The Phoenix Suns play host to the Sacramento Kings at Footprint Center on Wednesday.

The Kings (1-2) could easily be 3-0, but late-game execution has come back to bite them once again. Narrow losses over the Utah Jazz and Golden State Warriors look bad in the record book, but it should be an encouraging sign for this developing team. The more significant issue is the fact that losses have been going on for way too long. This franchise has been in rebuild mode for what feels like 20 years, and it remains to be seen if they'll sell off all of their pieces once again. That'd be an unfortunate development because De'Aaron Fox and Richaun Holmes have grown into All-Star caliber players. That's even crazier when you see that Harrison Barnes has been their best player, averaging 28.3 points per game. If all of those things continue and Tyrese Haliburton continues to grow, this club should remain competitive all season long.

The Suns (1-2) were one of the surprises of the NBA when they reached the postseason last year, but things have not started well this year. In fact, they blew a big lead at the hands of the Denver Nuggets in their opener and suffered a 29-point loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in their most recent game. That obviously won't get it done, and it looks even more discouraging when you see that their one victory was over a Los Angeles Lakers team that's struggling mightily themselves. Many people thought last season's run was a fluke, but it's up to this club to prove those people wrong and end their early-season swoon.

These teams played three times last season, with Phoenix winning two of three. This has been a close series for years, with neither team winning more than two straight and each club holding 9-9 records across their last 18 meetings.