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Kings 110, Pacers 109: Yay?

Damian Jones wins it for the Kings, and the Pacers sink further down the standings.
By | 39 Comments | Mar 23, 2022

Mar 23, 2022; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell (15) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Under different circumstances, Tyrese Haliburton’s first game against the Sacramento Kings since the big trade would have probably had more energy behind it than we saw tonight in Indiana. But with De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis out of the lineup, and both teams fighting for draft position, this felt like your typical end-of-season game with some classic Kings funk at the end. Let’s talk about it.

Haliburton struggled to get his own offense going against the Kings for most of the night, shooting just 4-14 from the field, but his playmaking (15 assists) was on full display. The Kings never looked overmatched at point guard, though, despite Fox’s absence.

Davion Mitchell was excellent against Hali and the Pacers, scoring 25 points on 10-15 shooting to go along with 7 assists and his typically good defense. He also knocked down several clutch shots late in the 4th quarter, and the Kings will have drafted a really nice player here if he can shoot the ball consistently. That’s trending in the right direction, too.

The Kings and Pacers traded baskets for the majority of this one. With 14 lead changes, it was about as entertaining as you’re going to get at this stage of the season, but I’m just going to fast forward to the end. You didn’t miss anything important before the final minute.

Let’s set the stage.

The Kings were down 109-108 with 18.7 seconds left in the 4th. Pacers ball. All Indiana had to do was inbound the ball, get it over halfcourt, and the Kings were going to foul someone and send them to the line.

The Pacers, inexplicably, gave the ball to Buddy Hield in the backcourt. A little bit of Trey Lyles pressure forced Buddy to the sideline where he just sort of dribbled the ball out of bounds. I’m not going to call it tanking, but this is what it would look like if you were tanking.

The Kings got the ball back down 1 point with 14 seconds left, and Sacramento got Lyles a decent look from beyond the arc out of the timeout. Lyles missed, but Damian Jones was there get the put-back bucket. Kings win, and it was a cool moment for Jones who has really been a solid and inexpensive bench center for the Kings whenever he was given the opportunity this season.

There you have it. Kings win 110-109 off a Buddy Hield turnover, and a Damain Jones bucket.

To be fair, Hield had a nice game going for the Pacers tonight. He gave Indiana 25 points and 7 assists on 10-18 shooting, so it was a lot more good than bad. But that turnover. I’ve seen that one many times before. And the Kings hurting their draft position because Buddy Hield made a classic Buddy Hield error that actually helped them win a game this time? That’s just perfect.

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TerzoM
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March 23, 2022 8:12 pm

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Adamsite
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Nostradumbass 14
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Nostradumbass 14
March 23, 2022 8:23 pm
Reply to  TerzoM

This is awesome. Well done.

TerzoM
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March 23, 2022 8:38 pm
Reply to  Adamsite

Thanks. I don’t miss him, but it’s funny Buddy can still Kangz us

Last edited 2 years ago by TerzoM
rockbottom
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March 23, 2022 8:18 pm

Davion the best player on the floor tonite .

Adamsite
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Nostradumbass 14
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Nostradumbass 14
March 23, 2022 8:29 pm

So what happens if the Kings finish a game behind the Pacers in the lottery and the Pacers then jump to get Chet or Smith Jr? Where does Buddy’s enshrinement into Kings lore belong?

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rockbottom
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March 23, 2022 10:55 pm
Reply to  Adamsite

What if they turn out like Bagley or many other underachieving sure things ?

RocklinRoll
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March 24, 2022 9:34 am
Reply to  rockbottom

I’m not sure anybody, ever, thought Bagley was a “sure thing”.
Maybe I’m wrong.

rockbottom
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March 24, 2022 3:18 pm
Reply to  RocklinRoll

You are aware the Kings have J Jackson and A Len on their roster . Former lottery picks at 4 and 5 . Also, Orlando Has 9 lottery picks on their roster and the Bucks 1 . It is truly a Lottery before and after .

Kingsguru21
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March 23, 2022 8:43 pm

Fun to see these guys playing and doing some things. My only gripe was not seeing Josh Jackson and Neemius Queta in particular.

This isn’t the making of a juggernaut or anything but these guys came out and made it an entertaining game.

Awesome game from Mezie on his birthday and great game for Davion. Happy for Damian Jones.

I wasn’t worried about it either way though. It’s these guys job to win games, they did.

MichaelMack
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March 23, 2022 8:54 pm
Reply to  Kingsguru21

That was quite a moment for DJ. Really nice to see Davion string together some really nice games as well. He has great numbers when he starts.

Metu has really grown this season too. Nice to see him ease up on the 3’s and look to get to the basket more.

Kingsguru21
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March 23, 2022 9:04 pm
Reply to  MichaelMack

Mezie is now shooting a tick under 31% on the season from 3. But like you say, I think the key for him is mixing it up to get inside and not settling for 3s.

murraytant
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March 24, 2022 9:28 pm
Reply to  Kingsguru21

DJ wins one and almost wins one in previous game. Good for him. seriously.
But this screws up the draft. Sorry to the “it does not matter” folks. It does matter- draft position more than lottery odds.
Last year- second round- Kings get Quetta but NOP pick one spot ahead and get Herb Jones. He is second team or first team All-Rookie. Makes a difference.

On bright side- Davion is playing better- changed free throw form and that helps. Low turnover and better assists. Hopefully he has moved into Kia top ten rookie ladder

Kingsguru21
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March 25, 2022 9:12 am
Reply to  murraytant

But this screws up the draft. Sorry to the “it does not matter” folks. It does matter- draft position more than lottery odds.

I’m not sorry. I just disagree with you. Herb Jones has had a wonderful year. Good for him. But there’s no guarantee he comes to Sac or develops. There’s no guarantee that McNair takes Jones instead of Queta.

2nd rd picks are dicey and mostly miss. And while I can appreciate that some make it, I’m not especially eager to concern myself over draft position for the Herb Jones’ of the world.

Sure it’s one example. And I’m not saying I wouldn’t want Herbert Jones outta Bama U. But, I’m not deliberately sitting half my rotation like OKC and Portland are for 2 spots higher in the 2nd rd. It’s flat out disgusting what both are those franchises are doing right now (OKC especially). You can’t talk about a league being based on competition and then have franchises like this consistently undermine the competitive spirit of games. If Domas and De’Aaron didn’t have legit injuries, I’d be frustrated they are sitting. And I’m sure if the game’s mattered they’d play. That might scream mental gymnastics to you, which is fine.

Dort is out with a legit injury, but SGA and Giddey could play. And, OKC beat Orlando the other day. I’ll laugh if PDX wins a game against San Antonio because they have two more remaining.

Here’s the way I look at it. Over the years, the Kings could have improved. But they consistently make bad decisions in every way possible. (Firing Luke Walton is the most recent example.) It’s beautiful in a way, you have to almost try to be this awful. They have missed on most of the franchise players available. They have failed to maximize almost all of their assets. They don’t hire or fire coaches properly. There’s no expectation of player development because this franchise is built on a foundation of jello thanks in large part due to the forever chaos agent incentivizing the wrong things. You can’t bring in a professional FO and expect them to automatically fix all of this in a day. Herb Jones isn’t fixing any of the real underlying problems. (Domas could though. He’s at least a step in the right direction.)

You have to have a FO and coaching staff on the same page. You have to have ownership patient enough to let the FO do their thing. (I do think McNair will really try and take a big swing this summer. Otherwise acquiring Domas goes for naught.) Gentry really isn’t the problem, but he’s not really the answer either as best as I can tell.

So it doesn’t really matter if you miss out in Herb Jones. The team that really missed out on Jones, IMO, is…… the Lakers.

It is what it is. But lottery positioning doesn’t matter if you aren’t making good decisions to begin with. And I’m not sure lottery positioning has mattered much outside of getting lucky to grab that great player you couldn’t get unless you were in that spot.

And so it goes I’m afraid.

Last edited 2 years ago by Kingsguru21
murraytant
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March 25, 2022 9:46 pm
Reply to  Kingsguru21

we agree to disagree.

Yes, the most important thing is to make the correct decision when it presents itself and a good FO will make the correct decision. I believe that a better draft position helps put the FO in the right position to make that better decision..
Your comments about H. Jones are correct but I would rather that Monte had the opportunity to make that choice. and I would rather have the opportunity to make a choice on Wagner

The games now are pointless.
and what OKC and PDX are doing is disgusting but sometimes being disgusting for a few games makes it less disgusting watching the results from being just too damn “right”

BeTheBall
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March 23, 2022 10:08 pm

Fox ducks Haliburton, Kangz win.

rockbottom
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March 23, 2022 10:58 pm
Reply to  BeTheBall

Hali should have ducked Off Nite !

DutchKingsFanInUK
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March 24, 2022 3:26 am

He frustrates me when on the team and frustrates me even more when off the team. Darn you and your exquisite tanking, Buddy!

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keith_kar
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March 24, 2022 4:40 am

Happy for the win. The last play was very well executed. Davion dribbled the ball out of trouble in the corner, and might have taken an extra step as he passed the ball to Barnes. Then Barnes smartly kicked the ball out to Lyles for a wide open three instead of dribbling into traffic. I think the Pacers might have been expecting Barnes to drive, or that might have been an option for Barnes.

Gentry drew the final play out well, and fortunately Jones was there for the put back. I thought Lyles was going to bail us out, but is was Jones to the rescue. Entertaining game.

Greg
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March 24, 2022 7:25 am

Absolutely hilarious that the Kings won because the Pacers suffered the full Buddy Hield experience of scoring a lot of points and still costing his team the game.

Kingsguru21
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March 24, 2022 8:06 am
Reply to  Greg

For a tankathon game, I thought it was quite enjoyable. The 25 plays or so I reached anyway. I was splitting my attention alot last night.

Last edited 2 years ago by Kingsguru21
murraytant
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March 25, 2022 9:48 pm
Reply to  Kingsguru21

I am going to poke at you a bit- if you cannot even find the time or effort to watch the games ( even with DVR) then what difference does it make to you if they lose and get a better position?
I watch every minute of every game and I still want them to lose now to “win” later.

OldDude50
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March 24, 2022 10:06 am
Reply to  Greg

Yeah, the Pacer fans got “Buddy’d”. We’ve been Buddy’d many times before. He wasn’t tanking, he was trying his usual high, out of control dribble.

sonny
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March 24, 2022 1:01 pm
Reply to  OldDude50

Hield is one of the luckiest players in the league.
A player who doesn’t have any handles and very low bbiq and gets paid $20+M

murraytant
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March 24, 2022 9:29 pm
Reply to  Greg

buckets on display

1951
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March 24, 2022 8:27 am

Not mad. Not losing any sleep. The games will be what they will be.

Just wondering what is the point of playing Len 17 minutes and Neemias 0 minutes.

Harrison Barnes minutes in recent games: 32:44, 41:08, two games under 25 min and then six games over 35 minutes.

We never filled the two way contract.

Um, okay.

Adamsite
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Nostradumbass 14
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March 24, 2022 10:38 am
Reply to  1951

I often wonder what is the point of playing Jones, since he is a UFA next year and is unlikely to return to the Kings with so many other guaranteed bigs under contract. I’d think Monte would want to get a look at Queta and play Len over Jones because truth be told, none of them are going to be that much of a difference maker in these final games.

Kingsguru21
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March 24, 2022 11:35 am
Reply to  1951

We never filled the two way contract.

I think it’s for this reason.

A Two-Way player can be signed starting on July 1 (during the July Moratorium), and can be signed through January 15. A player is ineligible to sign a Two-Way contract if he will have more than three years of NBA service at any point in the contract. A player cannot play under Two-Way contracts for the same team for more than three years total1.

Jman1949
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March 24, 2022 12:03 pm
Reply to  Kingsguru21

But the Rockets just signed a two-way contract with Anthony Lamb yesterday.

Per basketball ref:

March 23, 2022
Signed Anthony Lamb to a two-way contract.

Adamsite
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Nostradumbass 14
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March 24, 2022 12:27 pm
Reply to  Jman1949

I’m thinking they are just leaving that spot open because of the second round picks they have this summer. Maybe no one right now interests them enough and they’d rather see what they come out with in the 2nd round?

I’d also think no player wants to sign a 2-way deal with just a few weeks left in the season if the second year of that deal isn’t guaranteed, and the Kings aren’t about to guaranteed next season with second rounders coming up.

Kingsguru21
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March 24, 2022 1:13 pm
Reply to  Adamsite

I was going to make this point as well but wasn’t sure. James Ham mentioned this Tuesday on his podcast and that, like you say Adam, the Kings are probably reserving both TWCs for the 2nd round picks this off season.

murraytant
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March 24, 2022 9:31 pm
Reply to  Kingsguru21

are there two or 3 second round picks?

RobHessing
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March 24, 2022 9:33 pm
Reply to  murraytant

Two. They traded one of the three. They have their own & Chicago’s.

Kingsguru21
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March 25, 2022 9:19 am
Reply to  RobHessing

Technically the Kings are supposed to send a 2nd to New Orleans which they won’t get since it’s protected 31-55 and Atlanta is supposed to send their 2nd but it’s also protected 31-55 which means the Kings won’t get that either.

Like you say, as of now, the Kings are going to end up with the 36th pick (theirs) and the 50th pick (Chicago’s).

I use the real gm transactions page to find out the protection info, for those who want to know.

Last edited 2 years ago by Kingsguru21
Kings-Rebuild
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March 24, 2022 9:02 am

What a joke. Buddy turns the ball over and Haliburton fails to box out and the Kings get a win they badly didn’t need.

My starting lineup for the rest of the season would be Mitchell, DD, Jackson, Metu, Queta. Fox, Barnes, and Sabonis should be shut down for the last 8:games.

oswan88
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March 24, 2022 9:06 am
Reply to  Kings-Rebuild

The ultimate tank lineup. lol

Kings-Rebuild
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March 24, 2022 9:52 am
Reply to  oswan88

Agree but I’m interested in seeing how Mitchell does with Fox out. Like what I’m seeing so far.

oswan88
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March 24, 2022 12:21 pm
Reply to  Kings-Rebuild

I was low on Mitchell all season (really wanted Wagner in the draft) but he’s actually surprised me these past few weeks. He looks like he has the potential to be a lead guard when Fox isn’t playing.

I like the starting lineup you mentioned outside of Jackson. He’d be best for the tank but I’m just not interested in watching him play.

Kings-Rebuild
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March 24, 2022 8:16 pm
Reply to  oswan88

Yeah I’m not interested in seeing Jackson either, it was just for tank purposes.

Gregoryl
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March 24, 2022 11:32 am

This was the pure KANGZ experience. The Pacers have a coach who knows he will be back next year, so tanking is not a concern. The Kings have a coach who still thinks he can keep the job next year with enough wins…

Last edited 2 years ago by Gregoryl

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