Bahamians to face each other seven times this season

Bahamians will have a lot to look forward to in the 2021-2022 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, as three Bahamians will be in action – Sacramento Kings guard Chavano “Buddy” Hield, Phoenix Suns post player DeAndre Ayton and Charlotte Hornets rookie Kai Jones. The official NBA schedule was released on Friday afternoon.

Hield and Ayton will tip-off the Bahamian versus Bahamian battle on Wednesday, October 27. Ayton and the Suns will host Hield and the Kings at the Phoenix Suns Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, on that night. That game will be the first of three meetings between the Western Conference Pacific Division teams. The final two games in the matchup will have Hield and the Kings hosting the Suns at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, on Monday, November 8 at 10 p.m. and on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, at 6 p.m.

Hield will welcome rookie Jones and the Hornets to the Golden 1 Center on Friday, November 5 at 10 p.m. for their first matchup. They will wrap up their two-game series on Friday, December 10 at 6 p.m. when the Kings visit the Hornets at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Jones will face Ayton and the Western Conference defending champions Suns twice this season – the first in Phoenix on Sunday, December 19 at 8 p.m. Less than a month later, Jones and the Hornets will welcome the Suns to the Spectrum Center, that game taking place on Sunday, January 2, 2022, at 7 p.m.

The Suns won the series between the Kings a year ago, taking two of the three games. In that three-game series, Ayton was able to average 15.3 points and 12.7 rebounds in 29.8 minutes per game. The center shot a blistering 66.7 percent from the field. His averages in that mini series were above his season averages of 14.4 points and 10.5 rebounds.

Hield averaged 18.3 points per game against the Suns last season. He shot 41.9 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from three-point range. Hield made 3.3 three-pointers per contest against the Suns while playing an average of 34 minutes per game in the three-game series. He averaged 16.6 points per game for the season and shot 40.6 percent from the field. He made an average of four threes per game.

The Kings played the Hornets twice last season and got swept. They gave up more than 120 points in both games. In both games, the Grand Bahamian was able to average 26.5 points per game – his highest scoring output against any team in the league last season. His shooting went up against the Hornets as he shot 58.1 percent from the field and was at 50 percent from deep in 37.8 minutes per game.

It was a split two-game series between the Hornets and the Suns as both teams won away from their home floor. Ayton managed to average 15 points and 12 rebounds per game – including 5.5 offensive boards per game. He averaged 32.8 minutes per game and he shot 57.9 percent from the field.

Jones had a good start to his NBA career as he averaged 9.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in the NBA’s Summer League. If the summer league is any indication as to how he will play, he will be a highlight reel and a catalyst for a young Hornets squad.

All three Bahamians will make their season debut on Wednesday, October 20.

Jones, the 19th overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, will have a chance to make his NBA debut against the Indiana Pacers at the Spectrum Center on October 20. That game starts at 7 p.m.

Ayton and the Suns will open their 2021-2022 campaign with a Western Conference semifinals rematch against Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets at the Phoenix Suns Arena. That game will be live on ESPN at 10 p.m.

Playing that same night will be Hield and the Kings taking on Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. That game is set for 10 p.m.

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