Anytime I see the Los Angeles Clippers on the schedule, I get goosebumps as my brain can’t help but recall the most amazing basketball game I have ever witnessed. Back in February 2023, the Kings beat the Clippers 176-175 in a double overtime experience full of excitement and big time shot making. Tonight? Not so much. This game was just downright bizarre. It took nearly 90 minutes to get through the first 25 minutes of play which showcased a slog of stoppages, fouls, and challenges. Things picked up midway through the 3rd quarter, but the Kings’ inability to connect from distance prevented them from ever catching up in this one.
Quick Stats
Sacramento Kings: 47.4% fg, 11.5% 3 pt, 87.5% ft, 19 ast, 35 reb, 14 to
Los Angeles Clippers: 44.4% fg, 46.7% 3 pt, 91.3% ft, 20 ast, 48 reb, 21 to
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good:
- Finding the Fight: Despite the shooting nightmare the Kings found themselves in all night, they still managed to find ways to stay competitive in this game. For about 46 minutes, there was a feeling of awe that the Kings trailed by just a few possessions despite hitting only two (yes, TWO) 3-pointers through 43 minutes of play. And with that awe came hope. Because you couldn’t help yourself from thinking “if they just start falling now, they’re right back in this“. Well, spoiler: they did not start falling. Instead, the Kings found ways to keep this thing from turning into a blowout by outscoring the Clippers 54-36 in the paint. Malik Monk and DeMar DeRozan carried the Kings through the thick of the 3rd quarter, finding creative ways to score individually. Keegan Murray had a disappointing 0-6 from deep, but added value in his focus on the boards, grabbing 10 rebounds. Domantas Sabonis (23 points & 12 rebounds) and De’Aaron Fox (31 points) found their ways to the rim when shots weren’t falling. The Cardiac Kings almost made an appearance when they cut a 16-point deficit to just 4 points in the 4th quarter. But the Clippers hammered the final nails in by hitting three consecutive 3s in the final two minutes. The silver lining from tonight is that through nine games so far this season, the Kings remain competitive every night.
The Bad:
- Ice Cold: No, that wasn’t a typo in the stat line. The Kings truly shot 11.5% (3-26) from the 3-point line tonight. Only De’Aaron Fox and Keon Ellis were able to find the bottom of the net on a few of their attempts. The offense wasn’t lacking, as the Kings were still able to generate a lot of quality looks, the shots just simply weren’t falling. It was a bizarre and hopefully rare sight to see after being accustomed to the fast-paced offense that often ends in a made 3-pointer that the Kings generate. Falling in line with the weird vibes of the night, DeMar DeRozan’s streak of 20+ points per game was ended as he finished with 13 points on 5-12 from the field.
The Ugly:
- Ref Recognition: They say you never know the names of the best engineers because the only time engineers will get recognition is when they mess up. I believe the same is true about NBA referees. The best basketball games keep a consistent spotlight on the players and feature a fluid rhythm of exciting athleticism and competition. The best basketball makes you forget there are three whole extra people on that court monitoring every movement. Unfortunately, Scott Foster and his officiating crew made themselves painfully present through a big portion of this game. When the first half felt like an eternity due to constant stoppages, it felt as if I was seeing the NBA refs on my television more than the players. This type of game of course played into James Harden’s favor, who finished with 22 points on a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line. Close behind him was Normal Powell, who got to the line seven times and finished with 31 points. The Kings did not lose tonight because of the officiating, but I long for the days where I didn’t even know the names of NBA referees.
The King of Kings
When this game was flirting with putting me to sleep, can you guess who brought the spicy, chaotic energy needed to bring me back? That’s right, Malik Monk. Off the bench, Monk injected life into this game with some big “why the hell not” energy. Instead of settling for 3s that didn’t seem to have a desire of going into the basket, Monk decided to attack the rim every chance he got, oftentimes with what looked like no plan and reckless abandon. He showed off his athleticism with those classic Malik takeoffs that start with you holding your breath and end with a fancy finish that has you releasing a cheer. Monk finished with 17 points.
Up Next
Sunday, November 10th @ Phoenix Suns – 5:00 PM (PT)
We shot one more free throw than the Clippers.
The Ugly was allowing the opponent to shoot 46.7% from 3.
I can accept an off-night from 3. I cannot stand continued putrid perimeter defense.
Last year’s slogan was: “Live by the 3, die by the 3“.
It seems that this year’s slogan will be: “Live by the 2, die by the 3.”
I expect any opponent to shoot better than their season average from 3 when they play the Kangz.
It puts the Kings at a disadvantage every game, knowing they will have to rely on 2pt shots and FTs to carry the offense, because the Kings are inept at making 3s (even the wide open ones).
Tonight was the most pathetic display of 3 point shooting I have watched in all my years of following the Sacyramento Kings. And a lot of you keep saying we are alright. It will average out. I don’t think so. It was bound the happen. The Kings have been shooting really bad all year except for maybe one or two games and these are the top professional basketball players in the world? Can’t fool me. Most of these players make millions of dollars and practice hours a day and when the rubber meets the road WHAT?
I have a solution to this and last nights game they could have won. First and foremost do not and I mean do not shoot another 3 for the rest of the season. You read this right. Second hire Fox and Derozan as players coaches. Fox works with the team on how to drive and how to shoot within 10 feet. Derosan shows the team how to shoot the midrange shot and get fouled.
#3 If you take all the missed threes and take half of them and multiply by 2 you just won last night by quite a margin.
#4 LOL but what I implied above might be a solution. Some big know it all said the NBA is now a three point shooting league. It probably is and that’s why the Kings are loosing. The team right now IMO can’t shoot a 3 because it’s in their heads. It’s also a domino effect. One misses and they all miss. They better right the ship or forget the playoffs or even the playing NOW.
I still LOVE YOU GUYS but sometimes you are hard to watch.
GO KINGS!
.
I’ve been saying since the off season that this team was going to have trouble shooting the ball this year. And low and behold they are a terrible shooting team! Where are the good shooters? There’s Huerter and… None of these guys are good high volume shooters. Now, they won’t go 3-26 every week but they are going to continue to be at the bottom of the league unless they make a move because they lack shooting talent. Sometimes it’s very simple.
What kind of move do you think they need to do? Do we do little things like a one player trade or overhaul say 3 or 4 guys?
De’Aaron can’t be a player coach because he’s not a vocal leader. He also can’t coach ball handling because his ball handling is borderline poor. He’s just ok at drives because he’s the fastest player.
Although I was a pretty good player in my time I coached for 48 years and had a lot of success. Just because you think Fox can’t play doesn’t meam he can’t coach.What I said above was meant to be sarcastic. Sorry for that.
Yup. Teams can overcome poor shooting nights by doubling down on defense, getting to the line, crashing the offense glass, etc, but when you continually let your opponent shoot above their season averages, you are going to lose more than you win.
Clips average 37% from three on the season. Last night they hit 47%.
I’m too lazy to look up what the average for the season of each team is, but below is the 3P% the Kings gave up in the first nine games:
Wolves: .400
Lakers: .412
Blazers: .182
Jazz: .292
Hawks: .380
Raptors: .459
Heat: .417
Raptors: .294
Clippers: .467.
So 5 out of 9 games, our opponents shot .400 or better from 3.
On the other side of the equation, The Kings now had 4 out of 9 games where they shot .286 or lower from 3.
Let’s see whether they can buck those trends.
Aside from the Heat game, which took a game winner from Sabonis, it’s pretty easy to spot the W’s
Wolves: .400
Lakers: .412
Blazers: .182 W
Jazz: .292 W
Hawks: .380 W
Raptors: .459
Heat: .417 W
Raptors: .294 W
Clippers: .467
You have to play defense in order to win in this league.
Good one.
I’d just add that being a horrible 3 point shooting team that can’t defend the 3 either sure doesn’t seem like a great strategy to win in 2024! But this is the roster they built so here we are.
Not really an accurate sample size.
Only the Lakers and Wolves are above .500 teams.
Only the Wolves are known for the three point shooting. And Edwards is the Number 1’3 pt shooter in the game right now by a large margin. Percentage and makes.
The top of the West will absolutely demolish them in 3s.
Kings are actually ranked 10th in 3pt defense. 37,9% It they allow 38 attempts per game.
The Kings are ranked 29th in the league in 3pt makes at 30.6%
They are also ranked 23rd in attempts. 33 per game. If they took 6-7 more game, they might win a few more games.
Kings were hoping Huerter would return to the mean. Fox shoot at least 36% from 3.
If both of them are not shooting the 3 well.
Kings don’t have much of a chance.
Huh? according to NBA stats, they are at 37.2% allowed, which is 22nd in the league, and they give up the 18th most attempts at 37.9 per game. They also give up the 9th most 3pt makes.
The reality is, this team has lingering issues from the past two seasons that keep biting them in the butt, mainly 3pt defense.
I expect this season to continue like the first 9 games have trended toward. Non-existent perimeter defense, bad 3pt shooting, and relying on the 5 or 6 core rotation players to keep games close.
Kings will struggle against good teams, and give fans a heart condition when facing the bottom of the barrel competition, only yo eek out a win and provide some with false hope that the ship is being righted.
I strongly believe this is the same issue last year with free throws. They seem to have figured out that “yip” as a team. Now it’s obviously the 3pt that they have the “yips” with. It’s probably mental? Maybe they are just that bad? Either way, I don’t see them fixing it anytime soon. I thought they would get their free throws down at some point last season and they absolutely never did. All that to say, I’m still rooting and hoping they click soon! Go KINGS!
0-18 from 3 from not Fox / Ellis. ???? Make 27%(!) on the night and you walk away with a win. ????
I’ve been hearing Mike Brown say the same basic things to his players for 2+ seasons (we gotta get our guys better at closing out, leading with their chest, stop reaching, let the 3s fly, etc, etc) and the players still struggle with those concepts.
Is Brown/the staff poor communicators?
Have the players tuned the coaches out? (Its been mostly the same group of players since Brown was hired)
Or are the players all incapable of doing some of the most basic basketball principles?
There are other problems. No bench scoring other than Monk, Lyles is no where to be found. If your bench doesn’t produce then your starters will play way to many minutes and by the second half of the season will be whipped. No three point shooters mean hardly any wins. Monte IMO better do so things or we can forget the playoffs or even the playing. You can’t wait until half the season is over or it will be too late. You have the assets so do something. 5 firsts and 4 seconds and some players that mean something now.
The players simply aren’t good defenders as a whole. It’s a flawed roster.
I was at this game – it was, simply a drag. Both teams were off their games. It was an unfortunate sight to see. They slow pace interrupted with spurts of energy, the low scoring made this a yucker more than a yawner. For me, the highlight was the excellent free throw shooting on both sides. Maybe next year’s ASG will feature a FT contest in place of a 3 point contest and Sacramento can send someone.
Scott Foster and his crew were fine, IMO. James Harden played whistle baiting basketball and everyone knows his schtick – and they played in to it. Each whistle was a genuine foul. Fox fouled him twice. They substituted Keon. Keon fouled him. They gave the ball to Norman Powell – Keegan fouled him. IIRC, LAC were 10/10 in the 1st Q. There was the share of questionables. and the share of asymmetries that every game has – but James Harden, and in the past it was also a Chris Paul specialty – he’s gonna do James Harden things if you let him. They let him. Fortunately, they adjusted and he was mostly ineffective the second half. Oh, and one more thing on the officiating. Mike Brown’s challenge was so silly – Scott Foster told him he was going to lose the challenge and to save it. He wouldn’t. He lost it. Sigh.
The Clippers gave Sacramento opportunities aplenty. During those stretches that the Kings got close – they would invariably allow an easy drive, an open 3 on defense or a dumb turnover or drive and kick for another brick (that should be their motto this season) on offense. And the Clippers tried to give this game away – they opened the door time and again and Sac closed it in their own faces. Just my opinion.
It’s a 3 Point League:
The 3 point shooting was embarrassing. 1/10 then 2/20, then 2/25 and finally 3/26. At least they didn’t shoot last season’ average of 38 of them. The three volume shooters for LAC – Powell (5/9), Harden (3/6) Jones, Jr (4/5) – if you math that up: 12/20 or 60%. Luckily for Sac – the Clips only had 30 3PA.
It’s true – the Kings shot 37/78 FG% if you subtract 3/26 you get 34/52 which is 65.4% (!) on the field goals that are a meager 2 points. And despite this overwhelming efficiency, Sacramento’s 2 point, mid range maestro – DeMar DeRozan had only 12 FGA – Sacramento didn’t play to their strengths – why?
Every season has it frustrating losses, and it’s history now – but man, that game was an absolute stinker.
Next.
Is there a condensed version available?
Hate to be the bearer of bad news. I have been watching Demar for years. He’s a bucket. A fantastic regular season performer. But he slows the game down. Not a fluid player. Personally don’t find him fun to watch. Despite all his scoring accolades.
The Kings had the easiest.
30th strength of schedule going into this game. They finally played a playoff level defense. Clips put the clamps on Derozen and his tendencies. They promptly shut him down.
If you think this an outlier. It’s actually not. Demar has the worst plus/minus in playoff history.
12:09 =
66
http://www.statmuse.com
worst playoff plus minus with 30 minute…
DeMar DeRozan has the lowest career plus/minus in the playoffs when playing 30+ minutes, at -373.
Both DDR and Sabonis are great regular season players but their games have never translated to the playoffs. Fox was good in the playoffs the one yr they made it, but not enough evidence to know if that was an abberation. All in all, just don’t see this core doing ish in the playoffs, assuming they even make it.
Actually, Domas was very effective in playoffs at Indiana .
11-7-5 is effective? That’s his career avg in the playoffs. Monster numbers
Domas got destroyed by old man Green and Looney in the playoffs.
As I said, MVP caliber player in the reg season but flawed player in the playoffs.
Totally agree, this core is built for 4-8 or 4-6 seed best case scenario. The ceiling I see for this core is advancing to 2nd round, floor being lottery. Been following the Kings since the 80s so I have seen a lot of suffering but I also saw the C-Webb era and that squad was a legit contender. Was pleasantly surprised by this squad after the Hali trade but was never convinced Fox or Sabonis have what it takes to take us all the way, maybe with a really loaded roster but not this one. I enjoy where we’re at right now but I’m not expecting a lot so I’m not going to waste my time crying about a team playing to their talent level. MB is not elite, nor is our GM, ownership, or roster.
Fox not staying because we are not a contender can be the gift this team needs to make it to the next step.
DDR was essential in the home win against Toronto. His game was great in the 4th. His pace and matchup gave us the win. I agree it’s not fun to watch in general, but his game is what we needed to pull away.
The Good:
Kings 4th quarter hustle. They tried everything in their power to make a comeback.
The Bad:
The team came out flat and without a sense of urgency on their home court. They looked tired and overworked. The Kings only have 7 consistent contributors.
The Ugly:
Kings 3 point shooting. This game was a concentrated display of a systemic problem. On the defensive side of the 3-ball, they don’t have the energy or the skill level to guard against 3 point shooting effectively.
The Uglier:
The Roster. The Kings have 7 effective NBA players right now. Trey Lyles production has declined for 4 years in a row now. As far as Len, McLaughlin, and McDermott are concerned, and their production has declined the last 2-3 years, and they are not reliable right now. Are we supposed to believe that these players are going to have a better year at some point in the future? Were’s the proof? These guys averaged between 9 and 11 minutes off the bench last year. This is not enough. The roster composition completely defies logic and was constructed by amateurs.
The Ugliest:
The ownership group. These clowns continue hiring people that aren’t demonstrating a professional proficiency at their craft. The bench production is now in decline for a 3rd year in a row. Vivek has completely held himself unaccountable for his actions in this regard. Holding on to the idea that this team is going to arrive at some better place in the future this season is the same lie we have been hearing for years. The time to take action and make changes is right now if this team is going to get a first round playoff win for the first time in 20 years. What happens when 1-2 of our core 7 gets hurt? Mike Brown is using all the effective players at his disposal and leaning on them too heavily because its all he has. Take some responsible actions or continue the current course of taking too much risk with our too limited depth. Your choice.
Not too dissimilar from the Suns. But the Suns are getting surprising play from rookie Dunn, O’Neal. But one of Book or Durant goes out they are cooked. But right now they a playing some amazing ball.
Except that Suns added o’Neal at break last season and Tyus Jones and Dunn this season . Much better bench than Kings .
Whoof. The Ugly was the entire game. Especially the Clippers’ need to play the shittiest brand of basketball ever seen. There’s no way in hell that gets them out of the first round, Kawhi or no. Powell basically copy-catting Harden’s garbage ass style made this game a puke fest. Our inability to hit a 3 was the bile covered chunks. I fully expect them to get back to their shooting average but last night was abhorrently disgusting and likely voodoo when even Keegan couldn’t buy a 3.
I like that they had a nice rally to try and come back late in the 4th. They can control a game with their defense (sometimes) and that’s a good sign. If they tried that for 4 qtrs it would be helpful.
I’m hoping the shooting is an outlier and assuming they won’t do that again. Moving on. Quickly, thank you very much.
If their 3 point shooting doesn’t improve then we are really cooked.
I don’t believe the Kings are a historically bad 3pt shooting team. I don’t believe they are a bottom ten defensive team overall.
I do believe they are really bad at defending the 3. I do believe something has changed with their style of play that is affecting their 3pt shooting. Probably at least some of that is related to DD.
I hope that between their rebounding, speed, amazing two point shooting, and ability to at least defend the paint, that if they can get their 3pt shooting issue fixed, they are still a solid playoff team. But I think there are still too many issues to be a true contender with the current players even if and when the 3pt shots start going in.
Is their rebouunding a strength? I thought it is quite middle of the road?
rebounding:
Rebs: Kings 22nd at 42.2 (that’s ahead of 23rd Cleveland, who are 10-0)
ORebs: 23rd
DRebs: 15th
Just my theory:
Since the Kings are a poor shooting squad – their opponents get the benefit of increased caroms, whilst their opponents improved shooting, particularly of the 3 pointers, decreases the Kings rebounding numbers.
And if you can’t rebound very well – it’s harder to set the overall pace, fastbreaks, etc.
On the individual side:
The Dominator continues on his machine like consistency. He’s just below Leaguee leading Nikola Jokic (13.2) with 13.0 To his credit, as an obvious increased point of emphasis: Keegan Murray completes the Top 25 at 8.4 rpg.
On the Oboards: Keegan at 3.0 (14th) and Domas at 2.9 (17th).
Domas is clearly the engine to this team. If the plan is to build it around him, as evidenced by his massive contract extension, I’m beginning to wonder of the parts around him aren’t that ideal. He needs shooters and defenders around him. Apart from Keegan, I’m not sure they have that.
The Kings have talent, there is no question about that, but sometimes accumulating a bunch of talent doesn’t equal wins. Just a spit balled example, if you swapped out Fox and DeRozan for guys like Derrick White and OG Anunoby, you take a hit in talent, but an uptick in wins, IMO.
If you’re building around Domas. That’s a big big mistake.
He’s a terrible playoff performer. They 11-7-5. lifetime. Does that look like Killer numbers? Completely neutralized by good teams in the playoffs.
For me, his regular season accolades have never translated into the playoffs.
Domas for all his regular season accolades is Not Jokic. Or even Embiid. For that matter.
if you’re trying to build a championship
contender around a big it’s completely flawed.
Kings will get absolutely hammered by any of the Top 6 in the West and it’s not even a conversation.
Give me one or two players who would take Sabonis’s place? Be realistic. I don’t think you can do it. Not even close.
I guess we’ll just have to trade him.
That may be the case – but on the probabilities chart of that happening: snowballs chance in Hades, Abbadon, Sheol, Tartarus, Acheron, Avernus, or Niflheim.
Ownership and Front Office are fully committed to the Fox and the Ox: Domas is $200M (and remember that’s at a discount) and Fox is up for a contract extension and this is Sacramento – who can they get/attract/convince as an upgrade? He’s getting signed, the only question is – for how much. And to be fair – De’Aaron Fox is a wonderful and special player, to which you’d likely agree – you are talking fit, not function.
The franchise is also, all in, on Coach Mike Brown, who is locked up for the next 3 at double digit investment millions. He ain’t going nowhere. And again, he’s a fine coach.
And they’ve committed to keeping Malik Monk (also at a discount), so don’t expect him to be traded. That signing came with verbal promises in the least.
Demar – Ditto. Keegan? puh-leez – he’s on everyone’s (Owners, GM, Coaches, Players, Fans) love list. Maybe for Giannis. Maybe. His stay is in stone.
So that’s Sabonis, Fox, Monk, DeRozan, Murray as your indelible Core 5.
Mike Brown is the coach. Hard stop. Not going anywhere.
The rest of the pieces have to find a way to make these five and coach become playoff, then championship contenders.
It’s fun to make fantasy trades – but I just can’t see any way around what I wrote above. Can you?
I agree, the roster, coach, and GM all seems to be set in stone for the foreseeable future. I do worry that if the Kings don’t make the playoffs this year, sign Fox a fat extension, and extend Murray, this team will have no other way to build around the core 5 as they will be capped out, mismatched, and stuck in play-in purgatory.
Put me in the camp that if this team underwhelms again, you have to seriously consider not extending Fox at $50+M per year, because that is likely what he is going to ask for.
I agree. As much as I love Fox he isn’t above being traded.
No one is above being traded. At least, I’ve heard that somewhere before. And it turned out well, I remember that, too…lol
The Kings made their bed. Unless they move Fox and or Keegan. This core 5 does not scare the Top of the West.
1st round exit is their ceiling
I love the definitive statements 10 games into the season.
Do you think Monte would trade Fox?
I think if they are low level play in by deadline. Yes. Miami is definitely interested. Rockets have so many good young players. I mean Sheppard, Whitmore, Thompson, and Brooks would be a dream The dog that would really elevate this team. A rockets trade would be ideal. Wings galore, pg depth. A backcourt of Reed Sheppard/Devin Carter could be lethal.
Miami would have to offer Herro, Jaquez, Robinson and picks.
Right now, no.
I’m definitely not a stat nerd, so it’s totally possible that I’m misreading it, but the stat that seems most important to me is Adjusted REB Chance %. Number of rebounds can be affected by what types of shot each team is taking and making, but if I understand it correctly ARCP is the chance a team has of getting any given rebound. Last year, the Kings were 12th is that category. This year, so far, that are 10.
So, not like elite, but considering that we have a smaller lineup than many teams, I do consider it a strength. Most of this is because of Sabonis, but Murray is also getting a lot more rebounds this year. Let me know if I’m reading that wrong or misunderstanding.
It’s flawed because they have played no one. They have played 2 teams with winning records and they lost both of them
You’re starting to sound like a broken record. I give you stats for multiple years and you come back and say they haven’t played anyone. How does today apply to previous years?
Right now every team’s record is a small sample size, so you look at previous years and compare that to this year. If it’s way off like our 3pt shooting percentage, then yeah it’s probably a blip. If it matches what we did previously, it’s probably somewhat safe.
Happy to revisit in a month of two.
If they’re not currently on a multiple game win streak then they’re ass and bound for the lottery, is the gist, there. Always. Which does get to sounding like…Which does get to sounding like…Which does get to sounding like…Which does get tobzsszszszszzszszszxxxx…
They got killed on the boards last night.
Not to aimlessly blame what shouldn’t be – but hey, for the sake of levity and all that is somewhat cruel and possibly amusing:
Maybe the affliction that soured Kevin Huerter’s game last season has spread to the rest of the team this season?
Just a hunch: sometime last season he inadvertently switched headbands with Klay Thompson and was infected with the Klank contagion. It seems that once outside Northern California, Thompson appears recovered as his shooting for the Mavs seems mostly on target.
On the flip side: Steph Curry, unrefuted master of the Trey, has ignited 3 point splendor for Buddy Hield, more so than has been seen previously and he’s in the NorCal.
Does Steph, or Dray or Kerr have some magic 3 point Voodoo doll and they are sticking pins in the arms?
These are just my own theories. I bet you all have yours.
Hield is flourishing for a reason. Kerr is the first coach in his career that understands his strength. Don’t ask. Buddy to do too much. Just shoot.
I think all fans know that you can’t win in the playoffs without D. Yet this FO keeps doubling down on O (Monk, DDR)instead of addressing the lack of defensive players. Not much to get excited about with this roster, even if they make the playoffs, they’re not getting past RD1, so what’s the point?
What I can’t wrap my head around is that Brown was considered the defensive specialist at Golden State where he helped win 3 titles. Their defense was always near the top of the league. He comes to Sac and the defense seems to be the biggest weakness. Meanwhile, down in the Bay, the Warriors now have the second best defense in the league…and that’s with Buddy Hield getting 25 minutes per game!
Luke Walton was their Defensive genius before Brown . Maybe it was actually Kenny Atkinson . Cavs 9~0 ?
Kings defensive rating by year
20-21 30th
21-22 27th (Brown hired in May of 22)
22-23 24th
23-24 14th
Current 12th
Golden State
20-21 5th
21-22 2nd (Mike Brown leaves in May)
22-23 14th
23-24 15th
Current 2nd
Despite our current struggles, I think it’s pretty clear that GS’s defense got worse, and ours got better when he came here. Still not great, but considering what we have to work with (not a lot) he appears to have had a huge impact.
As far as this season, I feel like the sample size is way too small to make any conclusions. If it wasn’t for our terrible 3pt defense–which has been a problem all year, including the preseason–we’d probably be like top ten.
12th is an aberration. It will drop. Once they start facing a more formidable schedule. They have played no one.
2 of their losses were against teams above .500. Lakers and Wolves.
They have not beat a single good team .
The Kings are top ten in def 2pt%, steals, and defensive rebounds. They are 22nd in 3pt defense. They’ve been close in every single game they’ve played win or lose, despite terrible 3pt shooting and 3pt defense. They were 14th last year, and DD hasn’t been playing much worse defense than Barnes.
So, yeah, you can forecast that 12th is an aberration. Maybe, but I would argue that it’s way too soon to tell. (See small sample size above.) But I’ll bet that by the end of the year, the Kings will be closer to 12 than GS will be to two.
I’ll also point out that nothing hurts a defensive rating more than missing a lot of 3’s. Way too many fast break opportunities.
The guys on the GSW roster know they are replaceable. Nobody has been cut because they don’t play defense.
Strange. Their defense is ranked 5th in the league. No lie. NBA.com verifiable
My point exactly. They play defense or find different players. Thanks for the the support.
This team will never get anywhere as long as Kayte keeps talking over three possessions.
Imagine sitting there and thinking to yourself, “Sure, there was a blocked shot on one end, and then a quick layup on the other end, but I’m going to keep talking about that inbounds pass from three possessions ago NO MATTER WHAT!”
Haha. She can get longwinded, but I can live with that way more than “Brown looks busted, rusted, and not to be trusted.” And all the thesaurus words that don’t actually mean what Mark Jones thinks they mean. It’s like, Geez, can’t you just call the game?
He tries to sound overly smart, and I don’t think it lands well with many.
Isn’t it time they hire some one more formidable.
Mitch or Ron Artest. Now that would be a Hella broadcast
You got to be kidding. Kayte isn’t the reason the Kings are where they are. She probably knows more about basketball than you do.
Her knowledge isn’t in question, it’s her ability to effectively provide commentary. She is long winded and thinks her contribution is more important than the game happening in front of her.
She needs a coach or mentor to help her become more enjoyable to listen to.
I’m available.
Kayte is awesome. Everyone else they have on television with her are trash. Put C Gray with Kayte and we will love it.
If you look up you’ll see that thing going over your head.
We’re tied in NBA career minutes so I’m not so sure.
Isn’t amazing how some don’t understand sarcasm and being facetious.
So you played high level college and in the WNBA?
Facts.
Other than Kayte. What do you think about the basketball team?
Kayte is solid, kinda liked Jones for a bit but his attempt to turn sports into this intellectual realm is nauseating. I don’t care you read a lot bro just be entertaining and stop being obnoxious.
Can’t listen to Kayte or Mark, both atrocious. Bring me and Jerry back.
Have you watched Grant’s Youtube stuff lately?
The world has passed him by. Bitter and angry without a connection to any reality.
9 games in, we are 5w/4l and 11th in the west. That would be 3rd in the east. The west is just brutal.
What did the players do on their day off? aside from maybe two guys, the team went full Kangz. The Fox turnover at the end of the 1st quarter and the play where Fox didn’t box out Zubac really sums it up. a better team would have shellacked them by 30.
need some competition for Lyles’ minutes.
Right now we don’t have anybody.
Fox is never going to box out Zubac.
Kevin Durant not playing tomorrow’s game:
https://x.com/JandersonSacBee/status/1855409004643496262
Probably means Dunn or O’Neal will go off for 30.
Despite the absurdly low three point shooting this game was winnable if we did the basics. We got killed on the rebounding. The second attempt points are lopsided. Our starting point guard had zero assists. Get some rebounds, prevent the second attempt points, and play team basketball to get good shots.
The threes will come. Without the threes this team still scores easily. The core roster is going to get tired and that kills scoring.
I predict. If this team is still around 8-10
come deadline. Fox is going to be mentioned in trade rumors. Miami, Houston, Pels all will be in the mix
I’d imagine the Nets would be as well.
Not exactly going out on a limb since Miami’s interest has already been reported.
From si.com:
Heat don’t have much to offer.
What other teams have to offer won’t matter to national media rumor mongers.
Badge Legend