What: Charlotte Hornets (2-0) vs Sacramento Kings (2-0)

When: 10:00pm Eastern

Where: Golden 1 Center; Sacramento, CA

How to watch: NBATV, ESPN+

This one is for all the marbles. I don’t know if there’s any sort of “championship” awarded for the California Classic, but if there is, this is the game to decide it. Both teams are 2-0 after walloping both the Spurs and the Chinese National Team. Winner moves to 3-0 and stakes a claim as the best team in Sacramento.

The Kings have three Joneses and an Ellis in their starting lineup and another Ellis coming off the bench. What a nightmare. The Ellises are intriguing. Keon was picked up by the Kings as an undrafted free agent in 2022 and worked his way into the Kings injury riddled rotation by the end of last season. He’s been the summer league team’s best player so far. Boogie is an undrafted free agent from this class that was a very popular player at USC the last two seasons. He led the team with 17 points off the bench in the win over the Spurs.

The Kings also feature former Gonzaga standout Drew Timme. He’s been fine, but his backup, 30 year old Jo Lual-Acuil, has put up better numbers.

The Hornets need to see a better performance from Nick Smith Jr, and it’d be nice to see Bryce McGowens do more than get fouled by a physically overmatched Chinese National Team. The two have not separated themselves from the rest of the Summer League guys working for roster spots and recognition.

For what it’s worth, the Hornets are 3.5 point favorites for those of you degenerates that want to bet on Summer League basketball.