Our next match features two teams that would be really fun to watch. The battle between the All-Time Sacramento Kings vs. All-Time Denver Nuggets should be highly competitive, with an abundance of scoring and fast-paced action. Who would come out on top? Each team has several key advantages.
Sacramento’s Advantages
Dominant guard play: The Kings will be led by their guard play, with five Hall-of-Famers in their backcourt. Oscar Robertson and Tiny Archibald will dictate the pace for their starting unit, and Bob Davies, Bobby Wanzer, and Mitch Richmond will lead the bench unit. Expect them to experiment with three guard lineups, which will be particularly effective when Richmond is paired with two of the three lead guards, to help space the floor. Denver does have solid backcourt defenders in Fat Lever and Chauncey Billups, and the Kings do not have a good defensive counter for David Thompson. Despite this, Sacramento has a deeper backcourt.
Battle of the boards: Sacramento has one of the great rebounders in NBA history, Jerry Lucas, alongside double-double machine Chris Webber and Oscar Robertson, who can also dominate the glass. While Denver’s Fat Lever should be able to cancel out Robertson, Bobby Jones and Dan Issel will have a lot of trouble with the other two. Expect Dikembe Mutombo, Denver’s best rebounder and defender, to get heavy minutes in this series.
Three-point shooting: The Kings’ playmaking guards will have a field day when Richmond and Peja Stojakovic are on the floor. This team can experiment with modern NBA basketball for periods of each game, with Peja as a stretch four.
Denver’s Advantages
Defensive versatility: Normally, the Nuggets aren’t associated with defense, but they have several stoppers who will loom large in this series. Bobby Jones is the one of the great defenders ever, and will see time against Jack Twyman, Jerry Lucas, and Chris Webber. Dikembe Mutombo and Marcus Camby were excellent rim protectors who will each be needed to slow down the penetrating Archibald and the other Kings scorers at the rim.
Wing scoring: Sacramento doesn’t have the personnel to stop David Thompson, Alex English, Carmelo Anthony, and Kiki Vandeweghe. Denver can experiment with lineups where three of these individuals play together, which could be an excellent counter to Sacramento’s small ball lineups.
X-Factor
Sacramento’s defense: Can the Kings get any stops with a lineup that doesn’t include any all-NBA defenders? None of the Kings from the modern era were known for their work on the defensive side of the ball, so they may be forced to outscore the Nuggets to have a chance to win the series.
Results
Run-and-gun. This series goes back and forth, with many high scoring encounters. Sacramento struggles defensively, as expected, with Thompson, Issel, and English repeatedly burning them. In the deciding game, Oscar Robertson controls the action, and the Kings outrebound Denver in a close affair.
Sacramento wins, four games to three.
Next Round
Sacramento faces the All-Time Spurs.