stay with the Kings after this season and he is not the same player he was with Memphis. Finally, DeMarcus Cousins, their star center is still a bit of a head case, even though he’s one of the best centers in the league and his contract is up in 2018.
Now, the Warriors should be able to roll over the Kings with the kind of troubles that the Kings have had. I would expect the Warriors to sweep the season series, however, the Kings have put up a good fight with the Warriors over the years, so they are a team that the Warriors should be mindful of when playing division foes. The Kings still have a couple of solid role players to go along with Cousins to give the Warriors a tough time.
It is hard to gauge how good (or bad) the Kings can be, but my prediction for the Kings this upcoming season is to have a 34-48 record and finish 12th in the West.