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The Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings are both coming off of unsuccessful seasons where the two teams battled to stay out of the NBA's Pacific Divison cellar, and it appears that experts think this year won't be much different.
Golden State is getting more respect than the Kings across the web. SB Nation's Seth Rosenthal has the Warriors pegged at No. 23 overall. Rosenthal is not confident in the team's ability to stay healthy, or in head coach Mark Jackson:
Golden State's rotation really does look nice, but I have little faith right now in their various ankles and less faith in Mark Jackson as head coach (his ankles should be fine, though).
ESPN and NBC's Pro Basketball Talk each think a little higher of the Warriors. ESPN has Golden State at No. 19, while NBC pegs it at No. 18.
The Kings are a little lower down the totem pole according to the pundits. Rosenthal has Sacramento at No. 25, and doesn't quite know what to expect from the team's young backcourt:
Young, roughhousin' frontcourt + backcourt rotation crawling with trigger-happy combo guards = ??? Lots of offensive rebounds, perhaps?
NBC also slots the Kings at No. 25, while ESPN puts them at No. 26.
Both teams get their regular seasons started on Wednesday night. The Warriors visit the Phoenix Suns, while the Kings travel to Chicago.