After a decisive win against the Wizards on Monday, the Kings entered the second half of their long home stand, where things only get harder. The Kings face a tough final stretch of work ahead before they are able to enjoy their holiday break. First up: the Boston Celtics, who currently hold the best record in the Eastern Conference. The basketball gods blessed some balance into this matchup, as the Kings entered on a 3-game win streak, while the Celtics came in on the second night of a back to back following an overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors. Feeling the wear of working overtime last night, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford decided to sit this one out. You know who didn’t sit out? The birthday boy. De’Aaron Fox turned 26 years old today and his team looked to give him the gift of a W to celebrate. Let’s see how they did:
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings lose, 119-144
Sacramento Kings: 119 pts, 47.3% fg, 47.7% 3 pt, 52.2% ft, 29 ast, 37 reb, 7 to
Boston Celtics: 144 pts, 55.4% fg, 52.4% 3 pt, 83.3% ft, 35vast, 50 reb, 9 to
Not only did the Kings fail to get a W, they instead got a big, fat L. It was so fun, so fast, and then so not fun, so fast. The Kings came out with a palpable electricity that fooled us into thinking this would be a bright night in Sacramento. Unfortunately, this excitement was short-lived as the Celtics proved they were the better team in just about every way on the court and quickly extinguished any hopes for a beam. Things didn’t feel great for the Kings going into the half, as they trailed by 8 points after leading by as much as 12, and things were completely off the rails by the halfway point through the third quarter.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good:
- First Quarter: I wish I could live life in the first quarter of this game. The Kings came out firing on all cylinders. Keegan Murray and De’Aaron Fox looked like they were in a friendly competition to outscore each other as they kicked things off by combining for a perfect 4-4 from the 3-point line within the first few minutes of the game. The Kings executed their best offense through the first 12 minutes, highlighted by Fox’s 17 points on 5-7 from the 3-point line. It seemed like the Kings were out for blood as they collectively finished 11-21 from deep and connected on 10 assists. The Celtics, not being the best team in the East for nothing, kept up just fine, but the Kings were able to finish the first quarter with a 3-point lead after scoring 41 points. I shall replay memories of this quarter in my mind tonight in order to get myself to sleep.
The Bad:
- Third Quarter: The second quarter wasn’t great – the Kings’ shooting cooled off tremendously and the Celtics’ did not. But despite losing their lead and giving up an 11-point swing in the quarter, it wasn’t as bad as the third quarter. The third quarter was painful. Jaylen Brown (28 points) and Kristaps Porzingis (24 points) both more than doubled their scoring numbers in this period and dominated the Kings. Sacramento failed to make any defensive adjustments throughout the quarter, and Porzingis continued to take advantage of switched mismatches. On the other end, Porzingis became an impenetrable force at the rim, as he tallied 6 blocks. The Kings struggled to score at every level on the floor. Even when the Kings did earn their way to line, they ended up shooting just 3-9 for the quarter. Domantas Sabonis (13 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists) found his way to the stripe, but left much to be desired there, going just 1-4. This all accumulated to a 24-39 loss of the quarter, putting the Kings at a 23-point deficit and essentially ending the game early.
The Ugly:
- Lost Opportunity: The Kings had a great opportunity tonight to prove that they can compete with the best in the league. They were even given the advantages of the Celtics not having two of their starters and having to play on the road for the second night of a back to back. Granted, the Celtics were coming off of an overtime loss that likely gave them more motivation to win tonight, but the Kings failed to meet the moment, execute cleanly, and take care of business. It seemed like there was a lack of defensive strategy or focus from the jump. The Kings continually went under screens, lost track of shooters, and conceded 14 offensive rebounds to the Celtics, all of which resulted in the Celtics shooting 22-42 from the 3-point line. Derrick White essentially cancelled out the incredible shooting performance by De’Aaron Fox, as he matched Fox’s 29 points and 6 made 3s with 28 points and 6 made 3s of his own. In a game where the Kings had the chance to make a bold statement about their identity and standing in this league, they fell completely flat.
The King of Kings
The birthday boy balled out. We got to see one of the most entertaining shooting performances from De’Aaron Fox early on in this game as he scored 17 points on 5-7 from the 3-point line in the first quarter alone. It seemed like he took Keegan Murray’s 47-point career night personally and was intent on outdoing him on his birthday. This, unfortunately, didn’t happen, but Fox still added on another 3-pointer to tie his career high 3-point makes in a single game and ended with 29 points. Although there is no birthday beam, I hope Fox is still able to enjoy his day. Happy birthday, Mr. Sacramento!
Up Next
Friday, December 22nd vs. Phoenix Suns – 7:00 P.M. (PT)
Live by the 3, die by the D.
Real contenders don’t use SEGABABA’s as excuse.
Excellent summary . Kings died on Defense .
Yep, absolutely. Until this team learns to play a bit of defense they’re susceptible to blowout losses.
Unfortunately I don’t think this is a learning issue, or even an effort issue. It’s a skill issue.
Murray, Ellis, Fox, and Sabonis are our best defensive players. The first two I think have the potential to be high level defenders, the latter two are about as good as they’re going to get, more or less. We need 2 more high level defenders to make this team elite:
Its up to McNair to find a way to obtain those before the Fox/Sabonis window closes
Hopefully McN will get those couple type players. They’ve needed them since the off season.
You have to have defenders at all positions around Sabs and Fox And shooting.
and every good defender, naturally, is an excellent 3 pt. shooter, so this should be like fish in a barrel. Amirite?
What defense? Not in the King’s vocabulary. Good thing Horford or Tatum didn’t play or the score would have been 160. I’m worried about what I’m seeing this year. A lot of times it’s 3 on 5. Barnes and Huerter a lot of times don’t show up. Barnes as of late is scoring more but doesn’t rebound much. Huerter has been absent most of the time. Neither play consistent defense. I’m worried.
Kayte went as far as to make the point that the Kings have been occupied with Holiday service in the community so they have been busy and not able to practice as much. Wut?
She must be trolling at this point.
We fans just don’t understand as we’re a bunch of serfs
Kayte is just word salad over the actual game and Jones tries hard to be a 20 something hipster . Ugh
It’s a tough listen most nights.
I don’t agree. I like the two. Katie knows more about basketball then all of us together. Jones brings some humor to the game.
Lol okay.
She certainly knows more than you do. Thank goodness. Lol.
I prefer Draper to Jones or Grant. For me, Kayte is not as good as Jerry, but better than Christie or Walton. I like the pre and post game group. I miss Barnes, don’t miss K9. Not impressed with Bibby so far, but may need time to grow into it.
I have one thought on Kayte: as a color commentator, the role is to add… color… to the play by play. Kayte completely blankets the broadcast. Being knowledgeable is part of the job. Knowing when to let the play by play guy take the space is another part of the job.
I’m fine with her, personally. As the CC, her contributions should be insightful yet short and to the point. When she’s rambled over the course of 3-4 possessions she’s lost her audience and no one cares what she’s talking about anymore. She does that at least 10 times a game and its becoming awful, honestly.
Difference of opinion . Can not tolerate the constant talking over the actual game . I mute a lot and you enjoy it . OK by me .
may be true but bs excuse
Scheduling is Kayte’s #1 issue right now when discussing the Kings’ losses this year. And I puke in my mouth a little every time she says it.
I also puke in my mouth a little every time I see SEGABABA. oof, just there it went. Not everything is better as an acronym.
It’s the roster, stupid.
Trade deadline is really going to show whether the FO is content having a nice 5th-7th seed team or is willing to gamble to get better.
Ding ding ding. I’m perplexed when I see people talking about the Kings as a contender. We’re a good team that has a very defined ceiling. The Celtics are a great team that might be the favorite to win a championship. We all saw the difference tonight. They made us look small because we are small. It would have been worse with Tatum and Horford available.
We need at least one more high level piece if we actually want to contend. Ball is in Monte’s court.
You saw that multiple players were free to shoot 3’s? IMO, you’re not just going to fix that with one more high level piece, and maybe even not with two.
With the exceptiuon of Sabonis, too many players here think they can take multiple plays off during a game.
Yeah I think it’s a talent issue. Nobody on our team can guard Porzingis. Keegan and Sabonis tried but they had no shot. He shot over them like they weren’t there. We can keep talking about effort but I generally do not believe this team is talented enough to beat teams like the Celtics unless they shoot really poorly. The Celtics are substantially more talented than the Kings even missing a couple guys.
Guys like Monk and Huerter are too light to hold up against somebody like Jaylen Brown.
And this probably a really hot take around these parts but I don’t think Kevin O’connor’s basic point about the Kings being too small is wrong. This shouldn’t be a shock as we keep seeing them get killed by the same type of long/strong teams over and over again. It was an issue last year and the roster is the same so it’s still and issue. I think we need we need either another defender at the point of attack or a rim protector. Preferably we’d find both.
That’s true. I feel like I see a lot of guys just watching-instead of rebounding or going to get the ball.
Going all out-staying focused most of the time.
A single player can absolutely fix multiple players being open for three. The Kings often leave players open because they are collapsing and rotating to help guard a player who has blown past his defender. If you have a truly good defender to stop the other team’s top creator, it reduces that scramble and the good shots that opponents get from it.
Good teams have multiple top creators and know how to hunt switches. It wasn’t just Jalen Brown who made our defenders scramble.
A team’s defense is as strong as it weakest link. Sure, that can be masked to an extent, but only to an extent.
This is a great point. Miami has a very solid defense, credited very heavily to Butler and Bam, but they also have been starting Duncan Robinson who is someone most teams would try and hide on defense. It doesn’t matter to Miami because they have key players who are “truly good defenders.”
Winning more than 60% of games thus far? Ding ding ding, it’s a good team.
That’s literally what I said. The Kings are good. They aren’t great and they aren’t contenders.
you are sounding an alarm whereas I’m cashing in on W’s. Not the time to get desperate. I’d like to see this team get a chance to run it back. One or two minor moves at the deadline might be okay. Or if the perfect trade opportunity arises, but that’s unlikely.
Stating the reality is sounding an alarm? I thought I was just trying to objectively assess where the team is at and what the goal is: to win a championship. If the Kings want to achieve that they need are going to have to make some changes. Minor moves might help. I actually sort of doubt they will make a big move this year because clearing the Hawks pick this year opens up substantially more trade capital down the road. And if they do run it back I would the best odds on them losing in the first round of the playoffs. If they get somebody like Dallas who they matchup pretty well with then I think they can make round 2 but I don’t think there’s any chance they make it past that.
The thing that caught my attention was “discocricket’s comment: “it’s the roster, stupid”. (Directed at the author of the article?). Successful team, cool players, and that comment? Wow. Okay. Then your “ding ding ding” response to that comment. Maybe you meant different, but it did not read well to me. So I brought up the win percentage which is reaaally good.
It’s the roster stupid is just a play on the phrase it’s the economy stupid. Just a colloquial phrase to explain something that’s obvious. I took it to mean that we lost to the Celtics because they have a much better roster than we do. We can’t expect to beat teams like them without roster improvements. I think that’s pretty straightforward. The Kings are a good team that will almost assuredly lose in the first round of the playoffs unless they get a really good matchup. Right now we’d be slated to play the Clippers. If that were to happen, I think we’d lose in 5 games. We just need another wing and someone who can protect the ring. That was true last year, it was true in the offseason and it’s true now.
And the Dubs defeated them last night.
Yep and the Warriors beat us last year in the playoffs. Boston missed the most 3 point attempts in franchise history a couple nights ago which was an outlier shooting performance. Those still happen over 82 games. When they don’t, you get what happened last night.
If we wait until Feb. it might be too late.
It’s obvious what needs to be done.
MM has made some sus moves of late like signing HB and trading away the first rd pick that could have been used on taking a flyer on a defensive player.
As long as we don’t have an uber athletic, defensive floor spacing 4 betwixt KM and Domas, this team has a defined ceiling. Good luck to MM in finding that guy.
Could be worse. No playoffs.
Might not be a 5th-7th seed. With the way Huerter and Barnes are playing and some of the bench I am a little worried. Worried mostly on the defensive side of the ball.
Boston with 5 players scoring 20 or more points each. This on a segababa. Our defense looked like shit and our offense was one dimensional.
Tonight’s defense reminded me of what we saw under Walton with Fox and Haliburton. Celtics players faced zero opposition getting into the paint, leading to wide-open threes by players like Pritchard and White.
Speaking about White, he’s turned himself into a heck of a player. Fantastic defensively, and torched our turnstile defense all night.
Speaking of White, these are the types of players you have to take flyers on. Something MM has been unwilling to do.
Anyone could have traded for KP, signed Lauri etc. You have to take some risks at some point to find pieces that fit well with our big 3, and no, giving HB the bad was not this. A bad move in real time and looks even worse now.
Take risks like trading away Tyrese Haliburton?
Man the mood swings in this forum make me scratch my head sometimes. Just a few days ago we were flying high, now it sounds like we´re doomed and MM finally needs to have the balls to take a risk dammit.
This was ugly for sure, but I assume there are few among us who really thought the Kings were about to win a title. I too want more than being a good team, but it just might not be possible to turn actual basketball hell into a title contender in two years. Wht makes us think MM isn´t actually working on improving this roster?
Minutes played from the last 5 guys to join the team:
Vezenkov 13
McGee 12
Edwards 6
Duarte 5
JTA 3
Results matter.
Kings are fun, and have a nice record! But there’s zero chance we are getting out of the 2nd round with this roster.
Sorry, I missed some guys:
Ford 0
Jones 0
Slawson 0
Whatever MM is doing, it hasn’t actually had the result of improving the roster.
Not yet but IMO it will happen but in Monty’s timeline not ours.
What are 1st year G-Leaguers supposed to do, exactly?
Yes. However, I can see that going into the season with this roster is a legitimate route to go IMO considering nobody could have known who or what Keegan for example would become.
I just refuse to accept that not making a massive change early to this growing team is a disasterous failure by MM as some here make it out to be. Usually getting those amazing players that help us immediately will cost assets, the ideas I have read of getting Lauri for HB and Davion not withstanding. Looking at another half season to evalute what we actually have may turn out to be a very smart decision afterall. It´s not like we are in such a hurry that Fox´s window is rapidly closing.
Again, I do get the impatience and I very much want to see the Kings win a trophy, but it seems we are sometimes forgetting where we´re coming from and when we left there.
If the trade is there and it will profit the Kings Monty will jump on it. Until that happens it isn’t going to happen. I agree there is trades possible with using Barnes, Mitchell, Huerter and others. Monty spends every day trying to make this possible. I fully support Monty as our GM. Best we have had in years.
As for Vezenkov, I´m actually really happy with his performance for the most part and sometimes don´t understand why he doesn´t get more minutes.
McGee has bonehead plays that make me laugh sometimes, but for a 2nd/3rd center has been mostly alright.
Duarte hasn´t been a massive gamble and has had good minutes here and there, same is true for Edwards.
The truth is also that if Fox, the Ox and most importantly Keegan are off the table, we are just not going to get Lauri, Anouby or Reid that easily because other front offices have brains, too. Don´t forget that only the Lakers get massive gifts in trades, pretty much everyone else has to pay up.
Re: Vezenkov, I am too! I’m looking forward to him playing more.
When is that going to be?
Or the first round.
With this team as it is we are not title contenders.
Obviously, I hear few that disgaree with that. My point is that not being a title contender the very year after the 2,8 million year playoff drought ended isn`t indicative of massive failure.
Have patience.
Couldn’t have said it any better, Ruben.
This Kings team is way better than any of the drought teams, but still miles away from being a contender. They’re simply pretty good, something I’m quite happy with after experiencing most of the drought era.
They will get better but patience is a virtue.
He is. And you have to have a little faith in him. Look what he’s done so far.16 years to a playoff. He has done that in a short period of time. He knows what has to be done and he isn’t going to just do something for our sake. Be patient.
No one is saying we are doomed. But there are clear holes on the roster that have not been addressed dating to last season.
You shouldn’t be flying high with wins over the Jazz and Wizards. All that means is they took care of business against bad teams, which they should do. The games that measure you are ones against the Celtics, Clippers, and Pelicans, which are all losses btw. This Suns and Wolves game will be interesting. McNair does need to upgrade the roster otherwise will be another 1st round exit or quick sweep or 4-1 series in the 2nd round.
Ruben, be careful of making sense around here. Some folks might not know what to make of it, especially since you didn’t include a trade scenario.
Unwilling to do? White was no better his first few years then what Duarte has done or what Colby Jones may turn into. Those moves are the definition of flyers. I don’t think anyone could have predicted what White would turn into a few seasons ago.
I get your point on trying to get good guys, but we can’t have revisionist history. Boston got KP by giving up a DPOY in Smart and Lauri was never a free agent. He was signed and traded in a three team deal by the Bulls I wasn’t like Monte just passed on those guys.
White was averaging 25 MPG in year 2 and never dropped below 24.7 in his career. Duarte is at 12.4 this year and falling. White has also been a starter all but his third season, when he still started 20 games.
Boston gave up an over the hill Smart (offensive rating this year 96, yikes) for a career year KP.
Boston makes smart moves. That’s why they are at the top of the East.
Go check out Duarte’s first two seasons and White’s first two seasons. In what world would anyone predict White to have the better career going forward. Duarte was all rookie second team!
My only point was that Monte is looking for guys to make significant impact. To knock him for Duarte’s failures in comparison to White’s accomplishments is just lazy analysis.
“Over the hill Smart” is also lazy. He was a year removed from winning DPOY…but sure, point to his offensive rating over 11 games. SMH.
I agree. I remember when White was a bench player just like Duarte and White. One other player I like on the bench but might be too old. I like Sasha.
You got your stats on White wrong. Dude is also a beast on D and has an epic forehead.
Boston gut checked this team last time they played us. They knew as soon as they stepped on the floor the kAnGZ would roll over.
Defense takes effort.
Why try hard?
Keon Ellis has a nice line in the boxscore … did he play well?
Holiday, White, Pritchard and Brown scored a combined 97 points. No. Keon did not play well.
Nobody really played well last night.
It looks like Keon is trying to be physical and the refs are calling more fouls on him recently.
Kings were a +2 in his 19 minutes. I’d say he played as well as any King did last night, which really isn’t saying that much.
Checked standings and I had not noticed the Pistons are pushing for the record for consecutive losses in a season. Up to 24 in a row now… brutal!
The Pistons are a disaster like we have not seen in awhile. It’s kind of impossible to lose that many games in a row.
The Kings play them in 2 weeks
…Just saying.
I REALLY want them to win before then lol.
If they don’t, they would smash that record!
Terrible front office making bad draft decisions and awful coaching hires will do that to a franchise. Something we’ve all seen here far too often.
Oh yes the stink of incompetence is very familiar haha.
The most disapointting point is the whole team being out-hustle by the Celtics….
The Celtics fight hard, goes after those loose ball, and don’t afraid to fly out to the audience to try to get the ball..
I doubt I have see them hustle for ball this season…..
It’s time to play those players who willing to sacrifice and plays hard to play defense.
Accepting the Kings are just a very good second tier team is a hard pill to swallow.
I actually don’t think it’s that hard to swallow if that’s what you expected. Which is great! It’s also not the goal so I’d like to see the team try to improve the talent on the roster.
Right. Coach Brown talked about being titled contenders, and that they are not satisfied with where they are.
So why the hell should I be satisfied with where they are.? It is absolutely enjoyable to watch them and watch their improvement but it’s also OK to point out and want them to move forward to the next step.
there is a window of opportunity here
Yeah this is really well said. I definitely don’t think the team is happy with where they are. I think they’re a lot closer than they’ve been in a while though so I’m hoping that sometime either mid season or in the offseason they take a pretty big swing at an upgrade.
Take it with a shot of whiskey.
Personally, I would like a change from the following 2023-24 season script:
1) 3s stop falling
2) Opponent starts getting to the rim at will
3) Ball stops moving on offense
4) Brown puts in the bench, lack of talent shows
5) Team loses by 20+
6) Brown complains about defense in the postgame presser
7) We beat up on a bad team, good vibes return
8) Play good team with length/size, back to (1)
Something that seems obvious to me, that I am having trouble finding stats to support, is that the team seems “undercoached” offensively compared to last season, both in terms of creativity and reaction time for adjustments. We really bog down on offense (probably because we’ve been scouted out more fully this season) for long stretches and I don’t often see adjustments. A symptom is the number of passes per possession when playing in the halfcourt (which I’ve just counted by hand at times). In so many of the blowouts, the number drops to zero or one for 4-6 minute stretches.
The Sabonis/Huerter DHO has been basically scouted yo the point that I rarely see it against any decent defense. Once that is gone, they just look lost and hope Fox or Monk can bail out and make something happen.
Sabonis needs to have some more tricks up his sleeve against certain Center. He just kept going in to KP’s chest and getting swatted or forced in to a tough shot. He didn’t take a mid-range shot from what I saw last night.
The team has some real issues, and sometimes the heroics of a single player will mask the issues, but deep down I think we all see the issues.
Sabonis HAS to find a reliable jump shot. He just has to. I think he can make them he just has to be willing to take those shots when they’re sagging off him 10 feet.
Agree.
He had the whole summer to work on his jumper. Whole Summer. He’s also in his 7th season. Not first or second. It’s called settling. Never could shoot a jumper. His shot is also very quirky. He needs time to set up and his release is odd. Stop making excuses for the guy. He’s has 7 years to work on having an outside game.
He is about 40% on 3’s .
Excuses? I think he just needs to shoot. As rockbottom pointed out, he’s shooting over 40% from 3 so he just needs to shoot more. If he’s open he should let it fly. I think it’s a mental thing with him though which worries me. He’s not predisposed to shoot and he’d rather pass.
I just wanted to point out that the Kings played no worse last night then they did a few days before with a win against the Wiz. The only difference is the Wiz stink and Boston is very good. The Kings are somewhere in the middle of the two.
If your team is incapable of playing solid defense then you need to score 130+ every night to win the majority of your games. The Kings are currently giving up the 3rd most points in the Western Conference on a nightly basis behind only the Jazz and Spurs.
Personnel changes need to happen if they want to take the next step.
I’d probably keep Keegan, Sabonis, and Fox…then shop ever other player on the roster and see what offers come back.
I’d keep Monk also.
I think you have to shop Monk if you feel he may leave in free agency. I leave it to Monte to read that pulse.
Seriously, if Monte feels there is a 50/50 chance that Monk may leave for a larger payday elsewhere and he also has an opportunity to include him in a trade for a solid and controlled asset (lets say Caruso), what does he do?
Yes, Monk’s contract situation is why I wouldn’t hesitate to move him. If he was locked in for another year or two, I’d still consider it but would definitely put a bit more contemplation into it.
I know this may not be popular, but what about trading Fox and keeping Monk to play PG? I have been thinking of this more and more lately.
Here are some pros to considering it:
I think its worth at least considering.
Fox is currently a top 10 player in the league, just turned 26, and is about to sign a super max extension this summer that will not only make him the longest tenured Sacramento King ever, but also allow him to set dozens of franchise records.
You only trade a player like that if you feel he’s a liability on and off the court (a DMC type situation) or you are going for a complete and total rebuild by selling everyone off (like Utah recently did).
I don’t see either of those situations happening.
I think Fox is a much bigger part of this team’s success than Malik is. Sure, you could get a load of picks and a decent (but not great) player or two, but that doesn’t do much toward improving the team in the here and now. If Fox were to be traded, then you’d probably want to deal Monk and Sabonis too. Monk will almost surely be gone this offseason, so he’s only the PG for a couple more months, not long term.
At that point, you’d then go into rebuild mode around Keegan with all the picks that come back in those deals, trying to make another playoff run in 2 or 3 years down the road.
Seems like the most complicated and painful way to try and address what is a concern (defense) on an otherwise very good team.
Great point. I had the same thought in the Wizards game. They didn’t play that well they just played an awful team.
Go figure. Wow Jazz and Spurs. How sad.
I feel like I don’t understand who this team actually is. At this point last year, the Kings were 14-12, so I don’t want to make too much out of it, but these blowout losses are downright sickening to witness.
The blowouts are hard to watch. Like not even competitive for most those games either.
The Rockets and Pelicans teams really stand out. Some say don’t worry. I worry.
This is a good team just like last seasons and have spots to fill to be a legit contender . I trust Monty and have patience . This team is a work in progress and I worry as well .
I think it’s obvious who we are and it’s the same as last year. We are a good regular season team with a very clear ceiling against better competition.
I totally agree.
Last season the Kings won +18 games from the previous season.
This season it is a let down. They should win at least 66 games (+18) this season to show improvement.
That they continue to lose games is ridiculous. Sure Fox looks next level, Keegan has expanded his game on both ends of the court but Sabonis only plays his ass off with the same numbers. The other guys are much worse and the record reflects that.
After such an inspiring season just one short season ago, Sacramento should be laying waste to all.
An overhaul is due and if it isn’t, it’s past due.
Part of the problem is our starting 5. A lot of time we are playing 3 on 5. Can’t win with those numbers.
Yep. Huerter is “nice,” but that doesn’t cut it when you’re trying to get to the championship level. He’d ideally be a 6th/7th man on a true contending team. Ditto for Barnes.
Yes. And Yes. Huerter and Barnes need upgrades.
They don’t need an overhaul they just need to improve. Every year you assess your flaws and try to get better. The Kings didn’t meaningfully attempt to get better in the offseason so I’d like them to try during the season. The goal is still to try and win a championship right?
It is. And it’s been one good season – as this first 25 games shows – why is it taking so long?
I am loading up on the sarcasm for emphasis; it is a community conversation and we all have our ideas as to how achieve that Championship prize.
I don’t agree with the narrative that the Kings didn’t try to get meaningfully better in the off season. IMO, re-signing Domas was both their largest goal and their strongest accomplishment. As for the others – most notably Harrison Barnes, he played 82 games last season, was the team’s 3rd best regular season player and a worthy mentor and contributor to their success.
After knocking the playoff drought monkey off their backs last season and giving us a thrill in their 1st round playoff series- they now need to move to the next step for success.
I get that and agree.
”Standing pat” isn’t how I look at this squad. Having them marinate and grow together as a stable unit is what I see presently. Stability is also a strategy.
Maybe Player(s) X at the expense of Player(s) Y is the boost they need. I don’t believe so. If they figure out that what they have isn’t enough- sure! but I don’t believe they can say that just yet at this time.
And I am not always wrong, most of the time. (aka – what do I know? but it’s fun to discuss it here)
I just don’t think there’s a ton of growth left to be had outside of Keegan and clearly Fox because of the giant steps he’s taken the last two years. Now, those things are really important. I think with the right pieces it raises our ceiling.
But the flaws they had last year are the same flaws they have this year and while their record is a little better right now their underlying metrics are worse because they keep getting blown out. You could chalk that up to SSS theater but the more it happens the more worried I get.
Marinating is fine. I get the impulse but I think there’s a window of opportunity right now (in the next year or two) to be a really good team. The defense is still a huge problem because Sabonis is a really poor rim protector. We’ve got to either get better at the point of attack or have someone who provides some resistance at the rim.
The other teams are going to get better too and a team like the Thunder could completely dominate the conference in short order with the players they already have and their insane war chest of picks. They have so many more resources to improve than we do and they are already better than us (generally, I know we’ve beaten them twice). So while we are marinating, I just worry that another team could completely blow past us.
Anyway, good discussion! I do appreciate the back and forth and different opinions.
Exactly. They are the same as last year, except that Fox, Keegan have improved.
this team is still set up for regular season. Success but failure in the playoffs.
You have to be able to defend and SAbonus is going to have to be able to make his mid range. Because you also have to have a reliable, half court offense
This team doesn’t need offensive star power, so that’s a bit out of the question. I think McNair should go after someone who can defend and shoot the three, but not necessarily a star – more of a role player like Patrick Williams. I think he would be a nice buy-low target for a team like the Bulls who are about to blow everything up.
I’d also look at Tari Eason. On comparisons much better than Patrtick Williams.
Williams isn’t a buy low target. He’s been playing great.
Tough to understand how we need a backup big and a player like Queta isn’t good enough for the Kings but can go be the backup big for arguably the best team in the NBA.
Q played because Horford did not and Kornet was hurt. So he is 4th on the depth chart. He was “beat out” by Len and JaVale.
This team needs a Doug Christie type of player. Great defender, doesn’t need the ball, just play within the flow and competes every night.
Thybulle could be that guy, and can probably be had without trading off a core member to the rotation.
He could be. Sure doesn’t much.
I’d love to see the Kings acquire Thybulle. He might be a better fit than Huerter.
This team is terrible. Blow it up. Trade everyone for picks. Time to rebuild.
Am I doing it right?
There is a difference between the “team is terrible” and “the team has obvious flaws against tougher opponents”.
They need some changes to go from good to great.
Exactly. It shouldn’t be controversial to say we’re a good team that isn’t good enough to compete yet.
You did well… and gave great effort! Something the team did not do….
Thanks for the affirmation!
Wow! Back to square 1. IMO that’s not the answer.
I don’t understand peoples aversion, to pointing out where the kings need to improve. It’s the same thing that used to happen when they were horrible.
No one is saying they need to blow it up. In fact, everybody’s being very rational, so no need for your irrational post.
Therefore, you are doing it wrong
Sorry
We don’t have any tough enforcers aside from Mitchell who’s a point guard relegated to 4th string. It’s speed with fox and finesse with everyone else. Sabonis is big and mixes it up but he’s not controlling the paint against any legit offense. Murray, Barnes, Huerter, Ellis… yikes… these heavyweights like Boston or even athletic, tough teams New Orleans or Houston just steamroll us. Boston flew across the country tired on our home court and throttled us. I was begging them to address the toughness in the offseason and they added a finesse Euro shooter.
So much negativity after a loss. They happen. I don’t think the refs did us any favors last night, there were actually times I thought they were working actively and knowledgably against us. I don’t care if you’re LeBron James, its hard to win in a game like that. Add the fact that Boston is one of the top teams in the League and you have a recipe for bullshit.
Our boys are gonna have to figure out how to come back from an getting beat down for a couple of quarters, for sure. But that game was a display of absolute shit refereeing.
Let’s see what happens against the Suns.
If you’re blaming the loss on the refs. Get a life. Celtics are superior in every single facet of the game.’And it’s not close.. Besides missing their best player. You could have gifted the Kings a 20 pt lead and they would have choked it away. Sorry you sound like a bitter fanboy.
Wow…lol
You sound like the Celtics pissed all in your cheerios, friend.
I absolutely am blaming the refs for an absolute shit job during this game. They were terribly one sided and it wasn’t even close.
I also have a life, thanks. One where the outcome of a Kings game doesn’t influence my emotions to the point of projecting my feelings of inadequateness on to someone else’s comment. I used to think you had decent takes but this over-the-top outburst is completely uncalled for. I hope Santa brings you some emotional stability this holiday, cheers…!
The Kings are a good team. Great teams (especially small market teams) achieve a good return on investment from their player payroll. Currently, the Kings have over $32m invested in the underachieving Barnes and Huerter. Either they need to get a lot better – and exponentially on the defensive end considering their sparse offensive contributions – or the Kings will be a good regular season team that can’t get over the hump in the playoffs.
And 1 – While I do not see a guy like Zach LaVine as being the answer, you’re not bringing that level of talent in via free agency or the draft. So if you can part with the dead weight salaries of Barnes, Huerter and Mitchell and replace it with LaVine, you do have to give it strong consideration. I still see the more viable answer being bringing in a guy like Thybulle of Finney-Smith, but this good team would be better with Zach LaVine instead of Barnes and Huerter. How much better? That’s anyone’s guess.
Seems a Finney- Smith might be a better value at half the cost in salary and trade capital .
Solid points.
Okoro for Mitchell and Edward’s, plus some 2nds?
Siakam for Huerter Barnes, Duarte, and 1st + 2nd rounders.
Maybe reasonable, maybe not.
Fair points. I can’t stand Lavine but you’re right about the talent. On a side note, I still really like Huerter and think he’ll be fine long term. He’s also only 25 so still room to grow. Barnes appears cooked and I think Davion is just a bust. I hated that pick when we made it and had some hope after the last couple years but his shot just never came around.
The dead cap point makes a ton of sense, actually.
I’m interested to see how Monte and Co. are able to parlay that. I thought one of the main reasons Barnes received the contract that he did was so that he could be a salary piece to any trades for talent on the more expensive side. McNair seems to like the less obvious moves, so if he does make a move I expect it to be an interesting / significant one.
This team is farther than people think. The only guarantee playoff baller on this Roster is Fox. Period.
Murray Has been improving. And has potential to be very good. All Star? Not sure about that. Until I see improvements in creation. We’ll see.
Sabonis is a great regular season Lion. Come playoffs. His weaknesses exposed again. Watch.
That leaves Huerter and Barnes. Neither one strikes any fear in bonafide playoff teams. If you trade those 2. You realize,
Kings are not getting 2 quality starters back for those guys. Not happening.
This team is not a Finney Smith or defensive role player type away from giving the top teams hell. Far from.
This is a solid regular season team. That will beat some inexperienced playoff teams like OKC, overrated Dallas,
Minny with Daniels
missing or a team like the Lakers who Care less about the regular season.
What is your solution ? Trade Barnes and Huerter for what . Nobody has said this is a championship contender and clearly a work in progress . Ask Denver how long it took before they were legit contenders even with Jokic .
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Celtics 144, Kings 119: No Birthday Beam in Sacramento Tonight – The Kings Herald
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