NBA Play-In Tournament: Warriors Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis to Serve Crucial Role Against Kings

How will the rookie big match up with Domantas Sabonis?

Very few rookies emerge as starters on postseason teams, but that’s exactly what Trayce Jackson-Davis has been able to do with the Golden State Warriors. The late second-round pick from the 2023 NBA Draft has been a key piece of Golden State’s rotation down the stretch of the season, but he will now be called upon in the biggest moment of his career. 

On Tuesday night, the NBA’s Play-In Tournament begins as the Warriors take on the Sacramento Kings. The top priority for Golden State will be slowing down Domantas Sabonis, which will be an assignment Jackson-Davis likely takes on for a good portion of his minutes. 

With that in mind, he has the tools to actually be quite effective matching up with Sabonis in theory. The Warriors rookie boasts a strong build and can hold his own against physical players in the post. Sabonis is known for leveraging his strength and mass to bully opposing defenders, which will be more difficult against Jackson-Davis than a slender center.

Interestingly enough, this isn’t a head-to-head matchup we’ve seen much of this season. All four contests between these two teams came before the All-Star break, three of which were before December. Jackson-Davis didn’t really start emerging as a regular rotation player until later in the season, so he’s logged less than five total minutes in one single game against the Kings in his career. 

Jackson-Davis will quickly be put to the test on Tuesday, in a single-elimination scenario.  The rookie will be called upon to play a huge role in the biggest game of his career.

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