In the pre-game, Jon Wilson and the powers that be over there at NBCSCA casually dropped into one of their segments that the Clippers haven’t lost a game in Sacramento since 2013. Well… that was exactly the kind of reverse jinx the Kings needed!
And yet, it didn’t quite feel that way to start. The first quarter started with Paul George, who didn’t make a single three pointer against the Lakers on Friday night, hitting two of them in the first 90 seconds and dishing to Reggie Jackson for a third in as much time, and a dark, ominous cloud came across the screens of everyone in Sacramento. It honestly felt like one of those “you’ll be watching Twitter more than the game by the 4th” omens. Then George decided that he wasn’t all that concerned with making any of his subsequent attempts and ended the first half shooting 3-13, finishing the game with just 15 points on 5-21 shooting. The Kings spent most of the night switching everything that involved George – throwing their undersized guards at him whenever they could and it turned out about as expected. His height allowed him to shoot over everyone (save for Defensive Player of the Year candidate Chimezie Metu) he just couldn’t connect.
Speaking of Chimezie Metu, the man came to play on the defensive end of the floor, especially in the first half. Sure, he’s still less than consistent and yeah, he probably takes to many ill advised shots, but the kid also had 5 blocks in the first half tonight so, we ain’t complaining tonight.
I could run down a bit of the first half I guess… let me check my notes here: Tyrese scored seven of the first eleven Kings points, Richaun didn’t score in the first half…. hmmm. I guess I could say that the Clippers went big in the second quarter and the refs got whistle happy and the game absolutely crawled to a stop for 8 minutes or so. Then Tyrese hit a few threes, Fox walked his way into the paint at will and Chimezie Metu swatted away everything that came his way and suddenly the Kings were on a 10-0 run and ended the half up 5 points after coming out of the first quarter tied.
The third quarter was all Terence Davis, all the time. We’ll talk about that a little further in the recap.
The Kings took a 6 point lead into the 4th quarter and after some back and forth had a nice little run to push the lead to 13 with 7 minutes left in the game. You could tell the Clippers were playing on tired legs and Fox, Mitchell, Hield, Bagley and Thompson all held more than their own against a team on it’s second night of a back-to-back. After the Clippers cut it to 8, Gentry tossed the starters back in but by then, the heat was on. A Morris Sr. three ball cut it to 5, a little more back and forth, then a Clippers bucket cut it to 3 with 3:00 to play. On the subsequent possession, Terence Davis hit his sixth three in eleven attempts. The Kings then went to their slightly whacky 4 guard lineup to close the game with De’Aaron Fox, Davion Mitchell, Terence Davis, Tyrese Haliburton and Richaun Holmes attempting to hold down the last two minutes of the game. After an incredibly long ref review of foul, a Clippers’ turnover and Fox splitting a pair of free throws,Marcus Morris Sr. hit a three to put LA down 3 with 10.4 seconds of the game. The free throw game was played and the Kings came away victorious for the second time this season against the Clippers.
Random, Less than Stellar, Facts:
Richaun didn’t have a field goal attempt in the first half and in fact, didn’t score a single point until 1:19 left in the game when he split a pair of free throws. He ended his night with 1 point, 6 rebounds, 3 assists.
Much like Holmes, Buddy Hield didn’t score in the first half and didn’t score till the last 30 seconds of the third quarter. He ended up with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block on 1-5 shooting in just under 20 minutes.
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings win, as predicted.
Sacramento Kings: 104 points, 59 rebounds, 41.9% FG, 35.3% 3P, 80% FT, 15 turnovers, 19 assists, 8 steals, 8 blocks
Los Angeles Clippers: 99 points, 60 rebounds 38.2 % FG, 38.2% 3P, 66.7% FT, 17 turnovers, 23 assists, 7 steals, 3 blocks
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
THE GOOD
- B-E Aggressive: Both Tyrese Haliburton and De’Aaron Fox went into tonight looking to be aggressive. Tyrese scored seven of the first eleven Kings points, De’Aaron had double digit scoring in the first quarter, but even better, it was how he got his points that mattered. He had some fantastic moves in the paint and generally could get to the cup when he wanted, especially in the first half. Tyrese ended with a 18-6-5 line to go with 2 steals and a block on 50% shooting from the field. He also had 5 turnovers, but shhh. Aggression! Fox ended up with 17-8-5 with 2 steals. He ended up shooting only 36% from the field but that first quarter was the Fox we all know and love. It’s a start!
THE BETTER
- In His Bag: Marvin Bagley III is busting his ass when given minutes. He missed the last few games with an illness, but was back with a vengeance: 12 points, 11 boards in just 19 minutes tonight. Whether or not this time on the court is a boost for his trade value, it’s good to see Bagley playing good basketball.
THE BEST
- Slumpbuster??: Terence Davis had a decent game going and then the third quarter came around and he decided to go bananas: scoring 12 points in a 5 minute stretch including hitting 3 threes in five or six possessions. Kayte and Kyle decided to call his season long shooting slump over… I’ll hold off on doing the same until the number crunchers at this site tell me it’s a-ok to do so. Davis ended up scoring 28 points, shooting 9-16 from the field, including 6-11 from deep.
The King of Kings
Greg. Greg is the King of Kings because he has to stay up and read this through to make sure I didn’t slip in anything inappropriate. The truest of Kings.
[Editor’s note: this probably should have been Terence Davis for reason’s already discussed but I’m leaving it as is because it’s nice to be praised for staying up late on a Saturday. Also it will make my mom happy.]
Up Next
Wednesday, December 8th vs. Orlando Magic 7pm (PT)
Fun fact…. the Clips played 6 guards tonight the Kings only 5
Gentry statue time!
Observations:
Love the defensive effort.
Bagley got some some stats and is playing within himself, but he still never seems to get a smooth bucket when he makes a move. Hoping to hide his flaws until a trade comes along.
Tyrese is the smartest dumb player in the league.
How many times does Hali jump in the air to make a pass a game? I’m surprised he isn’t picked off more often.
Good win!
Now get the hell out, Clippers!
WTF? I’ve never seen this gif… Creepy.
I think it was just last season. Yeah, probably one of the weirdest things to see in an NBA gif. Ballmer’s a strange guy.
(and that’s me saying that!)
The guy on his right is literally pushing his hand out of his crotch… That’s a foul and one.
Yeah, there’s no good explanation for what the hell is going on there
If this is the version of Bagley we’re going to see for the rest of the season, well, I am open to reasonable extension thoughts… He looks engaged on defense and playing within the flow of the offense. Maybe it’s a blip, but damn…
Perhaps he just needed better coaching—and a little humility.
Could be an important not trade. If, in year 4 or 5 Bagley comes into his own, better on the Kings than the Orlando Magic. Julius Randle made the all star team with the Knicks not the Lakers.
I don’t think hangin into Bags is any smarter than keeping this team as is and expecting it to turn into a championship contender/playoff machine.
Blood from a stone and all
that.
Dance!
Clippers fans in G-1 tonight
Same could be said of/by Kings fans.
TD haterz where you at ????
I saw that happen the other night… So good.. doesn’t even blink
Gentry plays the guys who are playing well, wants everyone to be ready all the time, not afraid of zany lineups and match ups. He is far more proactive than the last guy who only reacted.
There has been improvement- Davis, Bagley, Metu and TT all playing better.
Wants “pace”
I like Mitchell- he dribbles less now but still gets a ton of minutes despite minimal contributions on offense . I guess because his D is so good.
The Kings are currently 3.5 games back of the 4 spot (home court advantage in the playoffs).
Why do I notice such things?
Because Harrison Barnes…. our best player…. is still injured.
And 3 games from being ranked 15 in the West.
But, let’s be realistic a lot of those teams struggling now. Not so much in a month. Kawhi. Supposed to be back in. Jan, Murray back at some point, Klay back next cpl weeks, Jah out a couple more week. KAT out. And guess what all those teams still better then the Kings currently. The Kings are what they are: mediocre. They don’t have a single leader. This player by committee will work against some teams. The really good health teams, No.These zany lineups never have and never will work on the playoffs.
in the NBA, mediocre makes the playoffs. The Kings are…something else
PLAY of the night:
Love the fake 3 by Fox (he had a overall good game), he chose to drive in, and kicked out for a wide open 3 by TD…
(Also, Tyrese is hustling into the paint for an offensive rebound once TD launched the 3)
I am very happy for Greg and his mother.
Oh, and for the Kings, too, of course.
I don’t think Marvin is “busting his ass”, he’s playing within himself. He’s not forcing and trying to be more attentive to the detail. Not saying he’s not playing hard, saying he’s not playing better because he’s playing harder. He’s playing better because he’s not breaking plays and he does not have this perceived nemesis overlording him, and that has had a calming focusing effect.
It was a geuine question in my mind whether Marvin would face facts or entertain delusions of grandeur, enabled by his inner circle, and persist in the illusion he is a 20 PPG star when he has not even established he’s a rotational player. Does he even belong on the floor with viable team, that is a real unresolved issue. Harkenstein is better than him as far as carving out his niche. Who? Exactly. Just like Kennard is better than Buddy in their respective roles.
Marvin knows his market value is negative. He knows the team has willingness to trade him but there are no takers. This realization at some level has been catalyst to modest strides. Moreover when you are not a black hole you are less likely to compound mistakes, where you make a bad play, force another to try to make up for the previous bad play, repeating this downward spiral into oblivion.
Where you see Marvin finding more comfort is shooting touch and timing. If you notice when he was scattered and hurried, feeling pressure to produce or get pulled, he would mistime jumps. I noticed a few times lately his timing is spot on. This is a player who is more relaxed and centered, a function I suspect of the coaching change and belated dose of humility.
I don’t know if these issues are resolved but there has been progress. All this said, we are still talking about minutes at backup PF. He is not anchoring a defense or going up against starters. He can not make some of the plays Metu has made, namely attacking closeouts then dish and swatting shots. It would be an over-reaction to say, for example, lets promote Marvin to starter over Metu based on this uptick.
Lets see if this play lasts, if he can show consistency he’s never shown in his career. If this happens, I am not interested in promoting him, I am interested in trading him for a Big Fish.
TD – 28 minutes
Davion – 27 minutes
Buddy – 19 minutes
This minute allocation makes me smile. That is all.
Buddy did make a nice strip on PG and went coast to coast with the left and forced another TO. I credit him coming to life after dead man walking for three quarters but still anticipate his minutes squeezed. Why shouldnt they when TD is better? The coach is no fool unlike the previous one. I do not think the two games TD has had are an aberration. While others have been wanting to dismiss him, write him off as a inconsequential, I saw star potential in TD since Day One.
What makes TD tantalizing is that he creates separation, attacks closeouts, gets out in transition, rotates beautifully to the shooter and post player. In a league of athletes, his athleticism sticks out. He is just a pest though I want to see him foul less. This activity and intensity is a nice complement with Davion who has similar attributes. Notice I made no mention to shots because shots come and go but these foundational aspects can be steady occurence with proper rest. Although when you are making non-shooting plays, this can facilitate getting your shot locked in. Who lacks these traits, with rare exception? Why none other than Buddy, who simultaneous has made 6-36 3s for a scintillating 17%.
Fox deserves a nod for his defense on PG. Fox is moving better and looks better. He did not finish his shots, but I see him getting better lift, being more decisive. Fox has benefitted from Metu over Harkless and playing aside TD, since they play with similar energy and pace. And this leads to the pending decision regarding the starters when HB is activated.
You would expect return of HB to move TD back the bench. But HB could slide to the 4 and TD could continue to start. In this case you bring Metu off the bench, which squeezes minutes for Marvin. AG has to give serious consideration to keep starting TD, not only because of his play but a foremost consideration has to be what is going to most help Fox? We need Fox to be great, what most enables that? The three guard lineup plus HB and Holmes is when Fox played his best basketball.
The downside of HB to big forward is team rebounding and this is when and where HBs scoring tends to suffer, where he gets more beat up on the inside and this may affect his offense. Last year his scoring fell to 12 PPG in this role. He does not deserve to make this sacrifice with the year he has had. I don’t know the best call on this, one of the few times I am at a loss for an answer. 😉
TD will probably go back to the bench, and the change we should see is TD and Davion are first off the bench, not Davion and Buddy. This is the juggling to look for on the horizon if AG wants to retain the job after this year. HB’s return should squeeze Buddy for minutes even to the point of DNP-CD. If a shooter who does little besides shoot goes 6-36 FGs in his last five games is not playing himself out of the rotation, I don’t know what is.
First it was the coach getting his just deserts, now it is the one dimensional gunner with his minutes and shot attempts under assault. If Marvin asserts himself as a viable player, helps fix the rebounding, suddenly we will be barely recognizable relative to the road trip from hell. Of course they say one game at a time, but the goal for this month should get to .500. With 13 more games this month, that means we have to go 9-4 or better. As Nick would say of Deuce and Mo fame, why not, why not?
Kings win! Dance!!!
First time in a long while that the Kings played 48 minutes of engaged basketball with constant effort on both sides of the ball. It would be nice if it happened more often, though I’m not about to hold my breath on that one. Looking forward to the start of trade season.
It means Gentry will take us from a 12th place finish in the west to a solid 11th place finish.
Don’t be fooled again Monte! Sell high, make calls to every GM abt Buddy, Bagley, Fox and Barnes.
I wish this was the case. Unfortunantely, I don’t see it. The team may make 1-2 minor moves at best. The West is very weak this year. Teams like Portland and the Lakers are on the verge of a rebuild. Other teams like Denver, Memphis, and CLips are dealing with serious injury concerns to their stars. KIngs have a very good shot at the play in. If they could put together any semblance of a winning streak, a playoff berth could be possible. Eventhough it’s still early to know what this team is. 3 games from the 4th spot and 3 games from the 15th spot. A playoff team this year will probably hover around .500.The Rockets, all of sudden have a 6 game winning streak(Now, Wall wants to be part of the action) Spurs 5 game winning streak. i would prefer a proper rebuild. I don’t think Vivek has ever entertained this idea. I don’t see it now. Suns and Dubs are alreadly penciled in for the WCF and its not even close. They are ELITE in every sense of the word.
Would love for this team to show some Ballz for once and start gathering assets for the future. This team has a very low ceiling. I am afraid this team gets a playin or 7-8 seed in a down year. Get swept. Extend Gentry 3-4 more year, Essentially keep most of the roster, and the team will not improve in the following years, but decline,due to the limited talent on this roster.. With very few assets and no real core the team will continue to stay mediocre. I would sell off the vets. Keep most of the youth to see what we have.
L2M report upheld this foul call on Davion: https://official.nba.com/last-two-minute-report/?gameNo=0022100348&eventNum=2230
The report says Mitchell “backs into Zubac and affects his ability to get to the rebound.” Well, yeah. Zubac is backing into Mitchell at the same time – Zubac just happens to jump first.
How are you supposed to legally box out for a rebound if you can’t “back into” the person you’re trying to box out? Isn’t that the definition of “boxing out”?
I can understand refs missing calls in real time, but there are so many times like this where they still get it wrong on review.
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