De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, and Harrison Barnes led the Kings to yet another thrilling fourth quarter comeback, beating the Boston Celtics 116-111.
The Boston Celtics came into tonight’s matchup in Sacramento with a pretty lengthy injury report and some tired legs on the second night of a back-to-back. No Kemba Walker. No Marcus Smart. No Payton Pritchard.
The Kings, on the other hand, have played a nice week+ of basketball beating up on the Eastern Conference. Sacramento had won 4 of their last 5 games heading into a fortunate opportunity to steal a win vs. a much better, but currently injured and potentially tired Celtics team. It’s a scenario the Kings couldn’t take advantage of versus the Heat on Saturday, but if Sacramento is going to close the playoff gap in the west, they need to win more of these games.
It was a close throughout, it was fun down the stretch, but De’Aaron Fox was just too much for the Celtics to handle tonight. Let’s get into it.
1st Quarter
Marvin Bagley carried the Kings through the early stages of the 1st quarter, scoring a quick 7 points in 8 minutes. Outside of Bagley, though, the Kings didn’t have a lot going for them here offensively. Hield shot 2-7, Barnes shot 1-5, Holmes shot 1-3, and Fox ended the quarter 0-1. It was an ugly open.
The good news is that the Kings were able to hold the Celtics to just 26 points despite getting bullied by Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Tristan Thompson in the paint. The Celtics had a massive points in the paint, free throw, and rebounding advantage early, but the Kings kept the game tight enough despite their poor shooting. 26-22 Celtics after one.
2nd Quarter
The Celtics jumped out to a quick 10-point lead to start the 2nd quarter thanks to a 14-point first half from Jayson Tatum, but the Kings were able to close the gap completely and take the lead for themselves once Sacramento’s starters checked back in. Bench production remains a problem for this team. Outside of Tyrese Haliburton, there just isn’t a lot of offensive talent there.
Fox and Barnes struggled mightily in the first quarter, but they returned to form quickly in the 2nd. Fox was dealing, registering 7 assists in the first half alone (his season average is 6.4 APG) and brought out that aggressiveness we love to see. Barnes put in his work attacking the rim, and a decent 5-point, 2-assist first half bench contribution from Tyrese Haliburton was enough to give the Kings the lead heading into halftime. Kings 52, Celtics 51.
3rd Quarter
The Kings’ seemingly decades long 3rd quarter issues popped up again tonight. Sacramento got off to a very sluggish start with the Celtics running up a 23-11 3rd quarter scoring advantage by the 5:30 mark.
Sacramento really struggled to contain Tristan Thompson here. No disrespect to Thompson, he’s a solid, valuable player, but you’d like to think one of Richaun Holmes or Hassan Whiteside could slow him down better than they did tonight. Thompson is a tough matchup for Bagley due to his size and strength, but the Kings have bigger options defensively and none of them really got the job done until the 4th quarter.
Fortunately for the Kings, 11 other NBA teams passed on Tyrese Haliburton. Fox found Hali on back-to-back threes that kickstarted the comeback, and Tyrese was a menace from that point on, culminating in a buzzer-beating putback to close out the quarter. Haliburton scored 10 points in the third alone, was disruptive as hell on defense, and was the clear-cut primary reason the Kings were only down 1 heading into the 4th. Celtics 82, Kings 81.
4th Quarter
The Kings opened up the 4th quarter featuring a lot of Hassan Whiteside. It was ugly, but not completely ineffective until it was. Luke Walton probably relied on the second unit for too many minutes here as the Celtics extended their lead to 5 with 6:39 left in the 4th, and De’Aaron Fox on the bench.
Fox returned after the timeout, and wouldn’t you know it, the Kings started playing much better. It began with a pull-up three in transition for Fox, and ended with numerous tough drives to the rim and one final clutch mid-range bucket to close this one out. Fox was incredible down the stretch, and it was great to see him duel with another young star in Jayson Tatum and come out on top. Fox finished with 26 points and 11 assists on 9-17 shooting, but it was his 4th quarter showing where he performed like the best player on the court for either team that made him Sacramento’s MVP tonight.
Kings win 116-111.
Final Thoughts
De’Aaron Fox has been on an absolute tear recently, and the 4th quarter of tonight’s game vs. the Celtics was more of the same. If we are witnessing the beginning of another big Fox leap, he might just carry the Kings beyond our most optimistic expectations for this season. Sacramento is currently just 1 loss behind the Houston Rockets for the 10th seed play-in game at 10-11.
Tyrese’s Lucky Hoodie
A funny thing happened on the way to the G1C…
As has become customary before Kings games this season, Tyrese Haliburton showed up to the game repping some merch he’d picked up from a local Sacramento business. Only this time, that local merchant was… Kings Herald Dot Com!!
.@tyhaliburton22 rockin' the Rese's Pieces hoodie 💧 pic.twitter.com/MItRORpLC2
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) February 4, 2021
.@tyhaliburton22 explains the Rese's Passes hoodie he wore to the game pic.twitter.com/Crpo8dt7op
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) February 4, 2021
https://twitter.com/thekingsherald/status/1357175228204425216
Haliburton rocked an awesome hoodie before delivering a career night against the Celtics https://t.co/MRkDs7oZ63 pic.twitter.com/mu9ZkaIPHF
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) February 4, 2021
Nothing but respect for OUR Rookie of the Year. pic.twitter.com/KfcUaLli7C
— The Kings Herald (@thekingsherald) February 4, 2021
FOX IS INSANE!!!!!
Fox has leveled up!
Took out the Green tonight!
Tatum did look a bit green at the end of the game!
The Steal.
the kings are 1 of 7 teams that are 5-1 in the last 6 games.
TYRESE, IF YOU’RE HERE ON THE KINGS HERALD READING THESE COMMENTS, PRESS THE THUMBS UP BUTTON ON MY COMMENT.
Shhh it’s a secret
Tyrese we love you
…downvote?
If you don’t love Tyrese, you don’t love Kings basketball!
OMG, he has multiple accounts!
also give me 300 dollars
Aren’t you getting that much based on your R.O.Y. bet?
$160 if he wins, but I also got Steph for MVP, Monty Williams for COY, and Christian Wood for MIP. I feel like I might win 2 out of 4 with the ol luck of the Portuguese as they say.
𤠅I have a thought, so stay with me. My entire existence believes he should legally change his name to “Rese’s Passes”. Might end up being a top 10 nickname of all time.
or
META WORLD RESE
Nice…STAMP IT
https://twitter.com/DrLydecia/status/1357200593266352128?s=20
Best NBA parents
Much better than Luka’s dad!
I love her so much.
I think she’s worth it to re-sign Holmes.
but what did Bagleys dad say? ….Wait, I don’t want to know
Fox and Haliburton are so fun to watch. Cojo and Whiteside are not. That’s my analysis of this game.
Check that record when Whiteside plays significant minutes and hit me back
Correlation doesn’t equal causation
the fun to watch record?
Whiteside is an absolute bum out there on the court. Repeatedly fumbling passes, turning it over on simple outlet passes, and overall very minimal effort. His size is worth something but he hurts us more than he helps us when he’s playing. But oddly enough, based off his post game quotes he actually seems to know what it takes to win games in this league (which makes sense, he’s been on winning teams) and that’s worth something. I like Whiteside as a dude, not so much when he’s playing basketball.
he’s fun! It’s like a roller coaster ride when he’s out there.
“WHY DID I BUY A TICKET……TO DIE?!”
I’ve been calling it the Whiteside Experience. It’s a sluggish hilarious and entertaining form of basketball. Very unique.
Perfect synopsis of Whiteside.
sounds wrong to say it but he seems like a great locker room guy. All the videos, pranks on rooks, he’s like the class clown that keeps everyone laughing even through the rough stretches. But I get it. Watching the ball is in his hands or buddy’s, when it’s not a wide open shot, is like watching your dog grab your wallet and run. Drop it!
Its not pretty on offense for sure. He has obvious limitations and cannot play versus certain lineups……HOWEVER, his defense, shot blocking/altering and rebounding are exactly what this team needs.
When Whiteside plays more than 12 minutes the Kings are 7-2.
When he DNPs or plays less than 12 minutes the Kings are 3-9.
I prefer wins to beauty.
You can throw out all the numbers you want. This team plays 4 on 5 when he’s out there bc his effort takes himself out of half the plays.
7-2 when he plays decent minutes.
Argue all you want about how bad he is :/
They’re winning games in spite of him not because of him.
Ya you right 9 points 9 rebounds in 17 minutes of action.
Got the C’s into the penalty in the fourth almost single handed.
Forced into big minutes by bigs who like to foul. Holmes leads the league.
By all accounts solid vet for this locker room.
By VORP, By PER, By win share is statistically 5th or 6th on the squad for less than 3 million.
I don’t get the hate?
But hey it’s your opinion you can devalue it any way you please.
I don’t get the hate either, I think he does a good job as a back up big, he provides valuable minutes sets great screens and knows how to set them. I actually watched a play last night where he was the first one back on defense that saved a basket. He’s a heck of a good deal in my humble opinion
Forget the analytics it’s what you see with the eye
And crucially having Whiteside eat the backup C minutes prevents Bagley from having to play that role. Bagley gets absolutely roasted when he’s the only big on the floor (since moving him to C also moves Barnes to PF and Barnes doesn’t provide weakside rim protection or plus rebounding).
Hassan’s game isn’t pretty in a vacuum, but the rotation issue caused when he sits makes us the worst team in the league. We average -2.36 when he plays (ie. not great, but close enough to be competitive) vs -11.14 (worst in the league) when he is inactive.
That’s the difference between giving 15mpg as defensive anchor to a guy who was 1st in blocks and 3rd in rebounds in the entire NBA last season, instead of playing Bagley out of position.
Fox was great in the 4th quarter. Apart from a TO where Tatum poked it away from behind, he was nearly flawless.
it is been impressive to see.
And Haliburton sporting the TKH Rese hoodie!
https://twitter.com/thekingsherald/status/1357173630036103170?s=21
Incredible
NEXT CITY EDITION KINGS UNIFORMS SHOULD BE ORANGE.
Christ, these are hideous but take my upvote.
Really makes you glad to not be a suns fan.
Might actually be better than the current city jersey.
I think it’s time for the Sacramento Kings organization to do the right thing.
The non-existent secondary advertiser logo that is missing from the top left of our jersey needs to be Reese’s
PiecesPasses.Time for a (chicken) dance thread!
Wait! If that’s Lonzo, it should be a duck dance instead!
Who are the pigeons then?
haliBERTon doing the PIGEON
The L*k*rs for drafting him and the Pelicans for trading for him?
Duck duck Fox
You people need to consider the damage this does to an entire blameless species.
Gallo!
I saw a huge cock like that at some stop on the way to Yosemite.
A few of them. Never knew they got so big!
OMG THIS GIF IS SICK
https://twitter.com/sachibub10/status/1357200247441661952
Coach Walton deserves a lot of credit. This team isn’t where it is today with out Luke Walton.
This is bad
So’s your reading comprehension
Great comeback.
If you’re going to throw Walton out due to historically bad defensive performance, you have to note that they’ve also won these games with him as a head coach.
Whether that’s enough, that’s another matter.
https://twitter.com/James_HamNBCS/status/1357213389613912064
Hali joined the No Foxing Around Club tonight.
Where’s the link to the store?
It’s in the drop down menu on the site
Kingsherald.com/store
tell all your friends… and enemies
Someone should tell the NBA Richaun wasn’t credited for a block here:
(he was only credited with 1 block, but that was in the first half)
Check out a close up of Richaun’s hand:
Last week that Ottis guy threw A LOT of stats and cold numbers at me to prove Fox is not better than last season…
I’m here waiting for some more of those great analysis by numbers and +/-, they so acurate!
That Otis guy does have a lot of clown takes
yeah Otis…
Last week. It’s almost like Fox has been a lot better the last 10 days or so. A week or so ago he WASN’T playing better than last season. He has been recently though. This version of Fox is significantly better than the version we saw the first 12 games. Context is sort of important.
You’re telling me things can change? For the better?
Hard to believe for sure!
To be fair to Otis, Fox is currently having the best few weeks of his basketball life. If Otis comes back and has a changed opinion based on new facts I totally respect that.
This kinda comment drives me crazy. While I don’t really agree with Otis’ take on De’Aaron Fox overall (and he’s not alone in his criticisms either), I also don’t see where anything he has said at any point is actually (or even a little) out of bounds. If we can’t have disagreement on valuation of players, why are we conversing with each other around here?
It’s fair to criticize a young player for not being what he wants and the franchise needs him to be at this point in time.
The art of conversation is dying, Nate.
We the people are just intent on shouting ourr truth/opinion and cancelling those we disagree with, and “hating” (on) them in the process.
I say “we” because I am as guilty of that as the next person. I really believe that the manner in which we communicate has slowly but surely altered over the last two decades (give or take).
This pretty much sums up why I don’t comment here that much anymore
I dunno Dutchman. I’m not sure it’s the art of conversation that’s dying. I still have polite disagreements with people in person when I choose to.
I think the bigger issue is the lack of real boundaries that some really struggle with. I’m not sure what created this, but it’s the biggest problem I see with all of this.
Oh, shut up, hater!
This is just brutal Kosta. My goodness. I hope they were paid a lot of money to do that.
Maybe the footage is sped up? Otherwise, yeah that does look brutal.
It’s so we can taunt each other a second time.
As per usual, there’s never a bad time for Monty Python…..
Drives me crazy as well. And personally I think the criticisms of Fox have been totally fair up until this point. But I also LOVE what I have seen the last couple weeks and if he keeps it up for the rest of the year I might need to reevaluate what I believe his ceiling can be. But a couple weeks ago it was not wrong to suggest that Fox’s play had not really improved at all from last year.
Due to the nature of max contracts, Fox is paid like an MVP and he isn’t on that level as a player, regardless of recent heroics. So there will be room for legitimate criticism until the team becomes a serious contender.
Having said that, there are ways to be realistic and insightful without being argumentative. Ultimately this is entertainment and getting into the weeds to win the debate rather than to increase mutual understanding bums me out, personally.
I see that a lot with Kings fans (including myself), likely because we’re all frustrated by the grey cloud that has hung over the franchise for so long. I was a member of STR since 2008 and watched really funny, charming people experience dramatic shifts in the way they engage with fellow fans over the course of a decade plus. It’s understandable, but for our own sake we should all try to be a little better, since winning the argument isn’t going to do anything to lift the cloud.
Word of advise, never fight a land war in Asia or with Otis.
“Anybody want a peanut?”
Still trying not to create any expectations, good or bad. I hope for the playoffs, I get let down. I hope for a top draft pick, let down.
Just gonna enjoy the fine play by the team these last several games, and hopefully the rest of the season. Keep playing like you’re playing Fox and Hali (and Barnes, Bagley, Buddy, Holmes) and I’ll be happy with whatever the results are.
Yeah I’m still not thinking or expecting any sort of playoff berth with this team, but they’re already far exceeding my expectations. The closing group of Fox/Haliburton/Barnes/Holmes has just been tremendous all season long regardless of opponent. The issue for this team is just how brutally bad their bench is. If any one of Fox/Haliburton/Barnes/Holmes has to miss any sort of lengthy time with injury, it’ll just kill the team
If that’s our best closing line up, shouldn’t it be our best starting line up as well? Is the coaching staff worried about team Bagley? They can even start bagley over Holmes if it means Tyrese is starting.
That group only has 4 players in it, so MB3 (or Buddy) could be the 5th player in that lineup. Additionally, a closing lineup isn’t necessarily the same as a starting lineup. Manu Ginobili didn’t start for SA, but he was in their closing lineup.
Only 6 games out of first place, WITH 51 GAMES STILL LEFT TO BE PLAYED!
De’Aaron and Haliburton are amazing. That is all.
FOX IT, WEDESERVETHIS!
La… sorry, I mean Kosta. How incredible is it that Tyrese is rocking TKH gear???
Hella incredible, WeDeserveThis!
HE IS A LEGEND.
I bet all the young Kings fans will be rocking the short-shorts, too, so they can be just like him!
Man, imagine the crowds at G1C when they finally get to cheer for Tyrese live… it’s going to be insane!!
He’s going to be a crowd favorite the way he plays. The crowd is going to go nuts, and I think he’s going to love the crowd!
Yeah! Imagine the double whammy of the Kings getting into the playoffs PLUS the arenas opening up (hopefully by that time with vaccines)? People will be pumped just to be able to attend a game, and then extra pumped to be in the playoffs!
And if it’s Kings vs L*kers in the first round for that first playoff game after what, 12/13 seasons? The building will collapse!
Let’s do it this season! And beat them.
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen an 8 vs 1 upset. We’re due!
I like your style. Bring on the LA Fakers. We’ll beat that ass too.
GO KINGS!
STAMP IT!!!!!!!
Kings Vs. Lakers first round this year? Honestly, I hope it happens. I’ve been waiting for this series again for years. Even if we lose, (which we probably would) it would be so cool to see our amazing home crowds cheer for De’Aaron and Tyrese
And the rest of the Kings! Buddy, Richaun, etc.
Wonder what happened to all the tankers ?
Lol, we’ll be back. Being a fan of this team is a roller coaster with more downs than ups.
That’s so awesome.
Right here. Nothing has changed for me.
As long as at least 1 of Fox, Hali or MB3 is contributing to wins (& I believe that’s happened in every win this season), I’m fine w/winning.
We tankers are still here. I’ve seen a fair number of one week winning streaks in the last 17 years or so… so not even remotely going to entertain any speak of playoffs. Not even going to say “Yet…”. Just… not at all this year. Prove me wrong. I’d love it. I’ll eat my words publically. But I feel safe that I have little to worry about.
That doesn’t mean I don’t like the winning though. Fox and Hali are fun, and it does give some hope for the future.
Oh no, not again?!
https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/-/media/Images/SBD-Photos/2012/11/07/Kings-tarp.ashx?w=928
Crowds, crowds what are these strange things you talk of? I read about them once I heard there was a time in our lives when we would gather in public places and celebrate with our favorite sports teams, once when I was a young lad I was able to go to one of these magical events. The people yelled and screamed freely without masks, where they would drink beer and eat garlic fries, where people would scream and dance and high five strangers…..
Doug broke out the Sacramento 5-0 tonight In an homage to the young kings backcourt and, of course, 70 tv show Hawaii 5-0. I’ve been waiting on that one. Next comes the book em catch phrase to celebrate a victory clinching shot.
𤠅Sacramento 5-0….I like it.
STAMP IT!!
Kings now 8-2 when Barnes goes for 20+. Keep showing up Aggressive Barnes!
I haven’t heard anything about Fox’s injury. I hope it’s not serious!
I think I’m ready to acknowledge that the Kings will be good. Fox and Haliburton have this synergistic, sum is greater than its parts thing going on.
I’m gonna cringe when I say it, but maybe the kings don’t need a high draft pick this year. If De’Aaron keeps playing like a star and Rese keeps being the boss that he is, that’s a really good start.
If winning a championship is the goal, I’m going to have to really disagree with this sentiment. But……that’s not the players or coaching staff’s problem. They should be trying to win. And they have been even if it’s not necessarily sustainable over the longer run.
Looking back at the last 15 years, here are the guys who have been the best player on a championship team:
Lebron (x4): 1st Pick
Kawhi (x1.5): 15th Pick
Curry (x3): 7th Pick
Dirk (x1): 9th Pick
Kobe (x2): 13th Pick
KG (x1): 5th Pick
Duncan (x1.5): 1st Pick
Wade (x1): 5th Pick
Obviously we can quibble about Kawhi/Duncan splitting the 2014 title or KD/Curry splitting 2017-18 titles, but ultimately every player on this list is a HOF franchise player. If you average it out, 6.27 is their average draft slot weighted for number of championships as franchise player. You really don’t need a top 3 pick to win it all.
The Kings are currently 1.5 games out of the 6th slot and 1.5 games out of the playoffs.
I know it’s early but I’m starting to think it’s not a coincidence that Fox, Barnes, and Holmes are playing the best basketball of their careers with Haliburton on the team. I’ve been pretty skeptical that Fox can keep this up but if he can, the ceiling of this team just went up.
Haliburton will likely never be a star, but he will always be that perfect role player whose impact seems like that of a star. Haliburton is an impact player based on what he does, but there’s no way we would love watching him on a team like what De’Aaron came into in 2017. It would be horrific.
Let me rephrase this a bit. We’re judging Fox against star/franchise player types. Are we really doing that at this point for Haliburton?
Probably not but maybe we should be. And point taken regarding the different situations that Fox and Haliburton have walked into. I think it’s why I’m so fascinated by players like Haliburton though. There’s just something about certain players that elevate everyone around them that is hard to quantify. I love Fox but I don’t think he has that quality. If Haliburton does, then maybe his mere presence raises Fox’s game another level. And maybe the same is true for Barnes as well. I don’t think Haliburton is more talented than Fox but is it possible he’s more important? Is this the Draymond Green corollary?
All told I’m just really fired up we’ve FINALLY (hopefully) got a player that pulls all the pieces together and that it seems like we’ve got a front office that was smart enough to understand that.
I tend to think that, generally, a player is who he is mentally and usually they just improve and develop their skills during their career. Glad to see Fox breaking that trend. I don’t think being this assertive is natural for him, but he’s making a conscious effort to be what the team needs. Awesome stuff from him recently
Of the players that have had at least 170 drives this season, Harrison Barnes has the 3rd highest FG% at 58.9%. De’Aaron Fox has the 3rd most total points on drives at 226.
Barnes playing at this level is pretty shocking. The passing makes this team so much more dangerous on offense.
Damn that is efficient!
Can we trade buddy yet for a bag of stale potato chips so Hali can play 48 a night?
I think for the guy with the second-most three pointers made in the entire NBA this season, with excellent durability and historic career shooting numbers, I’d insist my potato chips be fresh.
I really do like Buddy as player, but shooting basically only threes this season kinda takes away from what makes him effective IMO.
At least according to hoopshype his contract has a $500,000 bonus if he leads the league in 3 pointers. Perhaps that is a factor?
That is 3 pointers made, I hope. Not attempted?
Based on what was reported at the time the contract was signed, it’s 3’s made.
Shooting 3s is not Buddy’s problem. That’s actually THE SOLUTION. It’s his shot selection and defense that makes him ineffective. Lately, it appears he’s tried harder on defense and he’s always rebounded well for a guard. Take this shit with a grain of salt. Unless we get an overwhelming deal for him, you might as well root for him in this jersey.
18pts 11rebs is pretty good for Buddy. The overpaid him, but hey, we’re turning the corner. Let’s enjoy this shit.
GO KINGS!!!
Take this STAMP IT too. Any response with logic or rationale will be denied. Thank for you time and being a fan.
no refutes!
Damn right!!! You’ve been on the train with me for a while.
My friend…you are officially a Stamper.
Buddy + Bagley + Multiple Future 1st Rounders (except 2021) = Bradley Beal
or
Buddy + Bagley + Future Protected 1st Rounder = Zach Lavine
Aside from the Bulls and Wizards, who says no?
no and no
Yikes those offers are awful for us
1 – No.
2 – Fuck no.
What is it going to take to get whiteside and Joseph out of the lineup? Seriously
We need a poll:
THUMBS UP THIS COMMENT FOR PLAYOFF PUSH
.
THUMBS DOWN THIS COMMENT FOR TANK
.
RESPOND WITH CAT GIF IF YOU’RE ON THE FENCE
Cat on a fence, am I doing this right?
Winning has to be the main priority. The Kings are a piece or two away from being really really good, like championship good. The tank talk is not beneficial IMO. When was the last time you saw a team win a championship by trying to lose for a potential franchise player in an upcoming draft? Great teams just tinker some picks each year to adjust as their winning culture ages (see Spurs). With all that being said, IF Fox continues to play like he has and really figures out how to close games in the final 5min (when most games are won or lost) then the Kings could really turn the corner as a franchise.
The Kings are now 10-11.
Very, very near to having an 11-13 start.
Nah, just saying. Not really trying to float things like reverse the mistake they did when they were last 11-13 then fired a head coach.
A bit on the ugly side but Damn that was a fun win. Fox once again showing why he’s a stud, Haliburton continues to impress, Barnes solid as ever, buddy love with 11 boards, Holmes playing with passion Bags and Whiteside putting in some good work. There is definitely room for improvement but the guys fought hard tonight and came away with the W. If they keep putting in the work, the future’s looking bright in Sacramento. Go Kings!!
Hey! I worked on this show!
No one mentioned about Bagley ?
To me, he looked okay on offense, get his favourite left-handed hook shot….hit a corner 3..
but his relatively bad defense is really hurting his minutes on-court (Although I definitely don’t mind it at all),
he got bullied by T. Thompson….(Bagley is 240lbs, TT is 254lbs), and TT backed him down effortlesslyã
He will never see 4th Qtr minutes in near future.
And even if Bagley plays well, it is going to be hard for him to get crunch minutes.
Barnes opens up the paint more at the PF for Fox. Fox is our closer, so we have to cater to him, not to Bagley. Barnes defends better than Bagley, including most PFs. Bagley excluded himself as a defensive center with his inability to provide any resistance, so that option is off the table. He’s behind Holmes, Whiteside, and maybe even Metu, on the depth chart at C.
If Bagley is having a spectacular game and Buddy is particularly odious, then you could close with a lineup of Fox – Ty – HB – Marvin – Holmes , and what you sacrifice in spacing for Fox you make up for with the disrepancy in play between Marvin and Buddy.
So in a roundabout way if Bagley wants to see the end of games he needs to be much better than Buddy. Or he needs to be very good on nights Buddy is very bad, enough to offset the spacing concerns.
I can handle not seeing Bagley in the crunch time lineup (less than 5 minutes in a competitive game) for the reasons you described, but Walton regularly plays a small ball lineup with CoJo or GR3 in the first half of the 4th. To me, that’s criminal.
Solid defense is negated if you can’t rebound, which is why Marv’s defensive rating is better than supposed defensive specialist CoJo and way better than GR3. When we have a Holmes/Barnes/GR3 frontcourt that leaves us with below average rebounders by position at every spot on the front line. Each offensive rebound is like a turnover and completely wrecks our energy. It felt like there was a stretch last night where Thompson / Williams were grabbing them at will.
I thought Holmes’ defense stuck out much more than Bagley. He was getting worked all night, by Thompson, Thies, and Williams. The only real poor defensive play in Bagley’s 19 minutes was getting caught flat footed and unbalanced and blown by on a Thies drive. He looked quite good in the 7 or 8 times he had to guard Tatum in which he wasn’t scored on once by their best offensive player. I can only think of 3 times he was actually scored on. 1. He was sealed and pinned by Thompson for a post up right in the middle of the key.. 2. Thompson drove baseline, and got an And-1, that Bagley could have possibly turned into an offensive foul if he’d just took it in the chest, and didn’t swipe at the ball. 3. Thompson had a nice move on the left block to get space for a shot, Bagley recovered decent, and was a split second too late getting a goaltend instead of a block. If we’re being honest, Holmes was the one really being bullied all night long. He was trying, but they were scoring on him at will. He kind of made up for it with that huge block at the end of the game, but overall he did not have a good night. There’s no reason to not give Bagley 4th quarter minutes, especially earlier in the quarter.
Great win, we are on a roll!
Buddy Yield did his darndest to try to get the Cs the win, but our 4-man core of Fox, Ty, HB and Holmes weren’t having it! It is kind of amazing to win the game when Buddy is fumbling all over the place. Is Buddy Yield the lowest IQ player player in Kings history….discuss!
When Buddy came into the league, one thing I liked about him is he changed ends well, this stood out on the OSU tape. Now, since he added muscle, it looks like hes carrying a load when he runs. Unhitch the trailer my man!
Buddy has NO burst and NO lift. I kind of get why he launches so many contested 3s, bc when he drives he’s running with a V6 engine while the opponents are running with V8s.
His offseason training regimen is trash! Ill-conceived nonsense. Remember when Kobe added muscle then realized that wasn’t such a good idea then leaned out? I think LeBum James didn’t something similar.
Fox is the superior franchise talent to Tatum. Theres no doubt!
Fox can get his 3D shots and create while Tatum is more deliberate. Tatum kind of reminds me of younger Rudy Gay. He is good but his moves are kind of slow to unfold. Tatum and Brown are putting up gaudy numbers , enjoy the usage until Kemba returns!
But the point is Fox is increasing his stature to All-NBA level, with 3 straight 4th quarter takeovers, and it was known this progression was likely to inevitable. If you did not see this coming you were not paying attention!
Haliburton is one of the few players who consistently utilized the fake pass….I love it. His 3-ball is money, it gets a great arc on it. Ty is having a better rookie season than Fox. One of the main things I look for when evaluating players is how easy do they make the game look. Ty makes the game look easy.
Buddy Yield is going to turn into Ben McLemore, a forgettable 10 PER player, replete with the same hair style. Last year Ben shot a ridiculous 83% of his FGAs from 3, this year “only” 70%. Buddy is shooting 74% of his FGAs from 3. Both players are shooting 38% FGs, and offer little to nothing else.
I thought maybe Buddy turned a corner when he had two good games in a row on the road trip, but he is back to a lot of futility. If that trade had went through for DeVincenzo, Buddy Yield would be “yielding” to him about all of his minutes!
Bagley made a good creative scoring move last night going behind his back then over a second defender for a baseline 5 footer. I can count one one hand the number of moves Bagley has made like this. More please!
Fox is better than Tatum? I’ve stated before that I’m a Fox’s believer and I love him, have been loving him even more recently. But Tatum can become a MVP or something close of that. He has size, polishness, strength, outside touch, can dunk, defend multiple positions. He does everything and most of it in high level.
I only feel for Fox having to deal with Vlade and Walton, while Tatum has always had Stevens and Ainge.
Fox has an opportunity to really prove he’s in the same conversation as Tatum. Playing big in this upcoming brutal stretch. I don’t necessarily mean wins. But, being consistent and playing like he has over the past 2 weeks.
This team is getting closer to being good and Walton deserves some of the credit !
Hali reppin TKH is beyond awesome. Great game and particular s/o to Holmes for making that block at the end which has been par for the course for him as of late. Hopefully this continues
I just want to bring attention to Hali’s foul on Williams at the end of the game. That might be one of the smartest and most consequential fouls I have ever seen. It was the equivalent of a game winner IMO. Watching it back you can see he initiates contact when he sees Brown is unmarked and loose for the spot up. Brown making the shot post whistle only strengthens the point. As well as Williams being a poor free throw shooter. An incredible basketball play.
Beyond Haliburton who just continues to be a privilege to watch, Fox looked like what many imagine his ceiling version to be last night. Picking spots answering with points on key runs he looked like a star in his production and management. Kudos to the both of them.
Strange game with smart basketball next to weird clumsy slog possessions. But good process and diligence even through mistakes. An engaging game.
I was reading the Celtics Blog comments and some of them were pointing out that smart foul by Hali, saying it was a really good play by Haliburton.
A lot of them were also putting Harrison Barnes on their trade-for wish list.
One comment was ” Fox and Haliburton are REALLY good.”
Really really good win.
Fox is not just an All-Star, he’s a superstar. Haliburton should be Rookie of the Year and Holmes should be in the conversation for both DPOY and MIP. I drank the Kool Aid, so what?
Calling for Holmes to be DPOY or MIP after he was worked over by Thompson, Williams and Thies is certainly a Kool Aid take.
Not High on Holmes like some people here. I love his energy and fire. But he’s not very good defensively and really gets bullied by bigger players. I am not in the camp of signing him long term. I would rather trade Barnes/Buddy and get Julius Randle.
Looking forward to the triple monster coming up. Nugs, Clips, and Sixers.
i want to see how Fox does against these 3 Elite teams. I believe all of those teams are healthy, as well.
I don’t expect a lot of wins. But. I would hope to see Fox continue his Alpha Dog play.
Yes. I’m hoping he goes ballistic on the Clippers. A big game against perimeter defenders like PG and Kawhi would really bolster his all star case.
Not sure he will go Ballistic.Clips have the horses to slow him down. I will be happy for a good solid game. Too be great:’You have to make the players around you Better. 2. You have to beat great teams.
Fox’s All Star chances will be decided in the next couple week. Kings can get some tough wins and get back to .500 would be huge for his chances.
Kings drop these games against the Nugs,
Clips, Sixers, and Nets, I would say he won’t get in this year, if the Kings cannot split these games.
No one has the horses to slow Fox down.
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