The Portland Trail Blazers play host to the Sacramento Kings at Moda Center on Wednesday.

Sacramento has been slumping for about two decades now, and it was genuinely shocking to see them retain Luke Walton in the offseason. He made numerous coaching errors last year, and it's a wonder why they decided to give him another chance. This club still has all the talent it can ask for, throwing out a lineup with guys like De'Aaron Fox, Tyler Haliburton and Richaun Holmes. That's quite the core to build around, and management needs to see some improvements this year, or it will be Walton's last season in cotrol. Where they need to know this club improve on the defensive end. The Kings were 29th in points allowed last year, and it doesn't look like they addressed that at all in the offseason.

The Trail Blazers had a disappointing season themselves, riding a substantial late-season run to finish sixth in the west. That did allow them to avoid the play-in game, but a quick exit against a shorthanded Denver Nuggets team in the first round showed their true colors. The problem with Portland is that they couldn't defend either, ranked 27th in points allowed last season. They also sat dead-last in assists too, which is genuinely shocking since their two best players are their guards. They did address the defensive issue by adding Larry Nance in the offseason, and he should give this team an exciting option at the four. He might not be the big-name add that Portland fans were praying for but keeping Damian Lillard in the offseason is all they could ask for. In any case, this team has all the weapons to be a trust threat, and it's a club that no one wants to face at any point.

Portland swept the three-game series over Sacramento last season, scoring at least 123 points in all three fixtures. That gives the Trail Blazers 22 wins in their last 29 meetings with the Kings in total.