The Sacramento Kings are back in action Sunday after an entertaining Game 1 of the California Classic yesterday.
The Kings defeated the Brooklyn Nets 79-76 after a last-second three by Nique Clifford. Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 25 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds. He had rough shooting outing (9-29 from the field), but played through it and turned it up in the second half. He made some really nice shots after breaking guys down off the dribble. The first half had everyone a little on edge, but Acuff Jr. was able to shake the rust or nerves off that caused him the slow start.
Emanuel Sharp looked impressive on defense and finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist. Dylan Cardwell looked rough on offense, but was his usual aggressive, fun self, finishing with 8 points, 8 rebound, 4 blocks and 2 steals. Clifford had 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists. Jonathan Mogbo was a nice surprise, finishing with 5 blocks, 7 rebounds, and 6 points.
The Kings take on the Warriors today at 2 pm. The game will be on ESPN+, Prime Video, and NBA TV.
It will be fun to see what Acuff can do once he settles in with this team/the NBA. There were some seriously jaw dropping plays amongst a whole lot of first game jitters plays.
The thing that still baffles me is how he can see the court so well on offense, but misplay defensive assignments so badly. He was hustling most of the time, unlike a lot of offense first players. But just out of position.
If Doug can somehow teach him to understand his defensive assignments the way he understands the offensive flow, he could be something special.
The thing that bugs me the most about this team is that you can see how some of these younger players, combined with the salary cap space we’ll have next year if we let that play out, and owning our our first round picks could lead to something good.
But Vivek is like a little kid tearing open the presents under the Christmas tree, because he needs everything now. You just know he’s going to screw this up again.
Badge Legend