One of the big questions surrounding the Sacramento Kings this preseason has been the starting shooting guard position. Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown experimented with Chris Duarte in the preseason before a minor injury shut Duarte down. In Tuesday’s media session before Wednesday’s season opener, Mike Brown stated that he would start Kevin Huerter for game one, but that nobody outside of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis are safe from being replaced for the sake of defense:
Mike Brown on Kevin Huerter starting and whether that is a permanent move. pic.twitter.com/3Rc7at1D4Y
— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) October 24, 2023
I think it makes sense to begin the regular season with the same starting lineup that was so successful last season, but Brown’s tone makes it clear he’s ready to start making changes should the defense continue to struggle. I love that Brown is still pushing his team to be better and not allowing the Kings to rest on last season’s laurels. Although the Kings failed to advance past the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs last season, the team showed a much better defensive effort and performance than they had throughout the season. If the Kings can remain one of the best offenses in the NBA and improve their defense to even just be closer to average, the Kings will be in a strong position throughout the season and postseason.
I really like Mike Brown and the way he pulls levers to motivate the team and players to do what he is asking.
Brown has three players that can and will play defense. Mitchell, Sabonis, and Barnes.
Same problem for the last two decades. Brown isn’t dumb…..he knows this team must score a whole bunch.
I think the bigger issue is that in general, we don’t have players on defense that have the ability to erase mistakes.
When the Kings are locked in and focused, such as in the playoff, the defense actually did its job passably well. Players are consistently in position to make a play, and while there are certain traits of the team the will remain perpetually vulnerable until we get new personnel (wing defense, point of attack penetration), we’re contesting more often than before.
If we’re not locked in, though? The troubles begin. Davion is elite, but can be outsized… and otherwise we don’t have too many plus traits. If we get to our spots, it’s great, but if we’re a step slow, not much that can be done to stop to chain reaction of things breaking down until a good shot is left open.
I’ll be very curious to see if we can find a defensive playmaker in the wing/point of attack. There’s a reason why OG is perpetually tempting…
I agree on OG. If we had him as a wing he could defend any wing out there including players like James or Durant. If Davion started in place of Huerter he could defend any point guard including Curry, Murray , Booker etc. If Davion improved his shooting(and we will see that this year) IMO opinion he could start along Fox.
If not Duarte can play defense and is 6’6″
Brown has been able to help by using some schemes that put them in a position to succeed. It would be better if he had true defenders. Davion is a great defender but they can’t play him because he doesn’t score enough to makeup for his teammates lack of defense.
I’m sorry but as a coach that preached defense Barnes is not a good defensive player. Somebody said it the other day look what Kuminga did to Barnes the other night. Enough said.As your comment above IMO both Duarte and Ellis play good defense.
PS I believe Fox is becoming a good defensive player also.
Trader Jack. So many comments.
Davion is the only above average defender and even he was not mentioned on the Athletic survey of team GM’s in the top 10 defenders. and he was not mentioned as an up and coming defensive player.
HB is not good. Sabonis is ok close to the hoop. Fox is good at times. Duarte- maybe. Edwards, slightly above average. Ellis good defender- lots of deflections
OG would be an upgrade but will have to bring his own medical staff. And what are you willing to give up?
Ellis, Mitchell, Duarte, and a luke warm Kings dog for OG. Realistically speaking this never works but as Kings fans we must maintain the idea that we always win in a trade while giving up nothing.
I’d reject that one also. keep Davion.
I wonder why Monte brought in Barnes 3/4 help in the form of Vezenkov. Talk about no D.
Perhaps to have an asset to move. Or replace shooting if it’s traded.
Their 2/3/ amd 4 need to be able to defend eventually.
Vezenkov has never even seen a defensive play drawn up on a white board.
I really like Patrick Williams. Really good defender, shoots the three at 40% and is young(fits Monty’s timeline). At PF would move Murray to the 3 where IMO is where he belongs.Can play alongside Sabonis. Tough dude.
Duarte is like Mitchell…..he cannot score enough to stay in the game. Barnes is a solid defender that won’t do anything dumb. Ellis isn’t an NBA player so he doesn’t count.
……my opinion….
PS…….if Fox wanted to play defense he would. It is a choice for him. So far he has decided to rest on that end of the court. One of the quickest in the NBA yet anybody can get past him on the perimeter.
It’s promising to see coach Brown publicly stress defense and hold his players to account and not letting them rest on their laurels. HOWEVER, the bottom line is the team just doesn’t have good defensive players. If they’re already playing hard and trying their best but just can’t get it done up to Brown’s publicly stated standard, and he keeps harping on them in the press and the lineup/rotations turn into a revolving door, does this cause resentment and chemistry issues down the line?
No Lyles tomorrow. Duarte questionable.
My thoughts are that in the past season Coach Brown brought the team together and showed what they could be if they played together as a team on offense while breaking the playoff drought.
Even if it cost us a playoff spot and left the team fighting to make the play ins I would love it if he actually stuck to his guns with a philosophy of…..”If you don’t play D you won’t play for me.”
Lakers lose, GS lose opener – it’s a great night. Now looking forward to the Kings opener.
i hope Brown can cook something up, but our PoA defense is awful, with the exception of Davion. And once ballhandlers penetrate, it’s very hard to recover, get a stop AND be in the right position to box out and get the defensive rebound.
We’re expecting defensive improvement from internal growth, I guess?
Everyone who doesn’t think Sabonis can play defense doesn’t understand this. The guards don’t stop anyone. Because of this Sabonis gets to defend the center, the power forward, and the guards that his teammates refuse to stop.
Sabonis can play defense very well….against one or two players….he cannot guard the entire team.
I love Kevin. At times, he is the best shooter on the floor. This year, especially with expectations being so high, Kevin has GOT to play defense at an elite level. It may just be me, but his shot is falling short as if he’s not in proper range or he’s not putting enough elevation on his release.
Start Duarte. Make Kevin earn that starting spot back, if he can. If not, bring Kevin off the bench. Doesn’t mean he won’t be effective with the 2nd unit and it doesn’t mean he wont be on the floor at the end of the game if needed. We know Duarte will play defense, can shoot, and seems to already know his role. We will need a good start to our games because we tend to get lackadaisical toward the end of the 2nd quarter and at times, the entire 3rd quarter. We really don’t have a margin for error if we’re going after that championship.
I like the idea of Kevin off the bench – as a guy you can play extended minutes if his shot is falling. I prefer Malik in that role, and he is proven capable of it. Kevin, in my opinion, is not the best fit on this team.
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