The Kings strolled into tonight’s matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans with an encouraging 2-2 record on the 2021-22 NBA season. From the moment the schedule was released over the summer, there was talk about how difficult the first several weeks of the season appeared for the Kings, and while they’re not out of that brutal stretch yet, 2-2 is solid. You can build on 2-2.
Wins over the Blazers and the Suns are great. The Kings struggled to win against good teams last season. The problem is that the Kings also struggled to win against bad teams last season, and I won’t call the Pelicans bad yet, it’s too early, I understand, but if the Kings want to be the playoff team they talk about wanting to be, these are the games you’ve really got to start winning.
The Kings built on those encouraging 2-2 early season vibes for a majority of the first half. Sacramento just looked like the better team, as they should vs. a Zion Williomson-less Pelicans squad. Luke Walton’s offense showed a lot more purpose, passing, and cutting than we saw during any significant stretch vs. Phoenix on Wednesday.
De’Aaron Fox led the charge early, which was good to see considering he had been shooting 37% from the field heading into tonight. Fox drained a three just seconds after the opening tip, and poured in a game-high-at-the-time 9 points on 4-7 shooting in the first quarter. One of those misses was a wild heave at the buzzer. Unnecessary context? Probably. But he was very good in the first, and got the Kings off to the right start.
Fox would finish with 23 points, 5 assists, and 7 rebounds on 9-21 shooting, and if you could take back his 1-7 shooting from three, that stat line would have looked really nice. It was a good bounce back game for him overall, for the most part. The 3-point volume is a lot right now, and he’ll either need to dial it back or start hitting more of them to justify it much longer.
The Kings took a 59-48 lead into halftime, and the real difference maker in the opening half was 3-point efficiency. The Kings shot 7-16 from three vs. the Pelicans’ awful 3-17 shooting from beyond the arc. It’s tough to win with numbers like that.
The Kings managed to avoid their patented third quarter collapse, too. Or maybe I should say that it looked a little different this time? They actually came out of the half with some good basketball and extended the lead to double-digits, but a short run from the Pelicans coupled with a terrible offensive stretch from Sacramento gave New Orleans a small home lead. The Pelicans should have created more separation than they did at this stage of the game, but horrendous free throw shooting really held them back.
While the lead the Kings had built in the first half was gone, timely Buddy Hield shooting to close out the third really made the Pelicans pay for not capitalizing on the momentum they had just built, and the Kings took back a 5-point lead heading into the 4th quarter.
For roughly 10 out of 12 4th quarter minutes, the Kings looked like a real solid professional basketball team that was about to comfortably close out a nice road win. Haliburton and Holmes had the Pelicans defense confused repeatedly. The offense was rolling. You could taste the win.
Those final two minutes, though. Man. As soon as the Kings got into clock bleeding mode, their offense just tanked. Fox had some questionably decision making here, and Luke Walton really needs to figure out what his team wants to do during these closing moments, because iso ball isn’t working.
The Pelicans hit some prayer threes as a result of poor Kings execution, forcing Sacramento to hit free throw after free throw to secure the win in a game that probably didn’t need to be as sketchy in crunch time as they made it. But hey, they didn’t give it away completely. That’s progress?
The Kings will take the win. I’ll take the win. They played some really solid basketball outside of that short stretch at the end of the 3rd, and that even shorter stretch in the final two minutes where things got too close for comfort. If they were playing a team better than the Pelicans, this could have been a very gutting collapse, but Sacramento pulled it out. They looked like the better team, and they pulled it out. Kudos.
3-2. Some uncomfortable moments, but 3-2 nonetheless, and the Kings are off to as good of a start to the 2021-22 NBA season as you could reasonably expect.
Next up: Luka Doncic and the Mavericks in Dallas on Sunday. Sounds like a great game to win.
It’s only 5 games into the season but I am getting so tired of Fox chuck away from the 3 pt line and driving with no purpose into the lane, only to get the ball stripped.
If this refs remain consistent and refuse to call fouls that they have in the past, how useful is a brick shooting pg who isn’t as fast as he used to be to building a winning team?
Totally agree. It’s so frustrating having a max young pg play like this. Who can’t shoot for shit. Can’t play make. Takes defensive plays off. You hope it’s conditioning, I guess, we shall see.
????????♂️
Dance!
2 road wins from Sacrameltdown Kings – I’ll take it ????
So the Kings went 1-40 on the road in 1990.
It only make sense the Kings go 40-1 on the road this season, am I right?!?!
As long as they win at least 2 home games that’d be cool!
The Kings should castrate the term clock bleed from their vocabulary.
Clock bleeding is for closers only
Cockerel breeding
The Closer
Yeah it’s a win, but another close one, and this time against a pretty bad team. In their wins, the average margin of victory has been 3.3 points. In their losses is been 10.5 points. They manage to either barely win or get beat up pretty badly.
I think someone should note the positives in tonight’s game. Fox’s FT shooting was excellent, and much of his offensive game was reminiscent of last season. In that context it makes sense to add that his 3pt. shooting was poor, and he drove too much into traffic. Tyrese looked terrific through most of the game, much more aggressive. Buddy was very good, aggressive rebounding and driving, good defensive effort. Holmes and Barnes were very good in all aspects. I appreciate the positives and the progress.
At the end of games with a ten point lead Davion should be on the floor, not Buddy.
Every time Fox drives into traffic and jumps into defenders goofy homer Kyle begs for foul calls ! Close to unwatchable !
Then don’t watch.
You shouldn’t tell others how to fan. Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
I need my King of Kings in the post game write-up!
B/WjhuZpUq4uu/qHS030H/2Q==
I’ll figure out the gif game one day, just not today. Go kings.
A win is a win.
I simply wish that they stop trying to throw away wins. At some point closing out a game matters.
a win is a win but TORTURE
Good- this is a win
Bad- against who and by how much?
That near collapse was all too familiar. We have seen that time after time after time after time.
Which near collapse are you speaking of? The one in the 2nd quarter, the 3rd quarter, or the 4th quarter? I thought they were going to mess the bed for sure.
Specifically the 4th quarter.
I messed my bed, nevermind them
On another note, what’s the plan with Bagley? Is it to drive his value to zero an them dump him for a second pick? Or hold on to him for the entire season and then let him walk?
I’ve never seen such franchise malpractice, from his selection to his player growth to refusing to trade him for anything when he had an ounce of value. Just baffling.
Not sure what the plan is either, but I’m guessing he’ll be playing overseas someday.
Nobody is giving up anything for Bagley. He earned that while playing. Sitting on the bench is a positive for this team.
Been available for almost two years now.
Might be a positive to bench his butt, but just frittering away any chance to trade the No. 2 player in the draft for anything – and I mean anything – is just completely weird. Give him spurts and let him prove something, anything. If not, just dump him, take the L, and move on. But nailing him to the bench does the franchise zero good.
They tried exactly what you describe for three years. Most of three years resulted in him on the bench.
In reality nothing has changed much. The rest of the NBA knows what he is. Let the Kings pay him this year. When he is a free agent pick him up for a minimum contract.
You can’t drive something to a place where it’s already at.
With the potentially season-ending injury to Patrick Williams, the Bulls could be in the market for a PF. A Bagley for Derrick Jones, Jr., trade could help balance the rosters a bit for both teams this year without a long-term commitment for either. DJJ has played only two minutes for the Bulls this season while Marvin has played only ten minutes for the Kings.
that is an interesting option. Bulls do need a PF who is not powerful
Pretty sure the plan is to tank the QO down to 6M from 14M. Im sure more GMs would be open to a trade for Marvin if they wanted to take a flyer on him w/ RFA rights if it cost 6M. It’s best of both worlds for kings(package for max contract or cheaper investment for his future team at the deadline, or even us if they wanted to bring him back for another year and trade next year). Not so much for Marvin’s wallet. Hence the Jeff Schwartz tweet.
Marvin will get a minimum deal next year, you can almost guarantee it. That’s why Schwartz sent out what he did. He’s trying to claim that the Kings are purposely suppressing Bagley’s value because of issue’s (legitimate one’s) with the franchise in the past.
Realistically, Bagley isn’t worth a 6M or 14M QO or a year deal. He’s a minimum contract guy until he proves he’s more. Maybe he might get a Terrence Davis deal (2 years 8M total).
This is the reality. I am glad the Kings front office is finally doing something intelligent with Bagley and his contract.
Can’t decide…if your gut instinct is to first point out that the Kings didn’t win the “right way” tonight, are you:
A) Been a Kings fan for too long and are just incapable of believing/giving props to the Kings at this stage (totally fair)
B) Not been a Kings fan for long enough to realize that the flippin’ Kings are 3-2 against one of toughest schedules in league thus far (3-0 on the road!) and that is something that deserves a dance
Honestly curious…I suspect the former but could be either I guess.
Oh and let’s dance
I think it’s both AND neither. In years past we’ve seen the Kings play the “right way” in stretches, then proceeds to go on a losing streak 2-weeks straight. Every.fking. damn.year. At best – some of us has cautious optimism, same like years past. Every.fking.damn.year.
It’s too early for me to believe in the Kings given how ugly they’ve looked at times.
I need to know what Metu said to get that Tech from the bench. Seemed JV related to me.
Why is it such a big deal lol not like he played
Because I harbor a grudge against JV, and I wanna know what he said on the off chance it was JV related. Though I doubt you actually care why it means anything to me.
No, your good man no worries
Did Fox knock up the teenage daughter of the head of the officials’ union or something?
if you are gonna get pregnant, you could do a lot worse than Fox for a father
Dunno…read somewhere recently that he is a poor teammate, lazy and might have an attitude problem. Keep your daughters away!
Is this sarcasm? I’ve never seen this about him..
100%. See previous threads
Your sarcasm isn’t welcome here. Take it elsewhere boyo!
He is creating the non calls ! Hope you are not a homer like Kyle !
My basketball coach used to say: do what works, stop doing what doesn’t.
Although he wasn’t very good, his philosophy could’ve been useful in this late game. I for the life of me don’t understand why you’d end the game with two isolation plays for Fox, when you’ve just shown 3/4 times in a row that the Pelicans can’t stop the Haliburton/Holmes two-man game.
Other than that, it was a pretty good win against a team we should beat if we want to be successful. I thought everyone played reasonably well, even Harkless, despite his counting stats being eh. Also: good things happen when Holmes is on the floor longer, so glad he wasn’t in foul trouble this game.
yes, Hali was working it. Continue
After 4 games I was glad they finally let Hali run pick and roll and that’s what mostly put the game away. I have no idea why they went away from it which allowed the Pels to come back. I still think Fox looks mostly lost but tonight was better.
This has been a weird start to the season because we’re really being carried by the old guys: Barnes, Holmes and Buddy. Fox has been bad, Hali has had a slow start and guys like Mitchell and Davis haven’t been able to hit any shots. If the young guys come around they might have something here.
And shoutout to Buddy. He’s been mostly good thus far. Even had a great defensive possession to close out the Suns game. 3-2 against a brutal schedule is solid even if every game was frustrating. Beats the alternative.
Lotta great points in here.
Buddy seems far more “versatile” this year- a few steals and drives and less TO’s. Maybe he is a very late bloomer-( age 36)
can still hit those 3 ‘s though
I’m just enjoying The fact that we are 3-2, we have three road victories two of them against very good teams from last year. We played the jazz very well until the very end. Tyrese is looking better each day, Fox is coming into his own, when Davian shot starts falling it’ll be great. Buddy Hield is much better in a sixth man role, I never would’ve expected TD to play this Horribly and if he returns to last year’s form it will be a big boost. I’m still concerned about our small forward position or if Barnes gets hurt we have no depth to replace him.
i have been a Kings fan for 35 years I’m enjoying it.
I have been a fan since opening night 1985 and enjoying it. Torture though. I want playoffs before I die.
I’d add a championship run ending in a ring or two in my case, but that’s probably hoping for a bit much.
Well I’m 52 and my family doesn’t live long so I may only have to hold to the memory of our 99-04 years and the gut wrenching game 7 loss. At least I still have the memory of some gal dropping her pants and peeing on some guys car that had a Lakers license plate frame as we were walking back to our car at Arco..
Watching that Hali-Holmes pick ‘n roll multiple times late was like watching Baywatch as a kid.
When you’re coming off a 31-41 season, a win’s a win. When that 31-41 season ranks in the upper half of what you’ve done over the past 15 years, any win is a good win, and even more so on the road.
Great night from the line, the absolute difference between the W & the L.
The Kings don’t always (or even often) beat wounded opponents, especially on the road. Beads for everyone!
I know the Kings started 3-2 last year. With a similar schedule. All against playoff teams. They went on to lose 8 of 10 after that. 6 of the KIngs next 10 games are teams under .500. The only outlier is the Suns. I suspect they won’t be under .500 much longer. Unless CP3 has aged real quick. This upcoming stretch is about the easiest it gets for this team up until the ASB. Dallas, Utah, Pels, Hornets, Pacers, Suns, Spurs, OKC. Pistons, Minny. At a minimuum, this team needs to go at least .500 during this stretch. They really should win 6-7 of those. Pistons, OKC, SPurs, and Pacers should all be wins.9Eventhough, I can see them losing one of them) The other games are not automatic. Dallas is going to fight tomorrow after getting crushed last night. Utah will be tougher this time around since Ingles will be playing. Pels all depends on Zion’s status, Hornets are much improved over last year. Suns will be ready for the Kings second time around. Minny is my surprise team of the year. Edwards will battle JAh for MIP. If Minny’s Big 3 are having a big night they will be difficult to beat. Kings come out of this stretch a little over .500 would be nice progress over a year ago.
The next 10 games after this stretch are all playoff teams from last year.
My biggest fear is the Kings make the playin, get eliminated and Walton gets a 4 year extension.
That’s the darkest timeline.
Reading that last sentence made me throw up in my mouth.
I can’t stand that late game offense of passing around the top of the key 3-4 times before the same predictable dump-off / drive to the middle, which inevitably leads to a kick out, but all the perimeter guys are covered because we run it every damn time and the shot clock ticks down and no one’s open because everyone’s standing around and…turnover / bad shot, rinse and repeat.
We win despite a fairly garbage system. I wonder how long that can last…
I was waving my arms for those final minutes when Fox would get the inbound pass after the Pels made a basket….imploring him to hurry up and get across halfcourt. Was afraid he was going to get a violation.
And it seemed like he ran the clock down too much to where they had to eventually rush a shot. What is the purpose of running the clock down so much in a tight game where the other team has been making quick three-pointers to close the gap? Made me feel like I was watching NFL Prevent Defense.
Why are people skeptical? Well, let’s see. This team started last year 3-2, too. Their DRtg was 109.5. That was good for 18th in the NBA at that time. When did they drop like a stone? Their next 5 games. Where they lost games to GSW, Toronto and Portland by a respective 31, 19 and 26 points. They also lost to Houston in Houston (before the Harden deal), and beat the Bulls in probably the singular worst W the Kings had all of last season (outside of OKC which didn’t count for anything).
So what’s different than last year? Other than being Buddy being pretty bad, Tyrese shooting astronomically well, De’Aaron having the worst shooting stretch of his career, Barnes having the best stretch of his career, Len and Thompson providing a tad more versatility and physicality than what this group had last year, this team is exactly the same as the 2020-21 edition! Oh and there’s an Off Night somewhere mixed in there.
You know, outside of the fact that 10 of the first 15 for this group in 20-21 were at home, and 9 of the first 15 games this year are on the road, this is exactly like last year! With Holmes, Barnes and Hield all performing better than expected to this point. With Fox dramatically underachieving, and with Haliburton showing many flashes (and why patience is always warranted) why his running the halfcourt offense is going to yield better things than it sometimes will with Fox. But with Haliburton still having a ways to go, too?
Am I changing my 41-45 win prediction? No.
But this group feels different. Buddy seems legitimately better, Barnes, too, even with some of his numbers being a tad inflated. Holmes feels like the same, but that’s really good. The only question in my mind with Richaun is whether or not he’s on the court for 70-75 games this year. Otherwise, it’s been more of his really good impact early on.
De’Aaron Fox didn’t exactly start hot last year either. Tyrese Haliburton was a rookie, and is in a new role that requires adjustment. The biggest issue with Davion Mitchell vs Delon Wright (as best as I can tell) is simply Wright is a much better facilitator at this stage than Mitchell is. Of course, Wright’s a 6 year pro who is criminally undervalued. But that’s besides the point. Mitchell has a chance to be better, much better even than Wright. In the meantime the lack of facilitation among Mitchell, Terrence Davis and Hield is an issue for this 2nd unit. And requires Fox or Haliburton to be on the court at all times. So it goes.
This group is not a finished product, and what gives me hope is we haven’t seen De’Aaron Fox or Tyrese Haliburton (with some huge adjustments to make on both ends) play at their best yet. 1 of the F spots is greatly unsettled with Mo Harkless as the starter, and this team still needs a lot of help on the defensive boards (having a Harkless, Barnes, Holmes front line is not helpful in that regard).
But like in all things, patience is important. Will this group swoon like last season? Of course it could. Will this group and hover around 500 or better for awhile? Quite possible. The biggest criticism I’ve seen of each Luke Walton team, other than the defense being bad, is I don’t feel we’ve seen the best version of this group for whatever reason. Is it coaching, lack of leadership, physical toughness? I don’t know. But I know this group feels different even if the early returns don’t necessarily portend to long term success. I couldn’t, for instance, say that year (and did).
But we’ll see. As always. Proof is in the puddin’.
Good insights.
Wheels fell off last year against some poor teams at same juncture in season.
This year’s team’s next 10 games critical. 6 of 10 are under .500. If win 7, good omen. 6 is ok. 5 is a real disappointment
There is a difference- Bagley on bench, Belly gone, replaced with late season addition Moe. Hali more ready. Barnes balling out.
and yet Fox has been sub-par and Kings still 3-2.
Off night has helped. It just takes 2-3 stops to change the score enough. He has done that. He holds his opponents to 10% less shooting %.
Hawks have a ton of wings- I think Bagley would look great in an Atlanta uni.
I wonder whether Atlanta considers with all the players they have on their roster if they trade John Collins for Tristan Thompson, Marvin Bagley and two unprotected FRP’s. Since it’s clear Ben Simmons won’t be available for anything that makes sense anytime soon (although I can see that changing), and I think Collins is better long term for this team anyway.
The only issue with Collins is he won’t be available until January 15th due to his resigning this summer with Atlanta.
I am a big fan of John Collins. He would fit in so well with the Kings, but he is the kind of player that fits in every where.
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