The Kings quickly leveled the scales of their record to 2-2 with Tuesday’s big win in Utah. Still haunted by the trends of yesteryear’s back to backs, I must admit I was nervous going into the game. But I was quickly reminded that this Sacramento team not only has De’Aaron Fox (19 points), and not only has Domantas Sabonis (28 points), but also now has DeMar DeRozan (20 points). Just listing those three names in the same sentence as Sacramento still gives me the chills. With these three leading the box score, the Kings easily put the Utah Jazz down for their fourth loss of the season.
Quick Stats
Sacramento Kings: 113 pts, 52.2% fg, 25.8% 3 pt, 64.3% ft, 26 ast, 49 reb, 11 to
Utah Jazz: 96 pts, 39.3% fg, 29.2% 3 pt, 85.7% ft, 24 ast, 42 reb, 17 to
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good:
- Righting the Rotation: Coach Mike Brown found an 8-man rotation that felt comfortable, dynamic, and seamless. Trusting Kevin Huerter to keep producing in the starting five, Coach Brown then brought Malik Monk, Keon Ellis, and Trey Lyles off the bench to maintain the speed and style established by the starters. Huerter continued to look comfortable back in his starting role with 14 points on 6-9 from the field. Ellis brought his defensive spark with two recorded steals along with several deflections that led to Jazz turnovers. It’s a good sign that Coach Brown seems to be finding a confident rhythm in his rotation.
- Tempo Masters: The Kings controlled this entire game and that started with their control of the tempo. When they wanted to go fast, they were like lightning. When they wanted to slow things down, they found comfort in the surgical precision of DeMar DeRozan. The first half consisted of a frenetic up and down pace, resulting in the Kings shooting just two free throws the entire time. But the time not spent at the line was spent in transition lay ups, a lot of assists (18!), and second chance opportunities from crashing the glass. The second half slowed down a bit as the Kings held on to their 20-point lead and made their way to the stripe 12 more times. All in all, it was great to see the maturity of the Kings to look like the better team for the entirety of the game and to do it in different ways.
- DeEffects of DeMar: I am still getting used to the fact that DeMar DeRozan is actually here. Every baseline turnaround jumper makes me want to pinch myself and make sure this is real life. Not only did DeRozan give 20 points on 9-14 from the field, he also dished out eight assists. To top the night off, he even gave a free clinic in the fourth quarter that showcased his pure, unfiltered bucketability. DeRozan’s precision and dedication to his craft brings a new dimension to this Kings offense that allows his teammates to be the best versions of themselves. His value does not just lie in his individual scoring ability, but in the gravity that he demands which then frees up air space for others to thrive.
The Bad:
- Stats, lol: Just picking a few percentages from the Kings’ stat line, one might wonder if they indeed did win this game. An overall cold shooting night from deep (8-31) and a troubling free throw line performance (9-14) could leave those who missed the live action wondering. But, luckily, the Jazz shot just as poorly and the Kings made up for these wonky stats in other areas.
The Ugly:
- Zone Stints: A few possessions early in the game showed the Kings choosing to deploy a high 2-3 zone defense. Let’s just say, it didn’t really work. Not only did they give the Jazz second chances on long rebounds, they also set the table for John Collins to feast. Collins scored 11 of his 18 points in the first half, with many of these coming from open looks in the soft spots of the Kings’ zone defense.
The King of Kings
Domantas Sabonis led the team with a classic Domas double double of 28 points, 11 boards, and 1 elbow to the face. He bullied poor Walker Kessler in the post countless times and set the tone early that the Kings were going to be the better team throughout.
Up Next
Friday, November 1st @ Atlanta Hawks – 4:30 P.M. (PT)
I actually didn’t hate the zone. Collins showed its limitations, but I felt like there were several good stops that came from the zone. It allowed guys to double and recover, and the Kings got in passing lanes a lot. Definitely made some mistakes, guys need to really know how to operate on a string in that system, but I like that they’re working on it.
It’s sad that J-Mac still not getting much playing time, but the team is winning, so it’s fine.
About Issac Jones, I really like his aggressiveness, he faked to shoot a 3, and goes inside, and almost made the basket….hope he can be Ellis 2.0..
I expected him to play more when we signed him, but I don’t have any issues with Brown’s rotation last night. Good minutes distribution and a solid 8-man group. Nice to have J-Mac as depth if he ends up being needed, though.
To add to this: Clearly Mike Brown is still working on his rotations and he clearly has a “top 8” locked in. Makes sense for him to be focusing on figuring out a rotation for his best squad and get that dialed in before peppering in more guys. I’d like to see this continue past game 10 and then see guys like McLaughlin, McBuckets and Isaac McJones get integrated
Rec’d for the wording of the bench providing a possible Mc Attack!
How’d Murray look? I missed the game, so I’m curious as to how he looked.
Defense was solid. Had some good looks from and ultimately went 2-7. He still isn’t decisive around the rim, not knowing when to go strong to the hoop or when to put up a touch shot. He had a fine game.
Agreed, thought he had a good game overall. Took good shots, they just weren’t falling. Good rebounding, good defense.
Overall he was playing very well despite his 3p shots not falling but I think calling his rebounding ‘good’ is an overstatement.
Cool. Thanks guys!
He is learning to play the four spot. Hopefully it works out. So far so good.
Solid. If his shots start falling more (which many seem to regularly rattle in and out” he’ll go from solid excellent.
Second straight game of holding their opponents under 100 points. I know that it’s just PDX and Utah, but still, that’s good in today’s NBA.
Yeah, especially considering Denver had to fight to win against Toronto and Brooklyn, and those were both very high scoring games that went to OT.
Yeah, the Blazers and Jazz rank 29th and 30th respectively in ORTG per NBA stats. That’s helped us to rank 8th in DRTG for now.
Do we rank 8th because they rank 29th & 30th or do they rank 29th and 30th because we rank 8th?
I’ve been critical of Huerter but he has looked good so far. I have said he should not start but if he can play like this consistently, I was wrong. We will see….
Starting or coming off the bench, either way he will get his 25-30mpg. It’s just a matter of what other players are on the court with him, and how does the offense get distributed throughout the game.
I would clarify that by saying, he gets his minutes if he is playing well, if he starts playing like he did last year yank him. Basically in my view he should have a short leash.
Yes, and…nobody else outside of the top 9 rotation guys is better than Huerter when he is having a bad night. 10-end of the roster is laughably bad at this point. It is a part of the roster construction that is problematic.
The funny thing is, Ellis is providing a better spark off the bench than he was as a more deferential starter. The Monk / Ellis combo has been a delight.
I’m right with you – Ellis seems like a better fit with the starters than Huerter. But Huerter probably needs to be on the floor with the starters (especially Domas) to be at all effective, while Ellis can contribute baseline to baseline off the bench.
I guess if the question is Huerter or Ellis, the answer just might wind up being

Yeah, Ellis and Monk coming in together in place of Fox and Huerter in mid-late 1st quarter was nice. The Kings really don’t skip a beat in that any edge they might lose offensively, they gain back defensively.
Put me in the camp that Monk is arguably the worst defensive wing in the rotation, so pairing him with Ellis does make sense.
Both you and Adam make good points Rob.
I do think Kevin, and DeMar so far, are showing that a player can be a good team defender, even if their on ball defense isn’t the level of a player like Ellis. I think the Kings have been doing a decent to very good job of making sure they are in the right place on the court, and disrupting passing lanes.
I do think Domas has been playing very good defense. He does a great job of switching and keeping the smaller player on the perimeter, showing rim protection includes not letting a player get to the rim in the first place. I almost felt bad for Kessler after the first couple of possessions. You could Domas was in THAT mood, and Kessler was gonna get bullied.
This offense though. My goodness. Domas being more aggressive, the shot making and passing of DeMar, a more versatile Keegan, Kevin’s ability to shoot in motion and be a ball mover, it leaves so much room for Fox to exploit with his quickness and touch inside of 12ft, and Fox has also been doing a terrific job of distributing this season, and they still have Monk and a couple of solid shooters on the bench. I think it will be literally overwhelming sooner rather than later, besides being a joy to watch.
I am fine with the current arrangement. I just don’t want to see Huerter start to regress and drag that on for many, many games. The margin for error in the West is too small.
I have noticed Huerter’s shot selection seems better. I don’t seem him forcing as many shots or taking off balance shots as much as last year.
So Ellis better off the bench and therefore should not start. Ellis SEEMS like a better fit with the starters. Huerter is more effective with starters, especially Domas. Ellis is best to contribute off the bench.
Then both. Ok.
The funny thing with Huerter is that he usuallly tries on defense. I always thought he has solid fundamentals but often seems to be just a step slow, just a bit short on a contest, just lacking a bit strength in a physical play. He just looked better these last two games. Don’t know if it was the competition, or coincidence or something clicking, but I hope he can keep it up.
In my opinion he’s looked good all 4 games.
That’s exactly how I have felt about his defense, it’s not effort but shortcomings. And that does make me leery for this small uptick in productivity. We have all seen flashes of good play from him, to keep his starting spot and minutes he must be more consistent.
He’s looked solid on defense and he’s remembered that he is a good shooter. Overall… pretty cool. Very cool actually.
Figuring out the rotation thing to me is odd. Basically they removed Davion and HB, and replaced that with DeRozan, personnel wise. DeRozan takes the minutes that HB played, and Ellis takes the Davion minutes (give or take as they were both used together at times). I guess the only thing Brown and staff need to decide is which combination works together.
I would like to see a Monk/Huerter/Murray/Lyles/Sabonis used. I think that lineup simplifies the roles offensively, and gets some good size on the court for rebounding and playing against bigger opposing lineups.
Kayte mentioned on the broadcast that MB said DDR has adjusted to them better than he has adjusted to DDR. Very confusing how MB can seem so unprepared at the start of the preseason/season.
Brown has a trend of taking a while at the start of the season to figure out his rotations, so I don’t want to give him a total pass, but I give him a little more leeway since he didn’t have Huerter or Lyles in preseason.
Agree. Thought sane think. Why the F did it take him a couple game to realize what was obvious? The whole Ellis dnp…and trying to, what exactly, shape the O around DDR?
Brown is slow to adjust/or maybe he’s overthinking. But cmon dude. Maybe Cost em 2 games by being dumb/stubborn perhaps.
At least he figured it out quickly
There was a stretch in the lakers game where they went ISO with DDR like 5 times and he didn’t score. Like did MB not have other plays? Lol. I did feel like MB has had this team free fall in since April
Recorded the game to watch later only to see that Comcast Sportsnet was showing some stupid fantasy football show. Apparently the game was on the channel that the Sharks game was supposed to be on.
So annoying. Get it together CSN.
FWIW the game was a bit boring (in a good way). Good team convincingly defeats bad team – it was never very close.
I was just checking out Utah’s roster and salary obligations, mainly because of the rumored Laker interest in Kessler, and was shocked to realize John Collins makes more this year than DeRozan.
That’s crazy lol. And he has a player option for next year for about the same amount.
Agreed. The talk of adding him to the Kings doesn’t add up. He’s a sometimes starter in Utah, he’s being paid $20M, and mostly, his game doesn’t appear to add anything more than Trey Lyles is already supplying, IMO. Adding him in the hopes of shifting Keegan to the 3 and Deebo to the 2 – I can’t see that happening.
Which PF would cause/force such a move? Of the considerations I can imagine: Markannen? – not happening. Randle? – nope. KAT? never. Tari Eason? might be attainable, but even if in Sac, nuh-uh.
Same goes on the Domas end. Is there a 5 that would move Sabonis to the 4? Maybe Myles Turner is all I can think of. (I kid).
2 – 3 zone dominates in middle school and is simple enough for the Kings to actually pull it off. They have reached that low point defensively.
They won. No defensive turnaround is imminent and that is not a surprise.
DeLovely DeRozan. The DeMeanor of the starting 5 seems to be more stable with DeMar leading the way as De OG who doesn’t complain and brings it every night. His tribal elder effect seems to be breeding confidence, and the dedication to his craft appears contagious.
Huerter is looking good and working on defense, and Keon is +15 in seventeen minutes. Solid combo at shooting guard.
And Fox… There are times where he brings the ball into the front court, blithely weaves around and past defenders, and pulls up for an easy, open shot. It’s like they see him coming and just lose the will to live.
Which is understandable.
His ability to easily get to a foul line floater is legit. He needs to look for that until they can stop him. Then that opens up something else because of the focus the defense has on him.
I’m hoping Fox gets back to that and floater and going to rim and only shooting set-good 3s. If he does that he’ll have a run at all nba/finally max out his game.
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