Tonight at 10:00 p.m. ET, the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings jump start their seasons live from Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento. The game can be live streamed here. Denver fans can hear all of the action live on 104.3 FM The Fan while Sacramento fans can do the same on KHTK CBS Sports 1140 AM.
Denver is coming off of a season where it went a franchise-best 57-25 and finished second in the Northwest Division and was eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in the first round in six games while Sacramento is coming off of a season where it finished fourth in the Pacific Division with a 28-54 record while missing the playoffs for the seventh-straight season.
Denver is looking for its 10th straight win over Sacramento as it hits the road for the first time under new coach Brian Shaw, who hopes his methodical style will eventually lead Denver out of the first round of the playoffs, which George Karl failed to do eight out of his nine seasons with the team. Shaw hopes by mid-season his team transitions fluently into his system.
"We know that they're going to fall back into the ways that they know," Shaw told ESPN. "So I guess it comes down to this: If it works, it's OK. If it doesn't, try it the way we're trying to get you to do it. For the most part, it's a process that's going to take time. But they're getting it."
Danilo Gallinari starts the season out on the injured list as he tore his ACL in April and will remain sidelined until December. The forward led the team with 135 3-pointers last season.
"We will try to hold down the fort until he comes back," Shaw said per ESPN.
The Kings enter play under new ownership as Vivek Ranadive now owns the team.
"It's a new era," Ranadive has declared repeatedly, according to ESPN.
Renadive has brought on a new coach in Mike Malone, a new general manager in Pete D'Alessandro and a new consultant in Hall of Famer Chris Mullin.
Sacramento is coming off of its seventh losing season and signed DeMarcus Cousins to a four-year $62 million extension. Sacramento wants Cousins to be their franchise player and pave the way while also keeping his behavior in check after being suspended often.
"I've got big shoulders, so I can handle that," Cousins said via ESPN. "I consider myself a leader on this team, so I take all the responsibility that comes with it. I've had pressure from the beginning, so I don't have a problem with it. I was doing it in the beginning, so I definitely don't have a problem doing it now."
Cousins led the way for Sacramento last season, averaging 17.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.
Sacramento looks to usher in a new era in a positive way while Denver looks for its 10th straight win over the Kings tonight in Sacramento.
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