Buford outlines goals for Kings' Darwin blitz

After close to a month of pre-season practice, the Sydney Kings are excited to finally get some games against opposition under their belts this week at the 2022-23 NBL Blitz.

Coach Chase Buford and his side left for Darwin on Friday, ahead of Saturday's pre-season opener against the Tasmania JackJumpers - a replay of last year's grand final series.

But rather than concentrate on the wins and losses, Buford has other goals for the team's three games, which also include fixtures against New Zealand on Wednesday and South East Melbourne on Friday, at the Darwin Basketball Facility.

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"Honestly, if we don't win a game in Darwin, I won't be upset," Buford said.

"The biggest thing for us is our health, getting in-game reps, recording some film to critique our play and getting to know each other better on and off the court.

"The 10 days in Darwin is an excellent chance for us to bond as a group and build as a unit ahead of what is sure to be a gruelling season."

This pre-season marks Buford's second in the Hoops Capital - one he believes has been positively built off last year.

"The carryover from last year and the guys returning, knowing exactly how we like to play, has helped a lot and put us in a more advanced position from this time 12 months ago," he said.

"It's also helped get the new guys in the group get up to speed quicker."

While much has been made of the additions of imports Derrick Walton Jr, Justin Simon and Tim Soares, the second-year Kings coach has been impressed by the showings of other young stars during the pre-season.

"JG [Jaylin Galloway], Jackson [Makoi] and Biwali [Bayles] have all made huge jumps the past few weeks and you can see they've all benefitted from playing with other teams in the NBL1 and internationally," Buford said.

"Then there's Kouat [Noi] who's come in and turned plenty of heads - he's able to do a lot of things on the court, especially on the offensive end."

Saturday's fixture against Scott Roth's troops tips off at 5.30pm AEST, via Kayo Freebies.

"The guys are thrilled to be able to play against someone else other than themselves and pull on the Kings jerseys for the first time this season," the 33-year-old said.

"This year, we decided to not overdose on too many pre-season games, rather prioritising practice with this group.

"But we're going to make the most of these three games and our time in Darwin, as it's a key part of our preparation towards our round one fixture against Illawarra."

That opening round fixture on Saturday, October 1 at the WIN Entertainment Centre will give Kings fans their first real taste of what to expect out of the NBL22 champions in their title defence.

"Stylistically, fans will see a similar approach to what we had last season, with a couple of tweaks mixed in there, as the roster has a slightly different make-up this year," the San Antonio-born coach said.

"We want to be true to what we achieved as a group last season and built on that - from being dogs on the ball and starting it all with our presence on the defensive end.

"Our players know, if we get stops, then we can get out, run and get the shots we want to take - it worked for us last season and I have full faith it will again this year."