After a nail-biting victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, the Sacramento Kings opened the season at Golden 1 Center by hosting the Utah Jazz. Despite a strong effort through 3.5 quarters, the Kings ultimately fell short and lost 110-101. The Kings got some early help with Joe Ingles being ejected on a Flagrant 2 for hip-checking an airborne Davion Mitchell, but foul trouble, turnovers, and poor decisions ultimately doomed the Kings.
Quick Stats
Outcome: Jazz win 110-101
Sacramento Kings: 101 pts, 39.8% fg, 22.2% 3pt, 71.4% ft, 21 ast, 15 to
Utah Jazz: 110 pts, 41.1% fg, 38.1% 3pt, 87.0% ft, 16 ast, 19 to
The Kings opened the game exactly how we hoped they would. Sacramento came out with hustle, defense, ball movement, and solid team play. It was a thrilling game until the final few minutes, but Sacramento’s mistakes eventually caught up with them.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
THE GOOD:
- Harrison Barnes Barnes had a fantastic follow-up to his season opener, finishing with 25 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Barnes wasn’t as flawless from deep, shooting 2-6 from beyond the arc , but was still excellent throughout the night.
- Tyrese Haliburton Haliburton had a nice bounce-back game. He came out aggressive and finished with 15 points, 6 assists, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds. He definitely got more passive down the stretch, and I’d like to see him remain aggressive, but it was still a solid outing after a quiet first game.
- Davion Mitchell See “King of Kings” below
THE BAD:
- Forward depth, or lack thereof Maurice Harkless missed this game with a hip injury. He was a game time decision so he shouldn’t be out long, but the Kings really missed him. As we noted throughout the offseason, the Kings have no wing depth beyond Barnes and Harkless. Terence Davis got the start in place of Harkless (more on him in a moment), but the Kings struggled with lineup balance throughout the night. I was surprised Walton didn’t work Louis King into the game for even a few minutes, but the game was close throughout and I can understand Walton not taking a risk relying on King in a crucial situation. But tonight truly highlighted how screwed the Kings will be if Barnes or Harkless misses any significant time this year.
- De’Aaron Fox Fox finished with 12 points, 6 assists, 5 steals, and 3 rebounds. He wasn’t awful, but he wasn’t the De’Aaron Fox that the Kings need if they’re going to beat a team like the Jazz. We’ve seen Fox have slow starts before, and he did get hammered by Gobert at one point, but the Kings need more from their star player.
- Terence Davis TD was painful to watch tonight. He finished the game with 6 points in 20 minutes. He shot 3-8 overall and 0-4 from deep, but it felt like he was shooting every time he touched the ball.
THE UGLY:
- Turnovers The Kings actually won the turnover battle tonight, with 15 turnovers to the Jazz’s 19, but it felt like every Kings turnover came at the worst possible moments. Bad passes at inopportune moments that killed momentum and really shifted the tide of the game. The nail in the coffin came as the Kings got a defensive stop late in the game only to immediately turn the ball over on the fast break. It was emblematic of the issues the Kings suffered through the entire game.
- The Officiating Fans of either team will tell you the officials were awful tonight. Calls were maddeningly inconsistent. One of the worst recipients of the officials’ ire was Richaun Holmes. Holmes was having a great game but picked up his 5th foul pretty early in the second half. It felt like he wasn’t allowed to do anything against Gobert without receiving a whistle. With Holmes being the only Kings big who was truly effective against the Jazz tonight, Sacramento struggled mightily when he fouled out. After Holmes fouled out early in the fourth, the Kings went with a super smallball lineup of Fox, Haliburton, Mitchell, Hield, and Barnes. It was fascinating and I won’t be surprised if we see it again, but it ultimately wasn’t enough to stop Gobert and the Jazz down the stretch.
The King of Kings
The honor goes to Davion Mitchell. Mitchell’s stat line won’t leap off the page, with 3 points, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 rebound, but Mitchell’s defense was INSANE tonight. He flustered whoever he was guarding, and generated multiple highlight-reel defensive possessions. This kid is legit, and is already one of my favorite players to watch.
Davion Mitchell has Donovan Mitchell in hell right now. pic.twitter.com/3E991wb5Fj
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) October 23, 2021
Davion Mitchell v. Donovan Mitchell pic.twitter.com/TaNOTHEt6b
— The Kings Herald (@thekingsherald) October 23, 2021
Davion Mitchell is a rookie, playing his second NBA game, and he’s already forcing some of the top-scoring guards into these types of shots. That defense is even better than advertised. pic.twitter.com/mnAGmr6Ieb
— Alex Kramers (@alexkramers) October 23, 2021
Up Next:
Sunday, October 24nd vs. Golden State Warriors – 6:00 P.M. (PT)
One game closer to Fluke’s firing
Barnes not listening to him and only throwing up 6 threes will not help him.
If only the Kings hired you as the GM.
Really wish that was the case. Kings late game O is a serious road lack to winning. Coach Puke doesn’t run an O. It’s all PnR and dribble drive. How often do we see more then 1 pass? Or the ball switching sides? We don’t. Get rid of this moron.
Part of Hali issue feels like he’s trying to move the ball but it’s all individual dribble drive w Kings.
Love Davion amd Hali. Plus Fox amd even Buddy they have serious talent.
Personally I can’t help but feel really positive after that one. Fox played poorly on offense, Holmes only played 18 minutes and they shot like shit from 3. Yet were still in the game with 2 minutes to go against a very good team.
Damn Mitchell is a joy to watch on that defensive end though. You can already see it influencing Fox to get more active and try to match at times.
IF, that defensive intensity can be there on a fairly regular basis, I think they can hunt a 7-8 seed and as much as anything be very entertaining to watch and fun to cheer for.
Well we have a top defender in the league on our team. that will translate to wins at some point. buckle up kings fans
Typo: it’s the Utah Jazz, not the Portland Trailblazers.
No shame losing to one of the top teams in the West. But a second game in a row where the offense grinds to a halt in the 4th. That needs work. Walton got to earn his contract.
Davion is something else.
It’s hard to look at the form and severity of Fox’s misses (and FT) and be confident that he’ll become good shooter from distance. Prove me wrong, Fox.
Barnes, Holmes and Davion will likely play with enough effort, output and consistency to keep the Kings in many games. It will require others to step up a notch to parlay that into wins. Seems possible.
On to the next game!
Also, Davion had 4 steals, not 3.
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1451926398642315266?s=20
Sooo incredible. Only thing I don’t like about these highlights is Draper. Dude needs to calm down and call
Can we acquire Joe Ingles?
haha seriously! you think they are interested in Bagley? That put back dunk looked nice….
The Kings have a 2nd half problem. There is one person this falls on.
Walton appeared to vomit his lineups in the second half. The 4 guard set with Barnes at the 5 in the final minutes confirms to me he is throwing whatever at the wall and sees what sticks. His benching of TT in the first half, instance on Len, and desperate use of Bagley tells me Walton doesn’t know his ass from a tea kettle.
Does Walton know he can play his bigs every game? His centers aren’t pitchers in baseball that need 3-4 days rest. I was totally baffled as to why Len got all those minutes against Gobert in the first half, while Holmes struggled with fouls, and TT rode the bench. He has infinite bigs to throw out there. TT didn’t see the floor in the first half.
How does he figure TT gets all the minutes against Nurkic and then Len gets all the minutes against Gobert? It’s not a one or the other. If Monte gave you unlimited centers then use them.
It feels like he is not even trying to match up against a team. When the game was close he was fully committed to a small line up and the Jazz were big.
Guess which team gets all the rebounds?
Didn’t watch much of that Clippers-Jazz playoff series, huh?
That’s different. The Clippers are actually good and have no history of ineptitude….
Of course. My point is Walton went to the Barnes at center line up only once Holmes was out in final 2-3 minutes and they were down about 5. Needed offense and likely some 3’s and pulling Gobert away from hoop and get him rotating is one way to do that.
Clippers did similar with Batum last year to success. Didn’t work this time, but if Buddy doesn’t throw ball out of bounds might be slightly different story. I thought it was a reasonable substitution given time, score and situation.
Lots to crap on Walton about, doesn’t feel like this was one of those times for me.
I don’t waste my time on Walton, I don’t think he’s much of a needle mover in one direction or the other.
But there’s plenty to complain about, always is.
Are you attempting to say that the Kings are compatible with the Clippers?
It’s why he’s Coachless Walton. He doesn’t coach. Never has.
Would trade Fox for Simmons in a heartbeat.
I said this to myself in the game. Simmons is a better version of Fox. Both cant shoot, but at least simmons is a top 5 defensive guard. Could you imagine the defense with Simmons and Mitchell? Wow
Don’t the Jazz have their own fan site?
Im confused, wanting to trade Fox for a better player makes me a jazz fan?
Unfortunately some people believe that to be a Kings fan you have defend the roster that has never won more than 35 games.
If you argue harder and ignore the rest of the NBA the Kings are clearly champions.
With his current mental issues, I’m not convinced Ben’s a better player at this point in time.
Agreed. I would throw in Hield and Bagley. Sixers would give us Thybuille and Simmons. That Defense would be Top 5 in the league. The only issue would be 3 pt shooting. Kings would need at least 2 3 pt snipers on the floor at the same time. Hali would have to Start with Davis playing the 2. You would have 3 decent shooters on the Floor with Davis, Hali and Barnes. Simmons at the 4, Holmes at the 5. Coming of the Bench: Another great defensive lineup Mitchell, Thybuille, Harkless, Thompson and Len..
The 5th foul on Holmes was absolute horseshit. Luke should have challenged that – it was a clean rejection.
Refs aside, the Kings played astoundingly well on a night where shots weren’t falling for them. They made a competitive night despite getting obliterated from 3-land by a very good defensive team. If they play like this every night they’ll win 40+ games this season. I feel better about the season after this game than I did after the game 1 win.
This Bagley guy really had no clue on defense….(even with the help & guidance of Doug Christie)
Gif 1:
Gif 2:
From Gif 1: Basic pick and roll, and Bagley already lost his man easily
From Gif 2: Usual “Head-down” defense on Bagley, and I don’t understand why Bagley was even guarding Clarkon
Gif 3:
Bagley standing and just looking and do nothing. Once he decided to do something, but he can only use his “left-hand”, instead of both hands to grab the ball
Gif 4:
PLAY of the day:
What’s that indeed ? Pass away a wide open lane shot…….
In conclusion, we lost this game because
1) Walton did not keep his promise of getting Bagley out of rotation.
2) Bagley just sucks, and he deserves ZERO minutes in remaining games
3) Fox’s shot selection is bad, holding the ball for damn long
LOL Gif ONE was a turnover the Kings got and lead a fast break. Gif TWO is a contested shot, he made it….shit happens. Jazz were lighting up the Kings with Three’s easier than this one. Gif 3, what is this are we serious? Gif 4, Bagley’s one Turnover….hey at least he was passing right?
Watch the play by play again if you free.
Gif 1, was then getting out-hustled, Jazz got the ball back.
Gif 2 : you called it as a contested shot ? Lol
Gif 3: If you are a guy that can use two hands, you definitely can grab that loose ball.
Gif 4: Those play just killed the momentum.
And are you serious that you said Bagley had a nice game? (You gonna be drunk or joking)
Nope. Nope not drunk or joking. Just not bitter and biased against him. He had a good game in his 10 minutes, he did some good things. That layup over Gobert is a move few can make.
I think your bar for a ‘good game’ might be affected by the fact that Bagley is an awful basketball player.
A good game was not played by Marvin the 3rd. He’s also not at all the reason we lost.
Yes. Bagely is a terrible Defender. Always has been. Always will be. Has no clue and doesn’t move well laterally. Why he’s practically useless. So nice to not have to watch him get playing time he didn’t earn.
This is where i am at. I dont care about that bad pass much. It’s a bonehead play but he shoots that next time. What bothers me is that he plays defense like he needs a fire lit underneath his ass. after everything thats happened the past few days, i want him to jump on players. put a body on someone. dont let them take space from you. get mad. get fired up.
with all that being said i am so happy for him. im also happy the fans gave him a standing ovation. i wanted him to play well and that put back dunk would have lit that fire. the fans would be deafening!
he earned a few minutes to give someone else a breather. 5 minutes max for me.
Bagley will have a few good moments, but I just don’t see the motor with him. Compare him with a guy like Gobert, who is always moving, always getting in a better position, has active hands. GIF 3 is a good example. Why does Bagley just make a passive swipe with one hand? And he’s the only guy that doesn’t increase his pace. It’s the kind of thing that escapes notice a lot of the time, but collectively makes the difference.
Lolz
Sure those were four bad plays but the rest of the game he played flawless! Awesome effort! The kind of game that would really pique the interest of a certain East Coast team – we better keep this performance on the down low so they don’t try and lure Marvin away.
The takes are bad and not in context. I agree.. I mean why would Walton say Bagley was out of the rotation? information might be from another source.
I am pulling for the kid but he can’t do anything right. Even that pass went left when all he had to do is jump stop spring up and throw it down with his right hand. I like the team effort all the way around now down the dubs.
You’re absolutely right. He does everything left.
You watched 48 mins of basketball and your big takeaways and efforts were about the 10 minutes Bagley?
Why all the hate for Bagley when he was +3 on the night without talking about how bad terrence Davis or Tristan Thompson played? Or why not highlight Len fouling Gobert on a dunk and giving an and 1? A lot of blame can go all around for tonight’s loss, not just Bagley.
The guy pisses on the franchise, and Kings fans acting as if it’s rain.
Honestly, what I’m struggling with the Bagley comments here, is why this matters much at all?
Of all the things that happened last night, Bagley’s minutes were a part of the game but not the real story. Until Bagley has a real future with this team, I’m struggling to understand why any of this really matters in the grand scheme.
Until Bagley has a future with this team, you should be wondering why Luke is still wasting valuable minutes on him.
I think we’re all struggling to understand this.
Who was supposed to get those valuable minutes instead? Mo Harkless?
King or Metu, of the top of my head.
Thank you
I rest my case, your honor.
What’s your point?
They want to be here, and are more likely to be here next season. And they are just as conductive to winning as Bagley (perhaps more) and at a lower price tag as well.
Bagley’s sole value lies in a fat expring contract, not in his abilities as a basketball player.
My point here is you are arguing about a guy who got 10 minutes because it’s fun to hate him.
Ten minutes in a tight game matter.
And thanks for divining what my reason is to argue his playing time. Couldn’t have done it without you.
You’re welcome. Whenever you want me to tell what your opinion should be in the future, I’ll be here to share. I’ve got nothing better to do anyway.
There are options. The Kings aren’t short in the front court. TT, Metu, Jones, even King. Admittedly not superstars, but guys who understand that, have something to prove, and want to help the team win games. Bagley’s out there trying to prove how badly he’s been mismanaged, by illustrating he has no idea where to be, or when. And, of course, too scared/inept on the defensive end to give an effort anyway
Damn Bagley. I’m struggling to understand why Luke is still coaching.
Bagley is not the problem. The problem is the Kings don’t have anyone other than Bagley to put in the game.
Harkless is hurt.
Metu or Bagley?
Either one is going to be about the same. It is a roster problem. The team needs a legitimate power forward.
Anybody but Bagley!
The options are way too limited. I think Metu should get the minutes. Walton doesn’t see it that way.
Walton is an entirely different enigma.
They need to get a forward. Going to be a long year without some of those.
You need to get a new screen name.
And your right about them needing a forward or two
Just looking at reality. Bagley is shit but so are the other options.
???? ???? ???? ???? I see you man
Because Bagley is like an incident on the side of the road. You have better things to do, but you still slow down, You still wonder what is going on, and you hope they get it resolved. Until they do he is the same side of the road event, that slows everything down, until it finally goes away.
At what point does obsessive, bitter criticism become cyberbullying?
He’s a public figure, and all of the criticism from HKKingsFan was about basketball. It’s a long. long way from “This guy is bad at basketball and here’s why” to bullying a public figure.
Agreed
He also chooses to handle his personal grievances on social media.
Bagley chose to be an ass hole.
lolwut?
In ten minutes Bagley did not lose the game for the Kangz.
Putting Bagley in the game is the problem. Not having a forward better than Bagley on the roster is a major weakness.
Starting forward is out and not deep enough to have a serviceable back up. That is a roster problem.
Metu is better than Bagley.
He probably is. The problem is that he is not so much better that it is obvious to coaches and front office. Close enough that they stick with the shit they know. At least they know exactly what that will smell like.
Probably trying to get Bagley some minutes hoping he does something to spark a little interest for a trade.
Bagley played for about 5 minutes. He was irrelevant to the game. I get that you don’t like him but this seems excessive.
Time to change your avatar. We didn’t get him and its been awhile now. Move on. And to put this loss on Bagley is absurd.
Happy with the effort overall. Davion is a BEAST! Just absolutely love the way he plays defense. Forget top 10 Defender. This man may legitimately be the best on ball defender in the NBA.
Was also glad to see some productive minutes from Bagley. Was glad to see Tyrese have a good bounce back game. Was bummed on the ticky tack calls they called on Holmes and was bummed to see Terrance Davis immediately zone out to one on one every time he touched the ball. I kind of thought Len was getting abused by Gobert and Whiteside.
Fox is getting good shots attacking the rim, they’re just not falling. I think he just needs to keep attacking but keep looking for teammates too. Wasn’t super impressed with the guard lineup at the end, that’s going to be a lineup that can be volatile either way.
Looking forward to seeing Davion guard Steph Curry on Sunday!!
Davion Mitchell is NBA basketball and he is on my team.
First week of NBA: Fox is fat and Doncic is skinny…. Player agents have information to pass on to the world that isn’t garbage.
Fox absolutely killed the momentum after the Hali dunk
I like Fox but he (and Davis even worse) really just tries to get his own shot and passes if he has to. Part of the is Pukes non offense.
And I don’t see Fox’s shooting improvement yet. Not sure he will. He’s still a badass but I’d like to see more ball movement from him and better shooting off ball. He’d be unstoppable.
Kings better work on their late game execution.. 2 games in a row in which the execution down the stretch is sloppy.. Lucky to pull out a W in portland. Not so lucky today against one of the elite teams in the West.
Back to the drawing board and continue to stack days!
I really want to believe they are an improved team this year. The D looks better at least, and that should account for more wins. But games like this make me pessimistic because late game execution is a thing they’ve been working on for 15 years, and probably is just the sign of a subpar team.
if this is like years past, the D will relax after a few game losing streak, or they’ll play down to the level of their opponents and get blown out by some bad team, and we’ll be back in the 30-35 win range. I hope I’m wrong.
Buddy Hield can’t be on the floor in any pressure situation. Being a great shooter is essentially negated if you are a serious risk of turning the ball over every single time you need to pass or dribble. 99% of people in this comment section could have made that pass to Halliburton. Davis makes some bad mistakes and takes head scratcher shots also, but I’m ready for more. Deal Buddy for any player that can play SF ASAP.
Also, does anybody know why our offensive strategy was to consistently force shots at the rim against the best rim protector in the world? That’s what the plan was Luke? What’s the point of playing 3 point guards if you’re not at least going to ensure Gobert is pulled away from the basket?
Is this a good time to recognize that Davis makes as many turnovers as Buddy per 100 with a worst assist to turnover margin?
Davis is 4 years younger. I know 24 is not that young anymore by NBA standards, but Buddy is 28 years old. At some point we need to accept that he’s not going to learn how to handle the ball or pass the ball. He has clearly regressed over the last few seasons to me. Davis might not learn those things either. I’m not by any means convinced he’s he’s a long term option. But I think he’s good enough to warrant moving Buddy for a player at a position of need (SF) even if we get back slightly less talent.
Davis is 4 years younger, but with no track record of success in terms of AST/TO which is Wiz’s point (I believe).
Buddy OTOH did have a 2.5-1 AST/TO ratio last season which was the best of his career. Maybe Davis can improve along those lines, maybe not. What concerns me about Buddy isn’t his playmaking abilities but his shot selection. If he stops jacking 13 3’s a night, I’ll be quite thrilled with that.
Then they both suck.
Well that wasnt really the premise or discussion, but succinctly done.
Buddy’s shooting kept the team in the game.
Buddy does not seem to be a pressure ball handler, for sure. That is a coaching thing as he shouldn’t be in that position. “Buddy, spot up where you feel most comfortable shooting tonight and wait for a kick out, save some energy for D because with this group they are going to seek you out”. I am going to agree with Kayte, that someone has to shoot 3’s and Buddy is the best option. He shoots soo much better when his feet are set, the transition 3’s are a lot of fun but in a 1/2 court offense he needs to spot up.
Agreed. I actually love Buddy. He just needs to be used the right way. He can put up a ton of points and spark the bench with his 3 point shooting. He should not be in a position to handle the ball in pressure situations and we may have won the game if it weren’t for some of his turnovers, the pass out of bounds at the end coming to mind.
So much good stuff to see… We all saw it… Well sequenced.
Small sample size theater, but that’s something like a 47 pt. / 68 pt. 1st half / 2nd half defensive average through two games.
So perhaps this is an issue we need to keep checking on to see if there is an improvement, yes?
Absolutely.
Although we have a bit of a track record with Walton and halftime adjustments. Maybe if he’ll continue to stack days …
I see this showing how bad offense leads to compromised defense. It’s been their trouble scoring late game that’s led to more opportunities for the opposition rather than a let down on D. IMO. Oh yeah. And REBOUNDING!
I was surprised to see the box score saying that the Kings outrebounded the Jazz 52-51 (16-13 offensive), and Harrison Barnes had 15 rebounds.
Barnes is really stepping up. They were giving up offensive boards late in the game, after the Holmes ejection. The Jazz are a better team. I’m not panicking.
i was there front and center and it was a great game until the end. But I also believe that Utah is one of the best teams in the league and can challenge to win it all this year. I’m not going to get into the rotations at the end but hope this will be a good teaching moment. I do have hope for this squad and am looking forward to Sunday. And to the drunk ass punks that spilled there food and drinks on us and kept dropped N – Bombs and F-Bombs with youngsters next to you ( they were Caucasians), I’m glad your sorry butts got kicked out!
Just another highlight heel of D. Mitchell defense…..
just impressive D, but better offense by Donovan
And two fouls by Whiteside on a moving screen against Davion.
Actually, Fox was awful and Davion great on Defense and a liability on Offense ! This team could become good if late game execution improves but I thought that last year as well ! Funniest thing was Kings announced a sellout when there were at least 4000 empty seats !
I mostly agree with Greg’s account. I thought the Kings played hard through the whole game. That effort made the game fun to watch! Until the collapse at the end.
I thought Davion was wonderful and seemed to be inspiring others to give similar effort on defense—Buddy, TD, and Fox in particular.
I disagree a little about the criticism of De’Aaron. He was expending tremendous effort on defense, an intensity that was remarkable.
The solution may be to expand the rotation further to allow players such as De’Aaron enough rest to play with intensity and focus in their minutes on the court. Maybe Jahmi’us should get more opportunity.
The Jazz are a good team, tough on defense and deep.
Yes, the officiating was hugely unfair to Holmes. They were letting things go—except for him.
I’m not much into moral victories, but we didn’t get blown out by 25. Good effort for 45 minutes. Sort of like blowing an inside the park home run, making it all the way around 3rd base only to miss home plate by a couple of inches.
Fox was terrible again. After the Hali dunk, he proceeded to ball stop on offense with forced shots and a turnover that killed the momentum. He looks out of shape, not ripped like the commentators keep saying. I would offer Fox straight up for Simmons right now. Both cant shoot, but one is an elite defender and play maker.
Large canyon between subpar shooter and complete non shooter and what that means for your team and it’s potential.
Not saying Simmons isn’t necessarily better overall (tend to think not at this point, but that’s me), but acting like it’s an equal “both are poor shooters so let’s go with the defense” misses some nuance to the degree of ineffectiveness in their shooting.
It’s been two games and Fox offensively has been mediocre to poor, true. It’s also been just two games. There is a large sample to think Fox will play much better offensively than he has to start with…just like Barnes probably isn’t going to average 30 a game this season.
All for giving it 12-15 games and see where individual players and team is at around Thanksgiving…but that’s boring between now and then : )
I agree that the shooting isnt a fair comparison, but I also think that the difference in defensive potential from Simmons to Fox is bigger than the gap in shooting. I also think Simmons promotes better ball movement and team play. Fox, dating back to last season, appears to be a ball stopper in the 4th quarter. I love his play when he isn’t looking to put the team on his back, but he apparently thinks he has to be the alpha in the 4th. I guess im just really missing the old Kings style of basketball, where everyone would prefer ball movement. I wish we would run the Princeton offense again. Maybe its not Fox, maybe its lack of an offensive game plan.
Fair points…I just think you swap Simmons for Fox, you trade for different set of problems, without great improvement overall. I think it’s good that Fox at least has some alpha in him for the 4th quarter because every good team does have 1-2 of those. He was actually good in 4th quarters last year.
A potential lineup of Mitchell, Hali, Simmons, Barnes and Holmes feels like it could have trouble scoring , drawing fouls etc in 4th quarters. I just don’t think Hali is there yet…may never quite be? Fox alleviates some of that.
Princeton offense would be great, but don’t think the current team skills are suitable to that style. Real lack of good passing big men.
It has long been said that Luke’s entirety of offensive sets can be written on a cocktail napkin.
In order to improve a roster that has not ever won more than 35 games who would you be willing to give up?
Just keep running it back hoping they magically get something figured out?
I’d give up anybody on this team…if presented with a deal that was reasonably likely to make team better.
Sure Monte would too…everyone’s takes vary, but I haven’t seen any realistic deals that would make that so and obviously Monte hasn’t either. Otherwise he would have done them.
So yeah until then you hope for development. If Monte can’t get development or swing a trade for improvement over the next 1-2 years he will be out of a job. It’s not complicated what has to be done, but complicated on how to do it.
According to you nobody is offering anything good enough in return for anybody. The market is what it is.
I don’t see much to be concerned about, personally, after two games, and I feel there’s source for optimism.
The season isn’t over yet, in fact it’s just beginning.
Agreed.
Salient point, but one also needs to consider that the bulk of last year’s core rotation remains, as well as the head coach. Until I see 48 minutes of real progress, consider my enthusiasm tempered.
Cautiously optimistic is where I’m at. They need to be able to play 48 minutes consistently, as you say.
Those who were pessimistic or not as optimistic as I will remain that way after 2 games. Those who are optimistic, or cautiously optimistic, and believe a larger sample size will bore out the cause for optimism will go that way.
And so it goes, Detective Lieutenant.
They added Mitchell and hopefully continue to sit Bagley.
Other than that it is the same. Same late game losses.
yeah, if Fox is cold, and teams take away his drive to the basket, maybe they should share the playmaking duties.
The Kings looked nervous. A lot of short misses, front-iron, close-range, or even point-blank. Very frustrating to watch. And the unforced turnovers!
Was I the only one who had trouble differentiating between the Kings and the refs colour scheme?
There was one play when I was sure Tyrese was on the verge to throw to a cutting player only to realize it was a ref.
I had trouble differentiating between the Jazz and the refs!
j/k….I sometimes check the opposing team’s fansite and it’s pretty much universal:
Every fanbase thinks the refs are biased against their team.
So only one fanbase can be correct in assuming that the refs disadvantage them the most.
Why not us?
The games up to hopefully Christmas are massive for the Kings. They are probably going to be (better but also) bad among the overall NBA, have many players that are veterans with track records with some defense and/or effort issues at some point in their career, many in the rotation already got paid, playing for a franchise that has seen players mail in games without being able to hold the players accountable. Also, the Kings may have attendance issues for 1/3 of their games. Right now, it’s not shocking to see effort for a team opening a season to chase a top 6 spot and/or try super hard for a few weeks. If the Kings can stay in top 7 range long term, I think fans will buy most of the lower level and players may hold the line. But, in 10th, I don’t think you consistently see last night effort for every game in February. I get why fans want to chase 10th ultra hard for all 82. Whether Buddy, Thompson, etc will do that probably turns a lot on record.
It only game 2. But, I see areas of concern that are once again festering with this team.
So the glass is at least half empty?
And they never change what is in the glass……
It’s almost predictable:
Kings play well enough to get the lead entering halftime.
Opposing coach makes halftime adjustments and Kings lose the lead.
Considering I wasn’t expecting the Kings to be very good this year, I’ll settle for competitive. Cant complain about the effort thus far. That said, I think Fox looks pretty bad. If either his shooting or defense aren’t getting markedly better, I’m not sure what we’re doing here.
I said it in the off-season but moving Fox actually gives you the potential to get a piece that fits much better with this roster. If you were going to draft Mitchell, I don’t know why this wouldn’t at least be a conversation.
Good thing he has that Max contract ! Fox for Simmons is good for both teams as both are very good ,highly overpaid ,and their flaws hurt the new teams less !
Agreed. I think Simmons would fit in really good with this team. We would have an awesome back court defense. His passing and court awareness are superior to Fox and he could get the rest of the team more involved on offense. 3 point shooting would be the limitation but if we could keep buddy, Simmons might really elevate his game.
As long as there aren’t some mental health issues making him incapable of playing, or he can’t shake the yips. I dunno? Hard to read what’s going on with him…
if you’re going to trade fox you can get something better than Simmons for him. Period
Dare I say fox may be a little overvalued among Sacramento fans…….
Been banging this drum for awhile now. It’s fair and it makes sense for both teams for so many reasons. And you’re never going to get a player of this level publicly saying he would go to Sac again. Just take the damn swing, Monte.
More random thoughts from this game:
I am past moral victories. Kings have to move towards finishing. Fell apart late when top team got serious.
Fluke did ok in adjusting early but then got caught reacting.
Kings do not have great depth.
Poor shooting and unforced turnovers were killers.
Davion does play some serious defense. and without a lot of emotion.
I honestly think that if the kings had an even half competent coach managing buddy and fox better last night they would have gotten a win.
I for the second game in a row see fox doing hero ball iso baby Westbrook shit when he’s cold as ice.
Adelman wouldn’t have them out there just going for it plays be damned.
I liked a lot about this game even though it was a loss. The shots just weren’t falling. I cared more about the effort. The Jazz are a really good team and we competed, actually making them look pretty uncomfortable. My favorite example of this was Jordan Clarkson. He was doing all that flexing and celebrating, but everytime Davion guarded him he looked like he didn’t want to play lol.
After this game, a new statistical category might have to be created: turnovers off turnovers. For now the Kings hold the nba record.
Fox, Haliburton, Davis, and Mitchell combined to go 0-15 from 3. If you were willing to discount the win against the Trailblazers because of Dame’s 0-9 night, shouldn’t this stat carry the same weight for this game?
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