So, things are pretty dark. The Kings have lost five in a row and I can’t remember the last time I felt this dead inside towards this team. The product on the court is hard to support, let alone watch, and the front office has yet to deliver any reason for hope as the trade deadline quickly approaches. This is purgatory within purgatory. We are waiting to see how much longer we will have to wait before feeling good about this team again. Luckily, Will has created an avenue out of this hellhole for all of us to generate some good vibes with his creation of Operation: M.C.N.A.I.R. So, while it sucks that the Kings played another basketball game tonight, it also presented another opportunity to help make this world a better place. The Kings faced the Philadelphia 76ers tonight. Let’s see how they did:
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings lose, 103-101
Sacramento Kings: 101 pts, 43.9% fg, 34.3% 3 pt, 85.0% ft, 24 ast, 43 reb, 13 to
Philadelphia 76ers: 103 pts, 51.4% fg, 40.0% 3 pt, 73.1% ft, 25 ast, 36 reb, 18 to
Tyrese Haliburton put his team, coaching staff, and the entire city of Sacramento on his back tonight with a career performance of 38 points, but it wasn’t enough to secure a win in Philadelphia and end the Kings’ losing streak.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good
- First Half Execution: By Sacramento’s standards, the Kings had a nearly perfect start to this game. At the end of the first quarter, they led by four points after shooting 50% from the 3-point line, connecting on 10 assists, holding Joel Embiid to just two points, and without committing a single turnover. They continued this success in the second quarter and went into the half with an 11-point advantage. Most exciting about this was that they did it by executing a plan. The Kings got Embiid rattled early by starting Marvin Bagley III on Matisse Thybulle so he could more easily afford to leave his man to double Embiid. This forced Embiid into a handful of turnovers and kept him limited in the Sixers’ offense. On their own offensive half, Tyrese Haliburton maintained a fast pace for his team, which kept the ball moving as the Kings racked up 19 assists in the first half. The Kings were able to maintain their grasp on the lead throughout the half by answering any quick Sixers’ runs with calm, confident, and well-executed offense.
The Bad
- Bad Habits: So, the first half was fun. And then the Kangz showed up. The Kings got away from what made them successful in the first place. Joel Embiid scored 24 of his 36 points in the second half by buying some land, building a house, and raising a whole damn family at the line. He ultimately shot 14-18 from the stripe. For whatever reason, the Kings stopped executing their defensive strategy and Embiid had the time and space to decide his attacks before finding his way to the rim. On offense, the pace slowed to that of the Sixers’ liking, the ball stopped moving, and the Kings connected on only five assists in the second half. Compared to the 61 points they scored in the first half, the Kings were only able to score 40 in the second.
The Ugly
- Oh, Buddy: I really really really want Buddy Hield to play well. Despite his inconsistencies on the court, I respect him as a competitor and never doubt his effort. But things just aren’t connecting for him right now and it shows on almost every play he is involved in. In 23 minutes, Buddy shot 0-7 from deep and committed three turnovers.
The King of Kings
In the battle of Tyreses between Haliburton and Maxey, Haliburton came out on top. Not only did he score a career high 38 points, he also added seven assists and shot 5-9 from deep. Haliburton nearly brought the Kings back on top in the final minutes with some truly amazing shot making. He is our silverest of silver linings.
Operation: M.C.N.A.I.R Watch
I can never rave enough about the genius writing and incredible humanity of my dear friend, Will Griffith, and he’s really thrown the bar right up into the stratosphere with his latest creation of Operation: M.C.N.A.I.R. For night #2 of this mission, tonight’s chosen charity is the Child Abuse Prevention Center, a local agency that strives to prevent child abuse by providing a wide range of programs to build strong families. If able, please consider making a donation to support the amazing work they are doing. Or, as always, feel free to make a donation to a different charity of your choice. Make sure to share your donation amount with Will (@WillofThaPeople), either publicly or through a direct message, so he can continue to keep track of the contribution total.
Thanks again, Will, for giving us a way to embrace the pain of being a Kings fan, turn it into something good, and remind each other what it means to be #SacramentoProud.
Up Next
Monday, January 31st @ New York Knicks – 4:30 P.M. (PT)
Haliburton trending on twitter. Sixers fans want Morey to trade Simmons and two No. 1s of their own for him.
Fox is gonna get dealt.
Buddy is gone.
So is Barnes.
And I still think the Kings are gonna get shafted when it’s all said and done.
Hali would be insane with Embiid.
McNairs plan is really coming to fruition
I only wish they’d deal Fox and reset.
And I don’t understand how people can’t see Haliburton as a player to build with. A top 2 on team.
I don’t see this so called Low ceiling on Hali. It’s only his second year and look at how much better he’s gotten already.
He will grow because he doesn’t have fatal flaws (as Fox does) preventing a high ceiling. Flaws like not being able to shoot or not being a distributor 1-1 type.
Hali may be an all star, Or at least a Batum type. Or Draymond Green. Very important for the team to run well. Make the team
better.
Tanking hard the rest of the way and landing a top three pick would do wonders for this franchise. We need top end talent.
That’d be awesome and makes sense, so the Kings won’t do it.
The play in chase kills all.
I’d take top 5 pick if it got us Shaedon Sharpe.
I see Hali being a lot more valuable than Batum even at his peak. Hard to compare him to Draymon due to his defense.
yeah, I couldn’t think of a perfect comparison/example.
A player who is the glue. Just as valuable to winning as any player on a team.
Dejaunte Murray and Fred Van Vleet come to mind ! Leaders !
I don’t know. Batum at his absolute peak was a top 20 player. Though he only performed at that level for a few seasons. If Haliburton can reach that level and extend it, that would be an exceptional outcome.
I think peak-Batum is a pretty good high-end comparison in terms of overall impact. Overall, Haliburton would add more passing and probably less defense. But something in that 3.5-4 VORP range sounds about right.
Agreed.
Beat me to it:
Two days ago: Morey to Monte: “Simmons for Hali and two firsts.”
Tonight: Monte to Morey: “Hali for Simmons and two of your firsts. Just kidding!”
Keep Fox and Hali
Keep
Fox andHaliI think he’s gone anyways
Yep. If the team were serious about keeping Fox and pushing for the playoffs, he wouldn’t be sitting out right now. Gentry admitted the other day that in a playoff situation, Fox would be playing.
Keep Haliburton unless you’re blown away. Trade everybody else. I’ve been saying for two years that he’s the only one with a chance to be on our next playoff team because at least you can easily imagine how he fits on a great team.
Never going to happen but the right thing to do for a reset is trade all of the main guys except Hali and Mitchell and maybe Holmes. The only way to change the losing culture is to move on from the rest.
Exactly. If the FO believes Hali is a player to build around, trade everyone else of value, tank and hope you can land a top 3-5 pick to pair with Hali.
It’s the clear and obvious path forward. But you know, Kangz.
Agree, try to get a hardass wing like Patrick Williams, a young, unproven rim protector like Wiseman, and some picks with any of Fox, Holmes, Barnes, and Buddy. Take on expirings if you have to. Show the fans a direction, that you’re taking this seriously, and we’ll be on board.
Yeah it’s been the right thing to do for a long time and they just lack the competency to do it. It sucks because if we were to pair Hali and Mitchell with somebody like Smith or Banchero we’d actually have a chance to really improve pretty quickly.
For three years, no?
It might be! Haliburton was one of my favorite players in college and I was thrilled we drafted him. I just wish at some point this organization could capitalize on the few things they actually get right from time to time.
I think King’s fans would be thrilled if in a week’s time Barnes, Buddy and Richaun are traded for picks and young assets and we tank for a top 3 pick to pair with Hali.
Wait to trade Fox in the offseason with the hope that he can increase his value the rest of the season whilst sneakily assisting the tank.
I think Vivek takes us all for idiots, who just want the team to chase whatever wins we can get every season, no matter the impact on the future.
Vitina have an agenda and they have no clue why it is a failure ! Wait till Christi is the next coach !
In case comments are looked at to track the success of Operation McNair… Successful on my end.
Hey! We’re definitely keeping track here! Also, we broke the donation button tonight, so if anyone tried and got declined… please try again tomorrow or donate to a cause of your choosing!
Tried and declined, but will try again tomorrow. If not, I’ll donate again to yesterday’s charity!
Donation made. Let’s keep this going.
Thank you, Adamsite!
I donated $10 plus fees to Mustard Seed. At least one McNair is successful.
Appreciate you always, Jackass!
(this will literally never get old)
I still love Richaun and I wish they’d keep him. Unfortunately, he’s one of their few assets that might be worth a good first-rounder,
This. In a perfect world (besides the Kings being a night in, night out competitive/winning team) I wish we could keep Richaun and Tyrese and ship the rest.
Have a thumb.
Say it
Not bad for someone who claims to have lost his mojo.
SAC.RA.MENTO PPPPPRRRROOOOUUDDDUCES GARBAGE ON THE COURT.
I completely disagree there’s “Nothing New Here.” Tonight looked like the night Hali finally said he’s done tying his career to these spineless quitters. I think he realized what he’s capable of and decided he’s going to be the leader of the team moving forward. I sure hope so anyway. Also, the heart he and Mitchell showed tonight was something we haven’t seen in a long time around here. Which is really all we’re asking for as fans. Give a shit. Just look through the comments, the negativity is isn’t here, even in a loss.
Tried to donate to CAPC and it keeps declining my payments. I’m pretty broke, but not that broke. Maybe will try again tomorrow.
We actually got some confirmation that we were sending in enough donations at the same time that it overloaded their system. IF you haven’t donated yet, (it’s still broken this morning), here’s our previous two charities:
Lupus: https://flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/OTMzNg==
Mustard Seed: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/sacramento-loaves-and-fishes/mustard-seed-school
Also, just counting the money people have officially reported dollar amounts for: we’ve raised $ 895.93 in just two games. I love this damn community.
Hali played great. But< I don’t get carried away with one game. If that was the case, Kevin Porter would be a star. He scored 50 against a healthy Bucks team. Especially, since the other teams number one defensive player spent most of the time sitting on the bench tonite.
It’s one game, lets take it in stride. For some weird Reason, Thybuille was not on the floor much tonite, so Rese had more space. If Thy was on the floor his typical 32-25, I am sure Hail would not have had the time or space he had on quite a few shots.
Now, if Hali is bringing it 20 plus points the rest of the season, then I’ll get excited.Sorry, too many of you have a short, short memory of the blowouts that just happened a few days ago. In addition, to the numberous losses against mediocre to poor teams over the course of the season.
I like Hali. If there is one guy the Kings should keep it’s him. I don’t know what his ceiling is. It’s still too early. Will he be as impactful as Garland or Edwards? I don’t see it. Will he be in that next tier, probably.
I like Mitchell, as well. He will be fine off the bench. But, he’s really super inconsistent offensively. His defense is solid. But, at his minature size he’s always going to have issues with bigger and taller players.
Keep Tank central going. Sit Fox the remainder of the season, if there are no equitable deals. Trade the B’s(Bagley, Barnes, and Buddy) Trade Holmes( I like him. But, he’s just an undersized Big that can never handle real bigs in the NBA, and an average rebounder at best)
I don’t know what you can get for those 4. Barnes( a pick, young asset) Holmes(A late first round/amd or young asset) Bagley and Hield(Not much, a developmental player, a very late round 21-30 pick, maybe a young asset)
Yeah, I’m not sure anyone around here is celebrating or forgetting. Just appreciative of the effort and desire. Hopeful that maybe our two young guys might be different when given the reigns.
The value of the Kings’ pick this year is interesting. Right now it looks like that pick would be around #5, possibly better with a lot of luck. However, they are only a few wins a way from that pick being in the 9-10 range, and we know the Kings’ history of screwing this situation up. In my view they (and the fans) have already done the “heavy lifting” including losing to really bad teams towards “earning” this pick. But getting back to the value of the pick, my guess is Monte is receiving a lot of offers which include the other team receiving that pick. I would need someone to knock my socks off if they wanted that pick, especially if that pick was attached to Fox. However, I think it’s important to consider there is a real possibility that pick could end up being around 10 considering this teams inability to properly tank. In that scenario, I would be less married to the pick for the right deal. Depending on other moves getting rid of some of the cancers such as Buddy could ultimately devalue the pick. Right now the pick is on the razor’s edge of potentially being a franchise changer or merely a run of the mill late lottery pick.
There is no need for a full on rebuild. A calculated one, as gradually the team sends away big or expiring contracts investing on draft picks and assets along the way, would do the work. I can not stop thinking the Knicks as potential trade partners.
They are in a limbo like us and desperate for pgs and sfs, so why not deal for someone like Mitchell Robinson, he is a rim protector with great size good defending on switches and i can only fantasize him operating the pick and roll with Rese-keep Holmes off the bench and split the minutes to begin with.
Most importantly he is an unrestricted free agent this summer and he is underperfoming due to lack of an effective pg setting pick and rolls and plays designed for him by Timbodeau, his points (7.9) come COMPLETELY from put backs and some lobs.
Take him via sign and trade give him a reasonable contract of 10-15 and wait 2 years of development and play with the best 21 one year old pick and roll pg in the world until you have a potential best young pick and roll duo in the nba as at the same time you fortify your d. Give back Barnes and ask for a veteran to balance the deal.
Finally give me control of King’s FO.
Something tells me you might get your wish. Something also tells me you might be Monte “Gradually” McNair, himself.
the call for control on the FO gave me away
Textbook move for a shrewd supervillain. Just messing with you btw.
That’s epic!
Brown Good,
Heal up, do the therapy and climb back on the horse. I tried the same maneuver a while back. When your Doc clears you, swimming helps with the lung.
What cycle are your riding? Guerciotti here. Get better man!
Wrong forum? 🧐
No.
Somewhat new is the rotation at the 5, with Holmes, Jones, and especially, Queta getting in the game (barely). Thompson, and Len with DNPs. Hmmm…
Also, Sac lost to Charlie Brown last night
2 months ago, Buddy tells Doc “come get me” mid-game. 2 months later, Buddy drops an 0-7 on Philly. Way to sell yourself…
Prior to the season, Heild could’ve gotten Kuzma and Harrel. Now it’s THT and Nunn. By next week, we’ll have to overpay just to get rid of him.
Addition by subtraction with Buddy
Why would the Kings do THT and Nunn? That’s just dumb. Isn’t the point to improve the roster? Not only that, the Lakers would have to add 2 more players off their roster just to make a Buddy Hield deal.
That’s one of those reported rumors that don’t necessarily take into account the realities of making an actual legal deal the NBA FO will approve.
Overall last nights game was the first in a long time that was actually enjoyable to watch. The Kings were competitive and had a chance to win at the end against a good team. Tyrese had an amazing night. They still lost which will hopefully translate to a decent draft pick if they keep doing so. I have zero complaints.
I finally watched a Kings game, which I haven’t done in a while. Was pleasantly surprised. The team played over their heads in the first half, came back to earth in the second, but didn’t quit and came oh so close to pulling off the upset. My random thoughts.
One. Hali is the real deal. Heart, skill. He’s a keeper. Two. I sure wish Harkless could shoot. Does everything else great, but can’t but a bucket. Davion is gonna be a very nice player in a year or 2. I think we can build around him and Hali. Something like 26 points no TOs between them in the first half.
Hopefully, yesterday’s game is Hali’s coming out party. I give him serious kudos for putting the team on his back and playing aggressive. I’m hoping he puts together a few more games like that and the FO feels like they can trade Fox. I think with Fox here, it is keeping Hali from reaching his potential. With Fox here, Hali will defer to him offensively. Fox, to me, is the second coming of Tyreke Evans. A slasher with no outside shot. Teams have started to figure that out and until he develops a three point shot, his numbers will continue to go down. One dimensional players like him and Hield are easy to defend. Got to trade them sooner than later, before their trade values completely plummet.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Having Luke as coach was my darkest days as a Kings fan so I’m thankful he’s gone, that puts us slightly above my rock bottom for this franchise.
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