Are you still here? You have one resilient spirit, outmatched by absolutely no other fan base in the world (at least we have that going for us, right?). The flames are still raging here in basketball hell, Twitter fingers all across the greater Sacramento area are exhausted, and although it seems we say this every few months, this feels like a new rock bottom. And as if things couldn’t get any worse, we now had to watch the Kings take on the #1 team in the league in the Utah Jazz. Although you probably don’t want to, let’s see how they did:
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings lose, 128-112
Sacramento Kings: 112 PTS, 47.7% FG, 33.3% 3 PT, 63.6% FT, 23 AST, 10 TO
Utah Jazz: 128 PTS, 45.5% FG, 36.0% 3 PT, 85.7% FT, 22 AST, 10 TO
Honestly, I can’t even articulate how I wanted this game to go. If they win, this team makes literally zero sense and my brain explodes. If they lose, that pours more salt into the losing streak wound and the pain continues. Tonight was the latter, except with the special caveat that the Kings actually put themselves in a position to win this game through three quarters. They ultimately fumbled the bag in the fourth, and my minimal hopes were squashed, but we can at least say they weren’t embarrassed tonight. Silver linings, right?
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good:
- Fox Returns: It’s become abundantly clear that this team is heavily dependent on the play of De’Aaron Fox. If Fox plays well, the Kings are able to compete. If Fox is having an off night, you might as well go on about your night. Tonight we got the former as Fox made an immediate impression by scoring 13 points in the first quarter. He led by example with aggressive attacks on offense and confidence in shooting, connecting on 4-7 from the 3-point line. After some recently lukewarm performances from Fox, he seemed to find his fire again tonight, emphatically demonstrated in this jam:
De'Aaron Fox throws it down against Utah! pic.twitter.com/KM2l8947VV
— Brenden Nunes (@BrendenNunesNBA) April 11, 2021
The Bad:
- Transition Defense: The Kings were able to keep the Jazz to just one point for the first four and a half minutes of the game. Amazing, right? How did they do it? They forced the Jazz into tough shots in the half court. Taking an early 12-1 lead, the Kings were able to keep the Jazz from getting into a rhythm early. However, they weren’t able to hold this lead for long and ended the quarter down by three points after allowing the Jazz to capitalize in transition. Despite only committing four turnovers in the first half, the Kings still allowed the Jazz to beat them down the floor in transition and get them out of shape early for open looks and mismatched drives. Had the Kings been able to slow the Jazz down earlier on the court, they could have continued their success in defending in the slowed down half court setting.
- Defensive Details: It’s the little things! Yes, the Kings competed tonight and held Rudy Gobert to just six points. But, they also suffered 42 points from Donovan Mitchell, 26 points from Mike Conley, and 20 points from Joe Ingles off the bench. Examining the Kings’ defense, it’s the little things that a disciplined team like the Jazz can easily punish them for. Half-effort closeouts allow enough space for Donovan Mitchell to blow by for a strong attack at the rim. The inability to fight through a screen and communicate a recovery allows Mike Conley to attack the Kings’ bigs off the dribble. Help side from an ineffective angle not only does nothing in stopping a drive, but also allows an easy kick out for an open 3-point look that Joe Ingles happily drains. An off-ball screen for an easy pass to a flaring Donovan Mitchell results in a knock down jumper. These little things on defense all added up tonight as the Jazz were able to answer all of the Kings’ runs with easy scoring runs of their own.
The Ugly:
- Fourth Quarter Fumble: Behind Fox’s early performance, the Kings were able to keep up with the Jazz through three quarters. But, by the fourth, the better team prevailed. As the Jazz locked in on defense and executed on offense, we once again saw the Kings fail to focus in on the details it takes to beat a playoff team. Kings’ turnovers, ill-advised shots, and defensive miscommunications were all things the Jazz quickly took advantage of to pull away and bury the Kings.
The King of Kings
Tonight’s crown for the King of Kings gets to rest atop Richaun Holmes’ head for being damn near perfect tonight. Richaun maintained perfection through the first half, contributing 21 points on 8-8 shooting from the field, giving the Kings a six-point lead going into the tunnel. Although he eventually missed a shot in the third quarter, he didn’t let this keep him from being aggressive. He finished with 25 points in all, but spent most of the second half cleaning things up on the defensive end for the Kings as he completed his double-double with 1o rebounds.
Up Next
Monday, April 12th @ New Orleans Pelicans – 6:00 P.M. (PT)
More efforts tonight, and I love Barnes fighting for defensive rebound…….
p.s. Why Wright only getting 9 mins ? really ?
I’m going to be optimistic today. Buddy is playing better on both ends of the floor and when HB decides he wants to ball, he’s solid force.
That Fox dunk was insane. Maybe next year???
KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGS
Yes.
Is Greg ruining the comments sections now too?
Just ignore Bogi dropping 32 and hitting 8 3-pointers to lead Haws to win with Ice Tray out. Also ignore other teams stockpiling draft picks and teams like Warriors and Thunder about to steal Wolves and Rockets top 5 picks. If you don’t sign Bogi, then you should be tanking all year, and not even signing any free agents, just roll out some 2-way G-league players and let the rooks suck. Damn shame this franchise, Vivek doesn’t know how to get out the way.
You didn’t notice that we seem to be doing a amazing job of tanking?? Of course this is the Kangz so when we try and compete we immediately fail miserably and tank like never before! Remember with the Kangz up is down and down is up!
what is on the court right now is on Monte. So far he has proven to be the GM we did not need.
He is not the actual GM anymore than Pete D or Vlade were ! We are being Viveked !
not true. it’s deeper than that.
vivek wanted Luca over Bagley
vivek wanted bogi to stay
making a run at the play in game were moves monte made, not vivek. Is Monte fired if he doesnt trade Bjelly and cojo? No. he made those decisions and they are on him, not vivek. You think if monte trades bjelly for 2nd round picks he gets fired? no. Monte made stupid decisions that will cost us in the future. He has not made a bad situation better. he has made abad situation worse while luckily selecting Haliburton.
My comments are being cancelled!
Is it the comments glitch, or is it who really fucking cares anymore?
Why not both?
If an NBA team never makes the play-offs, does it really exist?
I haven’t been watching these games. I was disappointed they didn’t make some major moves at the deadline. They’re not going to make the play in, and they’re not going to get a great pick….yay. How’s next year going to be different?
The Monte flipflop season. My god, what a joke. How is it that this stupid shit keeps happening to our favorite team. They continually do the opposite of wise. Seemingly obvious decisions are opposed by some invisible force of ineptitude. It’s pathetic.
It’s not invisible, it’s Vivek. He keeps putting people in these roles. He needs to go, and soon
Exactly !
thats way to simplified.. Vivek wanted Luca over Bagley. Vivek wanted to keep bogi. Monte decided to let bogi walk for nothing, Monte decided Buddy was more valuable than Bogi, Monte decided Whiteside was better than Len, Monte decided to let Giles walk for nothing when he could have retained him for nothing. Monte decided to deplete our bench and then change course mid season and try to strengthen the bench. It’s a joke
WE (I?) CAN COMMENT AGAIN?!
~
Is the glitch really gone?
Badge Legend