Back-to-back meeting for Hield and Ayton

The National Basketball Association (NBA) released the first half of its 2020-2021 regular season schedule last Friday, and in the early part of the season, Bahamians Chavano “Buddy” Hield and DeAndre Ayton will face each other on back-to-back days – Boxing Day on Saturday, December 26 and on Sunday, December 27.

Hield and the Sacramento Kings will host Ayton and the Phoenix Suns on both days. The Saturday game is set to start at 10 p.m. and Sunday’s game will get underway at 9 p.m., both at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. It is a part of an innovative format for a reduced 72-game schedule in which teams are hosting specific teams on back-to-back days in the same city – something that is hardly ever done in the NBA and a format that came into play because of the nature of the coronavirus pandemic that is still wreaking havoc in the United States.

The Sacramento-Phoenix games will be aired on NBA League Pass.

Last season, the two teams split their four meetings. The Suns finished the 2019-2020 regular season with a 34-39 win/loss record while the Kings finished at 31-41. They play in the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the NBA.

In their first meeting last season on October 23, Ayton got the better of his countryman and the Suns went on to win that home game, 124-95. Ayton had a good opening game with 18 points, 11 boards and four blocks. Hield finished that game with a game-high 28 points and added five rebounds and two assists. He hit six three-pointers in that game.

The Kings won the second outing 120-116 on November 12 on their home court at the Golden 1 Center. Hield dropped in 12 points on a dreadful 3-for-14 night from the field and had five rebounds and four assists. Ayton was in the midst of a 25-game suspension for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA (National Basketball 

Players Association) Anti-Drug Program.

Hield led the Kings in scoring when he finished with 23 points in a 112-110 loss for the Kings to the Suns on December 28. He made four three-pointers in that loss. He also finished with five rebounds and two assists. Ayton missed this game with an injury.

In the final meeting of the two teams on January 7, Ayton was available to play. Hield and the Kings rallied from a 21-point deficit to win 114-103. Hield dropped 16 points in the win to go along with three rebounds and two assists. Ayton fell short of a double-double in that loss when he finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. He added two assists and shot 10-for-14 from the field.

Ayton and the Suns will open the season on Wednesday, December 23 when they welcome Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks to the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. It will be a nationally televised game on ESPN and is set to tip off at 10.30 p.m.

The Suns are scheduled to play 37 games in the first half of the season.

The Suns have added veteran point guard Chris Paul to the mix along with forward Jae Crowder this year. They are expected to challenge for a playoff spot in a very tough Western Conference, featuring what is expected to be one of the better backcourt duos in basketball with Paul and high volume scorer Devin Booker.

Hield and the Kings start the regular season on the road against a Denver Nuggets team that is coming off a great 2019-2020 campaign. Led by guard Jamal Murray and center Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference Finals before falling to the eventual NBA Champions Los Angeles Lakers.

The Kings are set to play 38 games in the first half of the season.

The Kings lost guard Bogdan Bogdanovic in the offseason and have added rebounding machine Hassan Whiteside and forward Corey Brewer.

After going undefeated with eight wins in the NBA ‘bubble’ at the restart of the season, the Suns have garnered some positive attention. They have nine nationally television games – three of which are back-to-back-to-back. Out of that three, the first one is a matchup on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies. That game is set for January 18 on TNT (Turner Network Television). Their second nationally televised game is against Houston Rockets on ESPN on January 20. Following that, the Suns return home to host the Nuggets on January 22 on ESPN. That game is set for at 10 p.m. start.

The Suns’ final scheduled game of the first half with a nationally televised game against the Lakers on TNT at 10 p.m. That game is set for March 2, 2021, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

The Suns and Kings are tied for most back-to-backs in the NBA in the first half of the season with nine. Otherwise, the Suns have a relatively favorable schedule in the first half of the season.

Hield and the Kings have a tough first half of the season ahead of them. Unlike the Suns, the Grand Bahamian’s team did not make big moves in the summer. They only have two televised games which will be on NBATV. The first one will be on January 2 in an away game against the Rockets and the other one will be a home game against the Nuggets. That will be the third meeting between them and the Nuggets in the first half of the season.

The Kings face 13 teams which advanced to the playoffs last season in the first half of the 2020-2021 season.

Preseason games for the Kings get underway this coming Friday when they face the Portland Trailblazers at 10.30 p.m. on ESPN on their home court. The will play again on Sunday, December 13 at 9 p.m. Their other two preseason games will be on the road against the Golden State Warriors and those games will be nationally televised. The first in that series will be a matchup on TNT on Tuesday, December 15 at 10 p.m. They will face each other again on ESPN on Thursday, December 17 at 9 p.m.

The Suns will open the preseason with two road games against the Utah Jazz. The first game will be on Saturday and the other gets underway on Monday, December 14. Both games will get started at 9 p.m. Their second set of preseason games will be on the road against the Lakers. Those games will be on Wednesday, December 16 at 9 p.m. and Friday December 18 at 10.30 p.m. The latter will be aired on ESPN.

The second half schedule for the regular season will be released during the latter part of the first half.

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