The road was unkind to the Sacramento Kings. After a 1-3 eastern trip, the Kings are looking to get back on track Sunday at Golden 1 Center with an early matinee against a struggling Chicago Bulls team.
Sacramento dropped two games under .500 with their current three-game losing streak. They have a series of winnable games in front of them, but they'll need to play better if they want to finish with a winning record this season.
[RELATED: How to watch Kings-Bulls online and on MyTeams app]
Chicago has dropped four straight, including a 128-121 loss to the Clippers on Friday. They have plenty of young talent, but they are still a year or two away from competing in the Eastern Conference.
Kings Pregame Live on NBC Sports California begins at 2:30 p.m., with tipoff scheduled for 3:00 p.m. All coverage can be seen on the MyTeams by NBC Sports app.
The Kings will host the Nets, Mavs, and Suns this week before heading back out on the road for another five-game trip starting Sunday in LA against the Lakers.
Line
NBA
Kings by 7
Projected Lineups
Kings
PG De’Aaron Fox
SG Buddy Hield
SF Harrison Barnes
PF Nemanja Bjelcia
C Willie Cauley-Stein
Bulls
PG Kris Dunn
SG Zach LaVine
SF Otto Porter
PF Lauri Markkanen
C Robin Lopez
Injury Report
Kings
No injuries to report.
Bulls
C Wendell Carter (thumb) out, SF Chandler Hutchinson (toe) out, G Denzel Valentine (ankle) out.
Rotation Outlook
Kings
Dave Joerger stuck with the same starting group of Fox, Hield, Barnes, Bjelica, and Cauley-Stein for a second straight game Friday in Philadelphia. Four of the five ran a negative 20 or greater in the loss, but that was against a very tough Philly starting squad.
After missing five games with a knee injury, rookie Marvin Bagley put up solid numbers in the back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday. The 20-year-old was on a minutes restriction, although that is likely to increase over the next game or two.
Rookie Harry Giles continues to grow into his role as the season motors towards a conclusion. He's averaging 10.3 points, five rebounds and 2.4 assists in 19.8 minutes per game in the month of March and the team is running the ball through him on the offensive end when he's in the game.
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Since moving back into the starting lineup, Bjelica can't seem to find his shooting stroke. The veteran forward is 6-of-23 from the field and 0-for-9 from long range over the last two games.
Bulls
The Bulls play hard and have all kinds of offensive firepower, but somehow they rank 29th in the league in offensive rating and 27th in points per game at just 105.2. They aren't much better on defensive end, where they rank 20th in points allowed and 25th in defensive rating.
Led by LaVine's 23.9 points per game, Chicago has three players averaging 18 points or more on the season. LaVine signed an offer sheet with the Kings over the summer which was quickly matched by the Bulls.