I don’t know what I was expecting, but it should have been this. The Kings have now dropped 5 in a row at home after a 118 to 110 loss to the Miami Heat and that 7 of 8 streak looks so damn far away.
The Heat got out to an early 8-0 and from there it was off to the races. The Kings started a somewhat funky lineup due to recent injuries to Harrison Barnes and Richaun Holmes – starting a group of Fox, Hield, Robinson III, Bjelica, and Bagley at center. Belly, who is expected to be moved sooner rather than later, started off the game scoring 7 of the first 9 points for the Kings. The first quarter saw a highlight reel oop from Fox to a cutting GR3 and then in true Kangz fashion the next few easy shots at the rim all rolled out. By three minutes left in the first the Heat had opened up a 25-14 lead on the back of Kelly Olynyk’s 10 points and Kendrick Nunn’s 6. How ugly was this first quarter? Well, there was a 4 minute 45 second stretch in which the Kings didn’t hit a field goal. Heat lead by 10 at the end of one, 31-21.
The second quarter started with some Kyle Guy/Cory Joseph/Tyrese Haliburton action and that worked so well the first bucket of the quarter was a Hassan Whiteside 16-footer over three minutes in. Right around halfway through this quarter I got curious at how bad the Kings were shooting on the night and after a couple clicks I saw they were in the high twenties from the field and low twenties from deep and suddenly I had no wish to speak specifics the rest of the night, so if the rest of this recap is just me rating each player’s night by assigning them good or bad movies, it’s because this game was so ugly at some points the Kings had to pay Pizza Guys for the night’s ads. This isn’t to say all was lost at that moment: the Kings did go on a 10-2 run with 4 minutes to play in the half to cut the lead all the way to 7 but the Heat just converted like a team that’s been there a hundred times before and at half time the Kings had been pushed all the way back and then some.
Heat: “Speed” (57), Kings: “Speed 2: Cruise Control” (43)
Kings Players of the Half
Marvin ” The Mask” Bagley (8 hard earned rebounds)
Nemanja “She’s All That” Bjelica: (13 points)
Part of what made tonight’s loss to the Heat just that much more grating is just how many shots right at the rim got missed. It seemed like everytime the Kings got in the paint the ball careened everywhere but into the damn cup. Bagley, Joseph, Bjelica – everyone got in on the action. Oh, if you’re suspicious as to why I haven’t mention De’Aaron Fox tonight yet, well, it’s because he didn’t do that much. 5 points and 4 assists and a rebound at half. In fact, the four starters outside of Bjelica combined for only 17 points at half time so if I haven’t said their name, assume they played “Norm of the North” bad. Tyler Herro came off the bench and had 14 in that same timespan.
The Kings started the third with two consecutive turnovers, which the Heat converted on and the lead quickly ballooned to 23 from there. The Heat had 21 assists on 31 field goal half way through the third and I swear 90% of those were on cuts to the bucket. Mark Jones mentioned a couple of times that the Heat lead the league in points off of cuts and my god, do they. DaQuan Jeffries checked into the game with four and a half minutes left in the quarter and immediately scored a layup and a three pointer on consecutive plays to cut the lead to 15. He hit another three a couple minutes later to cut the lead to 10, it was answered by a Heat three and then Jeffries assisted Marvin Bagley on a walk up three moments later. The Kings showed life to end the third thanks to DQJ and ended the quarter only down 10.
I looked away for a moment to start the fourth to watch my dog scoot his butt across my hardwood flooring and when I looked up Tyler Herro was hitting an And-1 with the lead already back to 16. In the first two minutes of the 4th the Heat went on an 11-2 run. Meanwhile Jeffries hit another three, scoring 14 points on 4-4 shooting from deep in just eight minutes. The rest of the team at this point had hit 7 threes total on 29 attempts, so things were going REAL well. In the time it took for me to write that sentence, Jeffries hit his FIFTH three in five tries. Maybe he’s all I’m going to talk about the rest of the night? Jeffries, jeffries jeffries jeffries jeffries – jeffries jeffries! The game was still technically winnable with six minutes to play. Miami is terrible at holding leads and this one was only 16 points. Competent teams could make a good run at it! Instead, the Heat just focused up for two minutes, found two buckets open on cuts to the rim and a 12 foot Bam Adebayo leaner and the lead was back up to 20. Justin James was subbed in with 3 minutes to go and that was my sign to finish this damn thing and wait for the final score.
As previously mentioned, Sacramento was without both Harrison Barnes and Richaun Holmes and it showed. The defensive intensity of Holmes is far different than that of a guy like Bagley and Whiteside and you could just feel that difference without him in the game tonight. Speaking of Mr. Marvin Bagley III his start at center in Holmes’ absence went fairly well for him – he crashed the boards hard, hit some timely shots and ended up with a very respectable 19 points and 10 rebounds. Barnes replacement in the starting like, Glen Robinson III, ended up with 4 points, 9 rebounds in 23 minutes. Really, the oft talked about DaQuan Jeffries is the one who should be talked about tonight. The man had 17 points in 17 minutes on perfect shooting and really was the only thing standing between you reading this and me discussing the best and worst films of the 90’s. He was electric and I’m looking forward to more of his minutes this season.
De’Aaron Fox ended the night with a sleepwalking 11 points, 10 assists. Tyrese Haliburton had 8 points 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Buddy Hield had 5 points, 3 assists on 2-10 shooting and 1-8 from deep. THAT IS SOME VETERAN PRESENCE BABY!!!!
Only other person worth mentioning was Bjelica. The guy dropped 25 points in 35 minutes and had 8 boards to go along with it. Congrats to Philly, Miami, Dallas or whoever gets him next. He’s a good one.
On the other side of things, the Miami Heat had a quiet offensive game from Jimmy Butler scoring wise, but that 13 points he scored also came with 13 assists and 10 rebounds so, good for that man. Not to be outdone, Bam Adebayo had a pretty quiet night and ALSO ended up with a triple double! 16 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists for the big guy. Kelly Olynyk, Duncan Robinson both scored 20 plus points. High man for the Heat tonight was Tyler Herro, who had 27 points off the bench.
The Kings will get a night off before hitting the road to take on a five game East Coast trip and facing off against the Chicago Bulls first on Saturday night!
This is good (tank)
Marvin Bagley did some good things tonight.
My favorite show of all time. Little Marty made sure to be in front of the tv at 4pm when it was on.
“Lamont, you big dummy!”
Seriously think that if fans were there tonight, they’d have booed this performance.
Cheers would go up for all of Jeffries minutes, but yeah. This was bad, bad.
Lord we just had an 0-5 homestand. Golden 1 would be rioting
I’m so sorry you had to do the recap tonight, Will. Do you need a hug?
I need a frontal lobotomy.
We just couldn’t take the Heat!
Well on the plus side, at least McNair won’t have too difficult of a decision on whether to be a buyer or seller at the trade deadline.
Couple more similar games from Barnes and Buddy, Monte will no longer have a choice to be either of those at the deadline.
Yes he will.
McNair should now have the authority to clear out the Divac dead wood. It would be nice to get something of value for Hield, Barnes and Belly, but they still have to be moved regardless. Just getting them out of here moves the team forward, and it is unrealistic to expect other GMs to trade something for them that isn’t justified by performance. There is an urgency to McNair building a team around his draft choices, current and future ones, and his signings instead of trying to patch together a winner with Divac’s hold overs. There is a risk that it might alienate Fox, but there is really no alternative. Hield and Barnes aren’t going to magically improve beyond what they’ve shown for years.
Yes. They can play better under a non bottom 2 tier coach
buddy did
Barnes can gain consistency in said environment
players can look totally different under a real coach
why do they have to be moved if they aren’t messing with the tank, have no value, and can be better under a real coach?
Barnes and Hield have a record pre-Walton. While they have looked good over stretches, neither, with the possible exception of Barnes, will be a long term building block of a winner here. Hield might be a good 6th man, but not here, he would only accept that role with a better team. There’s an opportunity cost to keeping them around.
Something of value for Buddy? Good luck with that.
I think Buddy would be good on the Warriors. Everyone worrying about Curry or Thompson could open shots up for him.
Very well said and the only thing of any relevance being said. When Barnes was playing out of his skull, I suggested that it was time to move him and got killed for doing so. If Philadelphia wants Bjelica, let them have him. Buddy is going to be a tough move but I’d certainly be looking. While we’re at it, let’s see if we can get anything for Cojo. I would offer Whiteside 2 years for $8 mil and move him immediately if he doesn’t take it.
Were you? I remember quite a few people being in agreement on that. Myself included.
Regardless, yes. There really needs to be some substantive movement towards whatever the future vision is.
Go back and look what i said from the beginning of the year on what the goals and objectives of this season should be. When Barnes was riding high the consensus was to keep him. I can understand that sentiment given the franchise hasn’t seen the playoffs in many years but it was never one I shared. Good for you if you agreed. As i said, i like buying low and selling high and Barnes’ value may have peaked two weeks ago and I don’t see it getting any better from here.
35 days until the trade deadline.
I’m gonna be honest, if Buddy Hield survives the deadline or hasn’t been benched idk how I’ll deal.
Also, cut Whiteside and G-Rob. And Cojo and Bjelica if there’s been no takers. These can all be waiver pickups for pickup teams. This could be the most fun team I’ve seen in 2 years if the young guys run loose.
https://twitter.com/SeanCunningham/status/1362634418205065217?s=20
That’s a sextuple double!
You kiss your mother w that mouth??
Your Sacramento Kings: breaking records for the wrong reasons.
Bam averaged 0.8 assists to 1.7 turnovers at Kentucky.
Hashtag coaching and player development
You got that right. Of the three Kentucky players taken in 2017 (Bam, Fox, and Monk) Bam was taken last.
Anyone else notice the long conversation Bam had with Fox after the game. It seemed some important things were being discussed. Also, Bam completely ignored Whiteside who tried to talk to him.
For the past 4 drafts, the highest drafted player from Kentucky hasn’t been the best. Obviously, the jury is still out on these guys, but at the moment…
Last year, Maxey was taken before Quickly.
2019, Washington went above Herro
2018, Knox over SGA
2017, Fox & Monk over Adebayo.
The general pattern is that the guys with the louder tools were drafted over the guys with the the higher BBIQ. Though, Adebayo was your classic Kentucky “skill-hidden-by-role” guy.
I called the 2020 & 2018 ones. But I definitely missed big on Adebayo, and to a lesser degree, Herro.
You’d think GMs in the league would call that a clue.
I really don’t think Holmes would have made any difference whatsoever. I really think he’s oversold on here quite a bit…and much like Barnes he disappears too often. He’ll put up games with 2 rebounds, or 4 points despite getting starter minutes. Defenses sag off him daring him to shoot a jumper and clog driving lanes for our guards. The push shot is his one offensive tool. And while he hustles and gives intensity, he also gets worked by other bigs. He kind of reminds me of Reggie Evans a bit.
Been saying it for a while. Holmes is Harrell 2.0. Though he would have matched up well against Bam, since he’s not an overpowering center.
Incredibly valuable to a team but in that bench big role who can also play in crunch time in the 4th. If we can rotate a true big body like the Clippers had Zubac and Holmes actually gets the majority of the minutes anyway off the bench, that would make Holmes worth whatever his price tag is this offseason.
This is bad
Not defensively, but he would have made some difference on offense. He would have grabbed a few more offensive rebounds. The Heat plays small; Bam is the only center and he is kind of small.
If Holmes had been available, we could have staggered his minutes and Bagley’s minutes so that one could have alway been on court. Whiteside was all kinds of terrible yesterday. Twice he grabbed a defensive rebounds and passed it to an opponent. Lol he did it often enough in previous games that I expect when, not if.
Criticizing a guy who didn’t even play…..nice. And the one offensive tool Holmes has has enabled to lead the league in FG%.
There is something (a lot) to be said about a player who plays within his limitations too. Would you rather Holmes resort to 3 point bombs and running hooks to try to prove he has more offensive tools?
Look at Buddy Yield. He is a delusional bloated chucker who thinks he’s Curry and Harden. His inflated self opinion and poor shot selection and has dragged down the team almost every game except a handful.
You can absolutely win with Barnes and Holmes. They are part of the solution. I cannot say that about Yield unless he rediscovers what got him the 90M.
You can win with Hield, too. But like Barnes and Holmes, you need stars around hime that enable/force him to stick to his role. You can even win with Hield, Barnes, and Holmes together. You just superstars in those other two slots. Which are really hard to come by. Especially when you come close to maxing out your cap on the non-superstars.
A little incomplete in your analysis. You can win with Buddy and Barnes at half their contracts and a couple of Superstars. Teams with a couple of max superstars couldn’t afford them.
Well…im pretty sure i got a perfect score in the fan predictions. pretty excited about that.
With our history of terrible 3rd quarters, I would’ve never gotten the sweep
I was betting the Heat would have their best quarter and the Kings put up about the same all 4 quarters.
I went with the 2nd. Feeling each other out in the first, mad dash in the 2nd, typical shit 3rd and then bench time ð¤·ð»ï¸
Wow, what an amazing stretch of games for Richaun Holmes bank account. #MVP
Real question though, if Buddy Hield showed up out of shape, why are you giving him a career high in minutes Luke?
Also, how hasn’t he played himself back into shape almost 30 games in already? Shouldn’t he be improving not regressing?
Of course he could be dealing with lingering Covid fatigue, but if he’s not then why?
He needs to watch tape and then he’ll get back to you on that.
Don’t blame this on Luke or the current management. Cleaning up Vlades mess (perhaps the worst executive in NBA history) is going to take some time. We’ve tried 8 different coaches and that hasn’t been the answer.
So far drafting Haliburton and not making any stupid free agent over payment signings are two wins for this management. They now need to clear cap space, get another first rounder for next years draft and really make the next draft count. After that take on a serviceable bad contract in exchange for a young prospect or draft pick.
Luke deserves blame for sure.
This team has checked out on defense and with lack of toughness and fight. Continuing to give big minutes to a struggling no IQ Hield and a disinterested Whiteside is catering to your vets.
If he wants to send a message then play the players who actually play hard.
Luke is part of Vlade’s mess.
Jesus, it’s amazing anyone thinks Luke is good for anything more than being a caretaker until McNair can hire a real coach.
Luke is way down the list on a whole set of priorities. I placed a bet at the Hyatt in Incline Village where I live for the Kings to win more than 28 games. In terms of wins and losses the team is performing as expected. With Popovich and Spoestra being one and two and Scott Brooks being 30 in the coaching ranking Luke falls somewhere in that big gap probably in the 25 range. Having said that the marginal difference in that gap isn’t really significant. You win with good players as Kerr and many other coaches have proven. Nobody wins with a sub par roster like we have.
Only in Sacramento is Joerger’s 98-148 record (with a 39-43 season as the crown jewel) considered somehow positive.
Oh, for sure. I was sort of semi-joking, I don’t think we can really win with this roster, but Joerger at least seemed to be moving the ship in the right direction.
He at least had them players more to their strengths. Their strengths just weren’t all that strong.
I guess your sense of direction is different than mine.
I’m still bothered by Joerger taking his starters out when they were up huge vs PDX in the last game of the season.
I wanted 40 wins, damnit!
Perhaps there was an idea that there was a ceiling on him, I don’t see it, unfortunately for us. Lol. Dudes a jerk off
I will say that he is damn lucky that his successor is Luke Walton. If the Kings had even an average coach he would be long forgotten amongst kings fans and potential upcoming jobs. His stint with Memphis was average, and he lost here most of the time
Joerger is an arrogant ass. He came to one of our basketball camps and came across like a total jerk. You would have thought he was Popovich with a bunch of championships.
Inside NBA talking a lot about the team tonight and it’s nice to hear #RealTalk
Yep, a pretty nice trashing by the crew, saying all the same stuff we do (trashing the organization, horrible mis-use of draft picks, no strategy to building the team, cant keep calling them “young”, Shaq called us “we” (yuck…) and claims the Kings are still making the playoffs, “they are not getting better”, etc.).
Pretty good stuff.
Throwback Thursday!
This game took me back to early 90’s Kings fandom.
Yeah, let’s keep this roster together!
R
E
S
P
E
C
T…
this team is hella shitty!
Well Luke needs to be fired. Jefferies, who plays on both ends with intensity, should not have waited until the 3rd to make an appearance. He is better than GR3 and actually has upside. We have no defensive identity. If we want to build around Fox and his speed. How come we cant speed the opposing team up by being the team that’s defense always starts full court?
Bjelica looked awful and disinterested in the second half. Marvin had a game but was on a minutes restriction at age 21. Fox being passive. Buddy being useless. Same old song. Fox and Haliburton need to be more aggressive and put up the lions share of our shot attempts. Nobody should initiate the offense outside of them.
Thanks twitter
What an absolutely franchise crippling decision that was at the time that looks worse and worse with each passing season. Thank you Vlade you incompetent moron. Unretire his jersey.
Yeah, that really crippled my fandom. Kings are like a ghost team to me. The win streak was fun, but I’d prefer if they lose and get a good pick. So I can’t be happy when they win.
It’s about this time in each season when I wish they would trade my favorite players just so those guys don’t have to play on such a lousy team.
On the bright side, tomorrow is Friday!
Since I’ve been furloughed from my job, everyday has felt the same, lol.
Ugh! Sorry to hear that Klam! Hope it’s short term
I’m genuinely curious.
Why is this the worst possible moment?
And when would have been the best possible moment? Start of the season? Right after the AS break?
Seems right on time to me!
Yeah. After thinking about I think the worse possible moment would be right after the trade deadline, if the FO/ownership has decided to stand pat or get some immediate help, due to an inflated record.
Exactly. To me that would be a disaster. Crashing now allows for an honest assessment of where we’re at (we’re pretty bad and lack talent) so that pieces can be moved by the deadline.
Took Cleveland 8 straight losses and 3-12 stretch after a 7-7 start to realize that they’re tanking and sit Drummond.
If this season finally goes right and we start losing away games again, we should be sellers by the time we get back home from this trip!
The race to the bottom now begins. Detroit and Cleveland just got to the better start.
Going from 7 wins in 8 games to losing 5 straight is terrible whiplash.
Maybe for Fox’s All-Star cause?
Honestly… I threw it up there around halftime as a placeholder and didn’t even think to change it once the game ended. I just wanted to be done with that mess.
The last four games are when it must be impossible to write recaps because not one of them have been remotely competitive. I do not envy the fearless TKH writers.
Don’t forget they lost 4 straight before that 7-1 run as well! Really the whole 7-1 euphoria was just fun with arbitrary end points.
Haha, I feel ya.
Thank you for your service!
Is that a Fast Times reference? Jeffries, Jeffries, Jeffries …
Good stuff
Game and a half out of the fourth worst record in the league. If we lose to the Bulls, we could EASILY be a bottom 5 team within the week. Then the trades will come.
I like it!
In true Kangz fashion, they gave a glimmer of hope and now may lose like 8-9 games in a row to really hammer home how bad they are.
Fixed it for you
This streak isn’t worse than the one that precluded the 7-1 run. This team will “get hot” and win some more games. Might as well get prepared for a 30 win season.
I still think this is a sub-30 win team but we shall see.
Ahhhh, yes. You know you’re a Kings fan when the optimistic take in the conversation is a 30-win season.
Edit: Gif error
/insert spaceballs suck, suck, suck! Gif
https://images.app.goo.gl/AS57PD9ui2fb6Mkk9
Here you go for the rest of the season:
Just realized we don’t have a jersey patch sponsor. Could we crowdfund KANGZ for one game?
Ideas for a sponsor:
-A masonry company for all the bricks
-A vacuum company cause they suck
-A beer company, cause we could all use a good draft
What about a bracelet that uses “holographic technology” to “resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body”, and increase sporting ability?
Yeah, or a mattress company because you need to lie down after a Kangz game?
It’s just beyond frustrating to hear Kayte come up with the easiest excuses after each game. Tonight it was that Fox has been “ridden hard” and that this season has been weird because of Covid. You can still be a homer without picking the easiest excuses even though it’d be nice if she and others were more critical. How many times did Doug and Mark boast about how supposedly amazing Marvin Bagley is? There’s just no integrity with this team and it’s employees.
When ex players want to stay close with current players….
TNT were actually talking about the Kings last night. Kenny Smith said the team has no culture and accountability. That’s why they have been terrible for so long. He’s correct. Why is Shaq an investor? So ridiculous. Shaq made the claim the Kings are going to the playoffs.
Barkley said the Kings are the same every year. Mediocre at best.
because Vivek was focused on image and building his brand in those early days, instead of hiring competent front office personnel. For me it was a huge red flag and the birth of my skepticism regarding Vivek’s vision.
Draymond Green criticized them on Twitter, and rightly so, for putting down Cuz for not winning without criticizing the organization.
I don’t think that’s fair. Fox has been overused and I thought Kayte pointing it out was responsible. Instead of an excuse it’s just an element of the game’s dynamics.
Now, Jones and Doug’s praise for average activity by Bagley was noticeable and I think it’s worth discussion or at least monitoring. After last night I think something is up, it seemed obviously forced.
Yeah, I’m tired of Bagley getting praised for a rebound when it just fell to him while the opposing 5 players were all parked on the perimeter and are already heading back to the defensive end. In all honesty it is easy to get rebounds in today’s NBA with teams being so perimeter oriented. There is a decreasing need to properly box out and fight for good positioning because there is no on to box out.
I agree with you 100%, but he also fought for some tough rebounds last night.
I suppose what we’re asking our broadcast team to do is recognize the difference, at least occasionally.
How is Fox being overused? He’s 36th in the league in minutes and 51st in minutes per game.
Yep, Barnes and Hield are both well above Fox in minutes. Though having 2 guys in the top 25, and 3 in the top 45 is a bit concerning in a compacted season.
Not minutes, type of use. He’s slamming into double and triple teams all the time, and then ends up on the floor. Doesn’t look like a recipe for seasonal longevity to me.
Iverson did it I suppose, but he played with a few minor injuries from the moment he joined the NBA. I see Fox in the same light.
Exactly!
Also, Walton’s rotations and changes with the starting lineups is simply beyond stupid. This is his last head coaching job in the NBA. His throw it at the wall philosophy, in addition to other weaknesses like his obvious inability to fire up the team, needs to go before he destroys more assets. The Kings can, and should, tank without him.
That was the 11 seed in the eastern conference y’all.
The Kings are less than the sum of their parts.
There are players up and down this roster that would be better off in another situation, so let’s make that happen.
I mean, my God, somehow Buddy made Kyle Guy look efficient…and Kyle didn’t even score!
This team is tough to watch.
Come on now, that team was in the NBA Finals last season. Jimmy Butler is 7th in minutes for them this season – if he’s available, that team is considerably better than Sacramento.
They may be the 11th seed but they still have one of the most respected coaching and FO cultures in all of professional sports.
For sure – I’d be shocked if they don’t get hot and secure a playoff spot when all is said and done.
The 11th seed characterization is completely bogus. The Heat when fully loaded like last night are a top 5-10 team. They just made the NBA finals.
Referring to teams by their seed position when there’s still well more than half the season to go is silly. Especially when, for example, the Heat in 11th are only 4 games behind the Bucks in 3rd. Considering the small sample, compacted schedule management, and COVID impact, currently records simply aren’t a great way to judge team quality.
Well, we’ll always have “remember that one week that it looked we might have a shot at 8th place?”
Trust me, it will come back.
Will it? I’m sure they’ll win a couple more games, but that stretch was so obviously a fluke. They may have another flukey stretch at some point but I’ll keep riding with the take I’ve had all season: this team has bottom 5 roster talent and in the end that will win out. Haliburton and Fox hitting a bunch of shots at the end of close games only works if the games are close. It was a nice deodorant that covered up the truth which is that this team is going to finish near the bottom of the standings when all is said and done.
I don’t think Otis is saying they are 8 seed worthy…but rather they will likely hit a little streak and we will have some threads about how the Kings are approaching .500 and might be able to sniff the playoffs. Rinse, cycle, repeat.
Yeah, definitely not a playoff team. But they’ll continue to do this roller coaster thing, we’ll stay within sniffing distance through most of the season, then peter out at the end.
I’m certain another stretch of winning is coming that takes us further down the lottery pole.
We haven’t played Minnesota or OKC yet or Washington and Cleveland. Yes we haven’t played the Lakers and Jazz and other top teams either, but it’s not hard to see an easy stretch where Fox goes nuclear for 7 games again.
This team isn’t Washington/Detroit/Cleveland bad in terms of youth, tank, and roster so the next fluke winning Streak will come soon.
Yep, that’s what I’m thinking as well.
Nah, this team doesn’t have bottom-5 roster talent, nor did they last season. Maybe bottom-10, but they have enough talent to have these streaks of decent play. This is how it was last season, this is how it’s been this season.
Every time they have a rough patch, you throw dirt on them. 🙂
Most teams don’t have a bottom 5 roster talent. I mean, the worst team in the league by record has a 25-year-old ROY, 2xAS, All-NBA, a 24-year-old All-star, and last season’s #1 pick. The Pistons are the only team I think you could make a clear case have a worse roster. Otherwise, there’s probably about 10 teams in the Kings’ “they have some decent talent and could surprise people if things go right” talent tier.
You’re correct I do throw dirt on them but it’s because my assessment hasn’t really changed regarding where I believe they’re at. I’d also change my tune if they were winning more often than not and doing so in a way that looked sustainable. Holmes and Barnes have been playing way above their heads and I just don’t see it continuing. Fox has to some degree as well and he’s coming back down to earth now. Almost every decent team they beat had significant injuries or Covid issues.
Now, do I think they’re as bad as they’ve been the last week or so? No I do not and I’m sure Fox will have another hot stretch and Buddy will make some baskets again. But I’d put my money on more stretches of terrible play rather than them just going back and forth all season. Looking at the season in total, there’s nothing suggesting they aren’t one of the worst defensive teams of all time. I think that’s an accurate representation of who they are.
Don’t look now, but regression is already hitting Barnes like a ton of bricks.
Yeah he was always going to regress a little bit and I just don’t think this team has much margin for error if they actually want to win games. Even a little regression from Barnes or Holmes or Fox or even Haliburton means the whole thing falls apart.
I’d disagree with this a bit, because there is something suggesting this – last season. They weren’t great (20th in the NBA), but they weren’t dead last in the league (by margin).
During the five game losing streak, they are 27th in the NBA in defense. Which is still bad, but not as bad as we saw earlier in the season.
I think there’s a good chance the defense improves some, which will allow this win/loss roller coaster to continue.
I mean, at what point does last season stop mattering? We’re almost 40% of the way through this season and they are still currently firmly planted in last place. I guess what I’m suggesting is that we probably have a big enough sample size at this point to, at the very least, they are a bottom 5 defensive team. Maybe they won’t be the absolute worst when all is said and done but I read somewhere the other day that they still have one of the hardest remaining schedules in the NBA so I’m not sure it’s going to improve enough to be meaningful.
I think the other factor that has me so pessimistic about their ability to win games going forward is the way they’re losing. In their two losing streaks they have been getting absolutely destroyed. The last 4 games haven’t even been remotely competitive. On the flip side, they’ve only got one “blowout” win all season (against Orlando). All their other wins have been close. So I’d guess their success in close games will probably regress a little bit as well.
For the discussion we’re having, probably not until the end of the season. It’s the same coach with almost the same roster.
During the streak where they won 7 of 8, they were 11th in the NBA in defense.
My point isn’t to say that they are going to be a good defensive team this season, it’s simply that you can likely expect stretches of decent team defense over the course of the remainder of the season.
TKH celebrating championship
I can’t wait for the Lakers to lose to the Nets in the finals
Something has happened that I never thought would. Quite by, well not accident but without necessarily meaning to, I have stopped watching games. There is nothing here to enjoy at the moment. Let’s move on and get the tank going.
I missed the last 4 games (travel) so I thought hey maybe tonight if I watch…. KANGZ! It’s amazing – NBA players can’t convert open layups nor shoot free throws. Seems to be the same every year.
So long and tanks for all the fish!
A couple of random observations:
1) Nemanja did not look happy at all last night. That picture to lead the article sums it up. He was making that face after a made 3 in the first quarter. He doesn’t want to be here.
2)Maybe it’s been mentioned elsewhere and I’ve missed it, but what is up with the large bandage on Hali’s ches?. It’s been there all season and I’m just wondering if there is something to it.
Pete Youngman on 1/22
After his fall in Houston, in a pre game workout in SF it appeared he was wearing some type of Kinesio Tape to support his sterno clavicular joint. What he has now is either a K Tape or a product called Leukotape applied over Cover-Roll, a little more rigid/supportive than KTape
It’s not the K tape, That’s been there for a few weeks. I’m talking about a medical bandage, like a large band-aid on his right chest. It’s just barely visible peeking out of his jersey. He’s been wearing it since the start of the season.
I’ve been wondering the same thing. Maybe he is covering a tat.
You can see the bandage here, and this was from early January. He is still wearing it.
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Or getting treatment to the area?
He has been wearing it for as long as I can remember. That image is from January 6th and I still saw it last night. That is quite a long time to be getting treatment, but that looks like a bandage to a wound.
Jefferies needs to start at SG. Not because of one game by him, which was magnificent, but because of season long ineptitude by Buddy Yield.
I said 2-3 weeks ago the play of Buddy Yield was the biggest problem on the team. I take that back. The biggest problem on the team is the coach who enables his play, paralyzed by fear and insecurity to make a move that may be scrutinized and second guessed.
How much rope do you need to give to a player before he figuratively hangs himself at takes you down with him?
Buddy is shooting 37% FGs and 74% of his shots are from 3. His defense sucks. Look how guys like Robinson and Tyler Herro get to their spots and come off picks to get open. Buddy can’t do this because he is carrying too much weight.
Buddy should not be having a career worst season, he should be having a career best, in his prime and with two playmakers in Ty and Fox.
So what does the coach do to shake him out of moribund funk? Nothing. If the coach is afraid of the blowback then he’s coaching out of fear and should be fired. You can not be successful if your decisions are fear based.
It is an objective fact that Jefferies is the better defender and more selective shot taker than Buddy. He also is leaner and more ripped and changes ends better.
Buddy deserves to be “demoted” and if he doesn’t like too farking bad. And if he cannot awknowledge how bad he has been and how detrimental he has been to our whole team, then he not only need to be benched, he needs DNP-CDs and an appointment with a psychologist.
It may sound extreme, but I am not opposed to putting Yield on the injured list for 2 weeks to lean out and clear his head. His toxic play is torpeding any chance for a playoff push.
Hali, Cojo, or Jeffries are all better fits in the starting 5, but the main dilemma will always be Luke has his hands tied.
Buddy needs to be a starter to potentially be traded for starter value. No doubt he will play better off the bench, but that’s the reality of the situation. And he gets benched and gets pissy again then that tanks his value even further. We just gotta wait out the deadline for a true line up change
With such starter’s performance by Hield, I cannot see how his starter value still exists ?
He worths nothing…
It’s convenient to put the blame on Hield, but it’s not terribly accurate.
Fox, Barnes, Hield, Haliburton and Holmes all have to be playing at nose-bleed induciung high levels for this team to have a chance, and for the past several games that has just not happened. None of those five players have played particularly well over the the recent stretch, whether it’s fatigue or injury or just general slumpiness.
The team has zero depth. And that lack of depth rears its ugly head whenever any of the top five players on this team are either not available or not playing to their needed levels.
To be completely fair, this team can go no farther than De’Aaron Fox takes it. And recently he has been less than what he was during the short period when the team was racking up a few wins. And Fox would probably be the first guy to admit it.
I still feel Fox will be the # 2 and Hali will be the # 3 option. We are missing that # 1 franchise player which fingers crossed will be Cade Cunningham or Kuminga
I am pretty done with Walton and Buddy Hield
1) With only 4 Bigs left, and it was another blowout game, still cannot find one minute for J. Parker is just unacceptable and not reasonable.
2) Hield sucks, his low BBIQ just keeping hurting this team
Just look at the above play, what is the offense set actually ? NO one is freaking moving without the ball (and GR3 at the corner, while Hield outside 3 pts line)
and even Hield is not trying to hustle for that offensive rebound……
He hot ZERO rebound with playing 25 mins (Just another “COKE machine” performance)
I agree with kings4ever, Jefferies need to start at SG…..
It’s a strange world when you think Jabari Parker is part of the solution.
I am not saying Jabari Parker is part of the solution….
I mean with 4 Bigs left in roster, and in garbage time, is it that difficult to squeeze, like last 3 minutes to let what a 25 years old, former #2 pick can bring onto the table ?
That 25 year old, former #2 pick likely has zero interest in playing the last three minutes of a blowout game. And yeah, he’s getting paid and all that, but treating him like a converted G-Leaguer is not going to produce any sort of positive result.
Yeah, I think it’s pretty clear the Parker thing isn’t happening, and they are running out the clock on his deal (or moving him by the deadline).
My arse-pulled guess is that there are no takers at the trade deadline (unless he is salary filler on a deal) and they waive him.
I think one has to assume the Kings are more profitable as a franchise with a losing record than if they had a winning record.
Bjelly’s Jim Halpert face in the headline pic pretty much sums up Kings fandom for the past decade plus.
Kings: We won’t trade Barnes because we’re making a push at the playoffs.
Also Kings: We won’t play Nemanja bc we’re focused on youth development.
Uh, wut??
Do the Kings even know what they’re doing? Is there a clear plan? It seems like Monte wants to do one thing, and Alton/Vivek want something else.
BLOW. IT. UP
Why would any team want a player from the Kings? They are clearly not talented.
Other teams look at Sac and think, “that guy will play better for us.”
And teams were inquiring about Barnes last week. Teams want Bjelly.
So, while I get you’re frustrated there are indeed teams who would take some of our players. Buddy is a different tale.
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