NBC Sports California’s Morgan Ragan offers her keys to slowing down former Kings first-rounder Tyrese Haliburton, who returns to Golden 1 Center with the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
An emotional trade will turn into a bittersweet reunion Wednesday night when the Kings welcome Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers back to Golden 1 Center.
It will be the first time Haliburton will be announced as a Pacer inside his former home arena.
The Kings completed a blockbuster, franchise-altering trade last February when they sent the rising young guard, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson to Indiana for two-time All-Star center Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and a 2023 second-round draft pick.
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Aside from the emotion of the moment, there's still a basketball game to be played, and the fact is both teams are off to a surprisingly good start to the early 2022-23 NBA season. The Kings are 10-9, and the Pacers are 12-8, good for fourth place in the Eastern Conference entering the night.
Morgan Ragan, NBC Sports California Kings pregame/postgame host, broke down how Sacramento can put emotions to the side and stop a three-game losing streak against some old friends.
Defend the pick-and-roll
Haliburton is ranked No. 1 in the NBA in assists, with 11.3 this season, and in his last three games, the 22-year-old has dished out 40 with zero turnovers. He brings the Pacers' pick-and-roll game to another level with plenty of weapons on his side.
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Myles Turner, for instance, is an absolute lob threat and can extend the floor on the offensive end. First-round pick Benn Mathurin, a top rookie in scoring and minutes, is averaging 19.1 points on 43.9 percent shooting from the field and 41.7 from 3-point range, along with 4.1 rebounds, in 28.1 minutes.
Hield, another former King, also is having a solid season so far. He's tied for thd third-most 3-pointers made in the league with 71.
The Kings know how well Haliburton can master the pick-and-roll. The only way to stop him is by blowing up screens, not switching and getting over the screen. The player defending the screener needs to hedge the ball handler, stunt and get his hands up in the passing lane, and try to take away Haliburton's vision.
Set the tone
The Kings' home crowd has been incredible this season, making it extremely hard for opposing teams to win at Golden 1 Center. The fans do their part, and now the Kings must do theirs.
Sacramento must set the tone physically, and it must do it early.
The Kings need to put aside facing their "brothers" and former teammates after the opening tip, up until the final buzzer goes off. Win the physical battle, annoy the opponents, tire them out mentally and physically, and disrupt their game by setting the tone with physicality.
Use experience as an advantage
The Kings are familiar with Haliburton and Hield, so they should use that to their advantage.
Haliburton and Kings guards De'Aaron Fox and Davion Mitchell have experience battling it out against each other at practice. They know each other's games just about better than anyone and what each guy is capable of doing. On the other end, the same can be true for Sabonis and the Pacers.
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On top of it being an emotional game, Wednesday will be a good test for the Kings to pay attention to detail as they hope to end their losing streak and, of course, light the beam.