The Sacramento Kings have a two-time All-Star on the roster, and it definitely showed Wednesday night in front of an excited Sacramento crowd. In Domantas Sabonis’ first game in a Kings uniform, he finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal.
His physicality, foot work, rebounding and passing all were on display, and it helped lead the Kings to a 132-119 win over a good Minnesota Timberwolves team. Without even a practice with his team, Sabonis showed all that he can bring to the team to help De’Aaron Fox shine. What stood out the most was his passing though. The Kings finished with 32 assists and passing is one of the key things he wants Kings fans to know he plans to bring.
“We’re going to play hard, we’re going to share the ball. Today was a great example. We showed up 10 minutes before, did a little shoot around, coach showed us some plays, but you can see where this is going. The passing is contagious and that’s where the fun happens,” he said.
That is fun, isn’t it?
“A lot of teams can guard the first possession, one stop, two stops, but if the ball keeps moving it’s hard to stop,” Sabonis said. “I kept telling Justin [Holiday] and Jeremy [Lamb] it’s contagious, let’s just play our game and everyone is going to keep passing the ball and I feel like it showed today, we had 32 assists so it was just a lot of fun out there.”
Fox finished with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks alongside his new teammate. Sabonis said Fox’s game suits him well and vice versa.
“It’s great having a talented guy like that with his [Fox] speed, his finishing, his playmaking. It’s going to make my job a lot easier and hopefully I can make his job a lot easier too. That’s the goal to make everybody better around us,” he said.
That is pretty fun too, isn’t it?
As for how he feels about being in Sacramento: “I feel like this is a fresh start for me. It’s going to be exciting. We want to be here, I want to be here. The fans were amazing tonight,” he said “Just trying to find a home where I’m loved. I want to come out and compete every day, and I feel like I found it here. I love it here and I just want to keep playing and getting wins.”
Kings fans are loving what they saw also, and you felt it in the crowd Wednesday night.
“That was like one of the old Arco [Arena] crowds. I thought the fans were unbelievable, I thought they were very much into the game,” said interim head coach Alvin Gentry.
It was fun to watch.
Next question.
Are you going to pout about this for the next 10-12 years? It’s okay, that’s your right. I’m just curious so I can avoid discussing Kings basketball with you for the next 10-12 years.
Pout?
It was really fun to watch!
We just aren’t accustomed to seeing you talk about earnestly enjoying Kings basketball!
I believe you enjoyed the game. But in context of all your comments, I get the sense you were pouting too. A bit.
It’s no big deal. I’m not in your head, I’m not claiming I am. But I sensed more snark than honesty in that comment. If I’m wrong, so be it. I’m 2-2 the last couple of days between this (possibly) and the Harden-Simmons trade.
I explained why I wouldn’t have made the trade based on how I value the skill set and projected roll and impact of Hali, but I wouldn’t call that pouting.
And it certainly is not mutually exclusive of my excitement for adding Sabonis. I have been a fan of Sabonis for a while and am ecstatic to watch him play for the Kings.
Again, I read your comments. I know what you said, and I’m aware you think trading Tyrese was a mistake and you can like Domas at the same time. They are not mutually exclusive concepts nor am I claiming they are.
I don’t think people on your side of the fence recognize the only way to get Domas, keep Ty was probably trade at least 2 FRP’s AND maybe send Fox away on top of that. And that’s not probably enough when you consider Buddy is still on the roster to boot.
Fox’s value was very small around the league, Buddy is a negative value asset, and Tyrese Haliburton was never going to have more value from an asset standpoint than he did at the deadline because of the potential of growth.
This trade hurt feelings, and these types of trades tend to reveal emotions far more often than they do pragmatism in my experience. It is what it is.
At least he confines his pouting to a few short paragraphs
So if he pouts for less than 10 years you’ll discuss King’s bball with him?
Probably not. He’s still an idiotic championship banner.
All true but at least my pictures of food look nice.
Well, you no longer have to deal with my pictures since Twitter banned me. LOL
I’m trying to muster up outrage over it, but still failing. I find it funny mostly.
They’ve not banned me yet, so if you’ve been bounced, it must have really been something.
It must have been Trump level
What the hell did you do That was so egregious to get banned by Twitter. I read a lot of the stuff on Twitter and there’s some bat shit crazy whacked out stuff that probably should be banned. Dang!! Not sure to be scared or to applaud you
I pissed somebody off and there’s a vendetta against me now is my suspicion. Why I would rate that level of importance is beyond me, but there it is.
I might have just been auto-banned by Twitter, too for saying a bad joke that’s interpreted as a threat (off with your head for instance is one that might have been the no-no).
It’s whatever. It’s not like Twitter matters that much. It’s just a way to kill time.
You just threatened time.
Flagged!
You test the limits of my patience. Your horrible jokes are a perfect example of that.
There’s just no reasoning with this guy.
Which one?
There are different levels of passing on the court. Before it seemed to be just drive and kick. Now the passes can come from the elbow, high post, low post, perimeter, etc.
With more capable and willing passers on the court (not Hield and Bagley, etc) it makes the defense guard every player. Hopefully this will continue and we can finally have some momentum towards a stable and successful franchise again.
That’s right. Having a Webber/Divac level passer from the high/low post opens up a lot of opportunities for different kinds of offensive action, much like the golden era teams. Clearly we’re not close to being at that level yet, but it can certainly facilitate getting better scoring opportunities for the dudes we have right now.
Perfect player for this team and franchise in 2022 !
I know a young player that would be perfect to pair with Sabonis …
No one wanted Fox and his albatross of a contract.
Fox will be making $37 million in 2025-26, yikes. He has a long ways to go to live up to that contract. But Sabonis should certainly help.
That’s a lot of words just to say that McNair was right.
One game is a lot of data just to say that McNair was right.
A lot of dunking going on really quickly around Kings internet fandom lands! 😉
I have seen the movie where Kings fans optimists start puffing chests and howling at the moon! (Hint: it usually doesn’t end well!)
That said, I am as excited about this team as I have been in a long time. That said to the that said, the moves are not without a lot of risk for Monte, not that risk was avoidable either way.
We shall see.
He still has a job today. I might even suggest the risk was necessary.
Risk was 100% necessary. There was as much risk in inaction as there was in the moves he made.
But folks doing a victory dance and dunking on fan skepticism after one game are spiking the football before they even cross the 50 yard line!
I’m reading more hope than victory dance, maybe a few exceptions.
Same. Overall what I have seen is “That was refreshing – let’s see if we can replicate it. Hope we’re not done.”
I admit I often combine what I see on twitter, hear on the radio, and read here together as I comment on fan responses generally.
(As also influenced my response to you in the other thread that was not well received! 😉 )
Heh. Thankfully for my sanity (and the sanity of others), my social media presence goes no further than the pages of TKH.
Yeah, there is a ton of “YOU (not me, but anyone who has ever questioned his moves/lack of moves) OWE MONTE AN APOLOGY” flying around Kings twitter land in particular!
Yeah, that’s skipping quite a few steps in the process. My needle has gone from that of watching a dark comedy to maybe catching a game in person at some point. I’m a long ways from clearing my Spring for playoff basketball.
I decided to buy tickets for the Kings when they’re in Denver later this month. Previously wasn’t even really thinking about it. The team at least has me more interested again, which is nice.
I bought tickets to the Kings v Rockets in Houston on the exact same premise….hope and curiosity and jersey number 10, as well as the other players picked up.
ah…hope.
Then beer….
Ha! Have a rec.
I guess I just don’t go in for the weird selective memory “told-ya-sos,” chest-beating over things we have zero control over or role in, and “real fan” gatekeeping that goes on with these things.
I should probably just ignore it too.
I just find the merry-go-round all too amusing I guess:
“You should be optimistic, idiot! What you don’t understand is …”
[Kings implode]
“This time you should be optimistic, idiot! What you don’t understand is …”
[Kings implode]
“No, really, this time you should be optimistic, idiot! What you don’t understand is …”
[Kings implode]
“Okay, but for reals you should be optimistic, idiot! What you don’t understand is …”
[Kings implode]
“But NOW you should be optimistic, idiot! What you don’t understand is …”
[Kings do something at an NBA reasonable level while still being like 15 games under .500]
“I told you so, you idiot! STOP POUTING! ( 😉 )”
This comment is so 100% true. For the last decade or more …
I got soooo sick of Grant, and Kayte, and Jason weaksauce Ross who can’t bring himself to ever dare to criticize anything or anyone… always selling the positive spin and the THIS TIME IS IT narrative.
I might be salty, but it’s going to take a long time before I trust anything Kings. We’ve seen win streaks that got everyone all fired up… followed by horrendous losing streaks that defy logic. Nope.
Fool me once, twice, thirty-seven times…. I’m NOT buying it … yet.
But I might “rent it” and I am at least curious enough to watch a bit now… and Sabonis is exactly the kind of player I can get behind and root for. If they don’t totally hose this up with bad schemes and rotations or some other nonsense that makes it fall apart… this could maybe be at least the beginning of… something less horrible.
But I said last month, I think you could take the entire Warriors team and bring them here and put them in these uniforms… and somehow they would miraculously lose 60% of their games. (Then look brilliant for 2 games, then lose 5 more.)
There. Now THAT’S pouting.
(Except I like the trade.)
Feels like you are just a slow learner. Every time you should just be optimistic. Optimistic is clearly the best way.
1951,
I feel like the biggest sucker alive every fall when the Kings come out of the gate 3-2 or 5-4 and I sign up for League Pass even though I have written letters on file with Direct TV to totally ignore me when I call them up wanting to renew my LP subscription right after LV Summer League. Then October fades away and so does the Kings record.
Six weeks ago, I pulled up my “Deny any request by me to renew my LP subscription in October” letter on my computer, changed the month and the day and mailed it in. I turned off the TV and unplugged it. Worn way too thin by an awful performance.
I know how you feel. I do too.
One shot of hope (tequila, no lime), followed by a 16 oz of curiosity (PBR) and my wife catches me plugging in the jumbo-tron two nights ago and asks, “What are you doing?”
I could only whimper “The Kings made a trade….. There is hope….I think.”
I know how you feel.
We are all amongst friends here, no matter our individual approach.
My thing is, who exactly are you talking about? If we want accountability for the people running the Kings we should begin with holding individuals accountable for their individual deeds. The Kings are an organization of many people and factions. Monte McNair is not “The Kings.” When you spend time (and I don’t mean you specifically) making sweeping judgments about McNair (or anyone else) based on the history of “the Kings” they become meaningless as it is obviously misplaced animosity. So anytime I here people complaining about McNair for mistakes “the Kings” made, it’s meaningless and unconstructive.
Vivek has no-one to blame but himself for his meddling incompetence. McNair should be regarded fairly highly around Sac based on his draft picks. This trade validated his decision to draft Haliburton, considering he turned a #13 pick into a 25 yr old two-time All-Star. As a speculative assessment, it’s similar to a stock-picker who’s long position has increased in value but, they have to sell to lock-in a profit. Otherwise it’s only a “speculative gain.” Now that gain is realized.
It was a strong business decision
I normally don’t either but will troll Kings4ever until his righteous pompous butt admits he was way off on Franz Wagner!
He told me I didn’t think highly of Monte McNair based on skimming a comment I made with 1500 words in it.
I don’t necessarily think his opinions on every player should be taken with anything more than a grain of salt. Anymore than yours or my opinion’s should be, for that matter.
[Insert 6000 words of over-wrought, rambling, hyperbolic, self-aggrandizing screed here.]
I get the same impression. I think the team is a little better today than it was last week and that’s good, but let’s not break out the champagne just yet.
Whatever happens, don’t let yourself get too excited. You might have fun.
There aren’t many moves that come without risk. I’d find it quite difficult to make an argument that the roster was better seventy-two hours ago, regardless of what happens the rest of the season.
Better is still better.
The roster is definitely better now. The question will be if it’s better in a way that enables and leads to continued improvement. Which, of course, will depend on another series of smart moves.
And this is almost down to the letter what most have been saying about this trade who liked it since Tuesday. Literally down to the fucking letter BHE.
As you know, my big question is the ceiling for a team with Fox and Sabonis as tent poles. Even with the perfect role players around them, that’s a whole lot of USG going to two guys that don’t necessarily complement each other well. At the moment at least. I keep hoping Fox realizes his potential as a cutter and learns to move off the ball better.
Sure, there’s lots of questions on this one. And understandably so. Just like Hali was easier to believe in his growth curve, it’s much more difficult to see that in Domas and De’Aaron so I get that, too.
I just wish this conversation was less intellectually dishonest from those who think this was a mistake (and I don’t just mean you ’51).
Having said that, I’m glad the Kings didn’t acquire a guy who was a ‘perfect fit’ on paper. You have to go halfway to make your games fit and it’s supposed to work. There has to be potential of failure just as much as there has to be potential to succeed. The expectation that Domas and De’Aaron can figure it out is incumbent upon them, and neither guy has played with a player quite like the other before (especialy De’Aaron).
Be interesting to watch a team that is….watchable again. Been awhile for me this season, and usually it comes with all caveats and this, that’s and the others, too.
Sabonis did start his career next to Westbrook. There are certainly similarities between him and Fox. That said, Sabonis was a rookie, so I definitely wouldn’t suggest that’s reliable foreshadowing.
Better now. But better versus having a 3rd, 4th, 5th year Hali?
Let’s see where Hali is at when he is at the same age/experience level that Sabonis is now.
So, wait and see for two, three, four more years, when you can get the guy now? I love Hali, but let’s not forget his disappearing acts and lack of physicality. He’s got a ways to go to be in Sabonis’s league. And he may never even get there.
What Hali is doing right now is objectively and statistically special.
What that projects to? Oof, we shall see!
I think he was the best player on the team, but he played as if he was the second or third best player on the team. About every third game, he decided he just wasn’t going to shoot the ball at all, even though he was leading the league in 3pt%. It was frustrating, and I’m not sure it’s something he ever gets past. I would be surprised if he’s ever a team’s alpha. Sabonis is now – in just one day here.
I think the alpha comment is why I am so happy with the trade…kings have been an incredibly soft ass team and Sabonis is a dude that can change that by being tough AND the best player on the team.
Guys like TT are nice for that role if they are really good, tough guys with 8-10 role player talent doesn’t do much
I think the perceived “lack of willingness to shoot” is a myth, again accounting for age and experience.
Hali shot more 3s per season in both his rookie and sophomore year than did Buddy “the biggest chucker ever” did in his 1st two seasons.
The dude shoots plenty and I see it only growing from here.
If he were objectively special, he’d be averaging 20 and 10 on the season. He’s not. If he were objectively special and that much of a true game changer, the Kings would have been a 500 team. They were 20-35 when he got traded.
I love Tyrese and what he did here and I believe he has All Star talent although I’m not convinced he’ll get there until he learns how to balance the passing/scoring element which he very much struggles with as of now. Of course, he’s not 22 yet so there is time to learn. And if I were the Pacers, he’s exactly the kind of young player I would want for a very talented, really underrated TWO TIME All Star.
But this guy is not a young Chris Paul or Isiah Thomas, you’re welcome to fly through twice on that nonsense.
Let’s play a little game here shall we? Who gets to 3 All Star appearances first? I’d bet dollars to doughnuts it’s Domas, and that’s a pretty easy bet to make from where I stand.
Wow. I’m shocked that a 21 yo sophomore wasn’t able to carry the team! I mean, you could tell Jordan wasn’t special because his rookie team won only 38 games. Sad.
Let’s stop comparing Hali to vets and appreciate what he is doing FOR HIS AGE AND EXPERIENCE LEVEL (yelling approved!)
https://twitter.com/BryanKalbrosky/status/1491147625290211341
You sure about that? Paul averaged 16 pts/ game and shot under 30% from deep his rookie year. His teams were below .500 his rookie AND sophomore year too. Not special then, right?
You know NOBODY dislikes Hali, right?
Did I say that?
Or did I respond to specific comments?
Just checking.
Yes Donald J, how dare I not expect a 21 yo sophomore who is supposedly special to be..umm, I dunno…special?
Sure, Bring up the 1984-85 Bulls why dontcha? I mean, after all, despite not being anything remotely similar.
So let’s compare him to a guy whose teams won 26 and 36 games his first 2 seasons. Just because we like the way he does it and if we squint hard enough we can see Steph Jr and we might get 2 MVP’s too and the champagne’s will pop and velvet ropes will part with the Red Sea and Nicholas Cage will finally get laid in that Ferrari on Saturday night.
Sure thing boyo, whatever works I guess. Get your cat scanned while you’re at it, too. It can’t hurt. Gotsa know where to that ribcage is!
This would go a lot easier if you admitted that you’re mad the franchise does not run things without your approval.
And you’re welcome to respondd to this which you tried to ignore (and I won’t let you because I know it undercuts your entire argument):
Who gets to 3 ASG’s first? Domas or Tyrese. Simple, answer it for me.
The Suns got Nash back after letting him go
What Hali is doing right now is objectively and statistically special.
For a second year player
Context is everything
Yup. This is the way.
Really? Context is important. Okay, didn’t know that.
Again, he ain’t Isiah Thomas or Chris Paul special. Therefore he shouldn’t be treated as such.
And I’m waiting to hear who gets to 3 ASG’s first ’51.
Why? It’s such a dumb question! 😉
Who gets more in their career, Sabonis or Hali? Who gets more, Hali or Fox?
We shall see.
Bottom line is that I project Hali to be a multi-time all star caliber player and more impactful at his apex than Sabonis at his apex.
Maybe you don’t. That’s fine but quit it with this “intellectually dishonest” and other BS!
IF you quit being intellectually dishonest, I’d quit calling you that.
Fine, you project Hali to be a multi-time All Star whatever the fuck multi-time exactly means. Two, three, ten? Whatever, you won’t answer, you never do.
I have to wait until 2028 for this to happen? Yippety skippety. Be still my heart, I’ll be 50 years old by the time the Kings are the 8th seed again at this rate.
BUT WE KEPT TYRESE HALIBURTON AMIRITE OR AMIRITE?!?!?!?!?
I would say this trade ends up being successful if the Kings manage to win 50+ games 3 seasons running.
I love you, but man sometimes you just make no sense!
Past performance does not insure future results.
Unfortunately, comparative analysis isn’t that simple.
Amen.
And, Who Dey!
Already like/love Sabs. While I don’t agree with the parameters seemingly set by Vivek (playin-build around Fox) I do believe McNair did a great job and that he has power within these confines.
Id have much rather gotten rid of Fox but Monte has put this team in position, and if he hires a coach, I’ll know he has a decent amount of power.
Maybe, just maybe we are seeing the shit owner finally backing off and let a real GM run the show.
it feels like relief. Long live Sabs, good riddle Bags, and all he represented.
Is it wrong of me to think the Kings can still make the playoffs this year? I’m feeling more optimistic after that Minnesota game than I did prior to the trade. Eternal hope.
It’s not wrong, but it’s a really small needle to thread. New Orleans has been a .500 team since their 1-12 start, and they just added McCollum. All of that without Zion. They won’t be easy to catch.
The Lakers suck…for the Lakers. They may be a .400 team from here out. If they do nothing more than that, the Kings would have to play .600 ball to catch them.
Now, should the Kings catch the Pels or the Lakers, they would make the play-in, which is not the playoffs. At that point they would need to win a pair from a team like Minnesota or Denver, yielding home court advantage. And I don’t know how this team does against Minny in a play-in series where the Kings apparent new style of play is no longer a surprise…not trying to pour ice water on it, but everything rolled right for the Kings for Sabonis’ debut, playing the same team on the 2nd night of a home b2b while rolling out a completely different look.
Not impossible, but highly unlikely.
You nailed it, Rob. Very small chance of making it. Even if the Kings somehow starting winning more games than they were losing, they would still need a bit of help from the teams currently ahead of them in the standings to make it work.
Absolutely highly unlikely. But 3 days ago it was impossible. I was on the tank train, but tbh I like trying better than not trying.
I’m definitely on this train, too. I’m tired of hoping the draft will save the Kings.
draft been yummy around here lately tho
It will be interesting to see where they end up in this draft. The draft is currently shaping up with a clear top 3 that are all bigs. Then a clear 2nd tier that are all SGs types. Then the 3rd tier runs about 15 deep mostly with Forwards.
The “good” news: We still need almost everything. Rim protection, floor spreading, more at the 3-D wing and SG position. So naturally we will draft TyTy Washington.
Clearly. Man, Kentucky kids are tough. There are those that show big time skills that were hidden a bit in college (Booker and Adebayo being the most obvious recent examples). Then there are just as many that get drafted almost entirely based on Kentucky brand loyalty. Watching TyTy, I think he may fall into the second category.
On a draft sidenote, Tankathon’s completely random, algorithm based mock currently has the Kings taking Jordan Hall at 56, which I think would be incredible.
Yeah, that, along with the other two currently listed as Kings picks (Griffin and Christie) would be pretty sweet. Keegan Murray sort of intrigues me next to Sabonis, and I think he may be more in the range of where the Kings eventually pick.
Yeah, Murray is really interesting. When I watch him play I’m never especially impressed with his decisions or actions, but it’s really hard to argue with his production. So I wonder if it’s just a bias against the way is game “looks.” I haven’t been so impressed with Christie in my few viewings. The guy I think should be getting more press in those later second round slots is Larry Nance’s younger son, Pete.
I daresay, our Trey Lyles went to Kentucky.
He did. And while I’ll say that I’m perfectly happy having Lyles on the roster at his price and in his proper role, his place in his draft was almost entirely about Kentucky brand.
As it too often is with them, Duke, Kansas, and UNC. Teams do love a brand name.
So do fans and the media.
I’m more into how the team plays over the final 25 games, and I really do not give any consideration to the play-in (nor am I up in arms over ping pong ball seeding). If they wind up in the play-in, cool, I’m not against it. But my mind is on 2022-23, and the final 25 games are the runway. If I had my preference, getting Fox a taste of play-in experience would be better than not, but it’s probably not on my radar until they are sitting in the 10 slot and looking down at teams.
The Kings play 16 of their final 25 games on the road. Some of those games look “easy,” but look at their road record to date.
Agree here. If we slide into the play in, great. If not, that’s fine too. I’m more concerned with the offseason and what’s done there to keep improving the team.
What I’m personally looking for is positive trends. De’Aaron Fox shooting for 3 at about a 60% clip over 2 games and 10 attempts (4-6 Tuesday, 2-4 Wednesday). Can De’Aaron shoot 40% from 3 with Domas taking pressure off him down the stretch? Historically speaking, most would call that an outlier. And it wouldn’t be a bad argument.
I’m not expecting that at all, mind you, I’m just using that as an example. I’m hoping we can see De’Aaron around 36-38% from 3 like he was his 2nd season on 4’ish attempts a game?
I’d like to see if the Kings can find a way to pair Holmes and Domas together in sets where perhaps both end up past the 3 point line more than they have historically. I’m old enough to remember when Brook Lopez never shot 3’s. I see no reason why two guys who are incredibly skilled shooting the ball in other spots on the floor like Richaun and Domas can’t at least hit a corner 3 or two along the way.
Stuff like that basically.
I think regardless, Kings need to play at or better than .500 ball for the rest of the season, and who knows if that is possible
Washington is donezo, tomorrow is a must win IMO for Sac. Brooklyn is very beatable right now, too. And they probably won’t have Simmons yet, Irving can’t play and Durant isn’t quite ready to return.
Brooklyn is on a hell of a losing streak after last night, it’s at 10 games. But they are also a team that if they get Irving back for home games at some point (a big if), Durant healthy and a functioning Simmons they could win 10 games in a row. If they avoid the play-in, they could make a championship run this season and certainly next.
Brooklyn plays in Miami tomorrow night and Sac Monday night at Barclays.
If the Kings somehow, and this is very pie in the sky admittedly, can win out on this road trip, they’ll be at 24-36 with 22 games to go. New Orleans is currently 22-33 and they finish out with San Antonio tomorrow night, Toronto and Memphis b2b Monday and Tuesday, and against Dallas Thursday night. It’s not impossible to imagine that New Orleans somehow goes 1-3 in the next 4 games and is at 23-36 going into the ASB.
If that type of scenario happens, it’s not impossible for the Kings to outpace New Orleans. But I think the bigger potential issue is both New Orleans and Sac might make the play-in because the Lakers miss. They are fugly horrible right now.
They won’t win out. You forgot Chicago. I doubt they beat Chicago. They know exactly how to defend Sabonis. They have to beat Wash. Brooklyn. Not sure. You hate to face a team on a big losing streak. Nets will come out like rabid dogs.
I don’t think the Lakers will miss the playoffs. They will scour the buy out market. Like always. Find a couple pieces that can help in the short term and they will find a way. Lebron and Ad will take their game up a notch, as well.
I didn’t forget Chicago. I know very well they play in the UC the last game before the ASB. I said it was very pie in the sky, I was referring to the Chicago game.
Your point about the Lakers is reasonable and I wouldn’t bet against it necesarily, but unless LeBron is turning back the clock a decade, it might not be enough. Their schedule is pretty rough and ain’t so much peaches ‘n cream either. AD isn’t killing it nightly, Westy is killing the Lakers on a nightly basis it seems.
I like that optimism. Winning out the rest of the season finishing undefeated after trade deadline. I like it.
Quit squashing the optimism with your realism.
The remaining schedule is pretty harsh. But it’s possible they pass the Pelicans, best the Lakers, then take down the Wolves and Clips. Or if the Lakers implode like I think they will, pass them too. ????????????????????????????????
A lot of hype over one game. This team is still more likely to have a high draft pick than to make the playoffs.
As we know, the likely scenario is miss out on the playoffs and pick in the 6-10 range.
Kangz
Playin Maybe. I don’t think they can catch any Top 8 team. They would have to go on a 8-9 game winning streak. Clips aren’t tanking they have no pick this year. They actually got better after the deadline. Lakers will find a way to get in acquiring buyouts. Pels just got better with CJ and Zion will be back after the ASB. If They go .500 the rest of the way, that would be great. I see way too many tough games against superior teams: Bulls twice, Dubs, Suns Twice, Bucks, Nuggets twice, Heat, Celtics, Jazz, I think 34-35 wins is realistic.
The last game was exciting. Amazing ball movement. Kings new game plan is for Sabonis/Fox to collapse the paint and spread out to shooters. That’s also predicated on those players making shots from the outside. If Kings are hitting their 3s, this team will bein most games.
Alot of the Kings future success will depend on the Fox/Sabonis pick and roll. One issue i see is neither Fox or Sabonis is that good in space. It caught Minny off guard a couple nights ago. Moving forward, good teams will be keying in on that. Sabnonis no longer has tha luxury of a Turner. Holmes is not that. Neither is Metu. Barnes would help if he’s playing more 4 than 3.
Kings Defense is still really bad. Adding Sabonisid will not change that. DIvencenzo should help the defense somewhat.
.
Gotta be kind of weird to play the same team two nights in a row when one of them plays like a completely different team on the second night.
Hope is a thing with feathers
-Emily Dickinson
You should be optimistic for the playoffs. It is always better to be optimistic in these things.
I am a huge fans of Sabonis, happy to be able to land him.
Love his passion and court vision.
I really hope and felt Divac would taken him if he fell to #13 in 2016 draft.
And we finally grab both DDV and Sabonis is just so refreshing.
“Over me??? That’s it, HKKF – it’s GO TIME!!!”
PapaG will live in Kangz infamy.
My favorite part of the video is the security guy coming into to “handle” Papa G, and laughing the whole way.
Heh, yeah, he’s the Keith Smart of DeMarcus Cousins getting tossed.
You’re giving Vlade WAY too much credit.
He was actually Vlade’s first choice. Not sure how accurate the report at that time but I remembered correctly Sabonis was Vlade’s pick. He probably thought Sabonis would still be available at 13 when we traded down from 8th. When Sabonis got selected at 11th, well we knew the rest of the story.
“If I can’t get Sabonis, I’ll show everyone how brilliant I am by grabbing a guy that no one has heard of, who’s averaging six points and four rebounds in a third-rate league!”
And making it worse, we had Demarcus Cousins on the roster. I get wanting to add a backup, but Papaginnis was more like a doorstop.
Russell’s defense was hurting my eyes in some of those clips.
Wow, that is some really bad defense…hahaha. Reminds me of a former King….
I think Barnes is going to benefit immensely for. Sabonis. I hope we can draft a guy like Keegan Murray or. Nikola Jovic both would work well with this roster
I think that one of the things that factored into trading for Sabonis is his fan appeal, too. Obviously, he’s talented, but he shows that he’s excited to be here, and he plays with an exuberance that will bring fans back into the arena. This is something that this franchise sorely needs.
And Hali apparently said he thought the Kings didn’t want him? It was on the Sacbee website. I’m behind the pay wall so I don’t know the details but it looks like he’s taking the trade rather bitterly.