The last 8 games from your Sacramento Kings:
- Philadelphia 76ers 119, Sacramento Kings 111 (L)
- Orlando Magic 123, Sacramento Kings 112 (L)
- Memphis Grizzlies 124, Sacramento Kings 110 (L)
- Brooklyn Nets 136, Sacramento Kings 125 (L)
- Miami Heat 118, Sacramento Kings 110 (L)
- Sacramento Kings 114, Chicago Bulls 122 (L)
- Sacramento Kings 115, Milwaukee Bucks 128 (L)
- Sacramento Kings 118, Brooklyn Nets 127 (L)
Can Sacramento snap their 8-game losing streak tonight inside Madison Square Garden vs. the 15-17, fighting-for-a-playoff-spot New York Knicks?
Spoiler: No they can't. You can skip the block of text below and head right on over to the comments section to air your grievances. The game wasn't worth watching, and the recap isn't worth reading. But if you must know:
It didn't start well. The Knicks jumped out to a quick 18-6 lead forcing Luke Walton to call an early timeout. Derrick Rose did most of the damage early, and while not entirely De'Aaron Fox's fault, this is a matchup Fox needs to be able to dominate if the Kings are going to succeed in any meaningful way.
Sacramento looked a little better after Walton's timeout, and an early Tyrese Haliburton substitution provided the Kings with an offensive lift, but it was Marvin Bagley's 9-point quarter that kept the game close. Bagley couldn't contain Julius Randle defensively, but he was scoring enough that the Kings could live with that matchup.
Unfortunately this Kings team cannot stop anyone from scoring, so even when their offense picks up, their defense doesn't allow them to gain much of an advantage. The Knicks put up 38 points on 66.7% shooting in the first quarter culminating in an Immanuel Quickley 4-point play with about 1 second left thanks to a Cory Joseph foul. Knicks 38, Kings 29 after one.
Sacramento's defense hit a new, different kind of low in the second quarter after making Immanuel Quickley look like James Harden out there. Quickley finished the half with 18 points in just 9 minutes on 4/6 shooting from the field, and a staggering 8/8 shooting from the free throw line. I know Quickley is having a very good year for the Knicks, and he's somewhere on the outskirts of the Rookie of the Year conversation, but you can't send him to the free throw line 8 times in a single half.
The Knicks scored a season-high 77 points in the first half vs. the Kings, and carried a 15-point, 77-62 lead into the third quarter. Truly, bless anyone for even tuning in for the 2nd half after that nightmare basketball we just witnessed. I hope you all got out early. You don't need to watch this team flounder vs. a mediocre Eastern Conference basketball team on a Thursday night.
The Kings sleepwalked through the first half of the third quarter, but actually closed strong in their lone positive stretch of the night with a Fox, Haliburton, Joseph, Barnes, Holmes lineup that played just enough defense to close the lead to 7 heading into the fourth quarter. Fox was brilliant offensively here, and just highlights the frustration you can have watching him, wondering why we don't see this every night on every possession.
I'm breaking up this running-diary recap to drop in a Marvin Bagley defensive lowlight from the third quarter. I'm not trying to single out Bagley, who has been pretty good offensively as of late, but his defense still has a long way to, and his deficiencies on that end is one of many significant reasons why the Kings are so poor defensively.
My goodness... pic.twitter.com/Athoi4VYo1
— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) February 26, 2021
Anyway, back to the game. Sorry.
The Kings didn't deserve to be in this game at all, but the Knicks aren't a team known for their ability to hold a lead, so let's set the table one last time: Sacramento entered the 4th quarter down 7 points with 12 minutes left to sneak out of NYC with a win, break the 8-game losing streak, and try to build some much-needed momentum moving forward.
A 7 point deficit is manageable, but the Kings never made a legitimate 4th quarter run, and looked way too comfortable just letting this game get away from them. There was no urgency. No fight. No game. Knicks win in blowout fashion, 140-121. The Kings are bad.
Luke Walton has been hesitant to make any sort of meaningful adjustment in the starting lineup or rotation to this point in the season, but it sure feels like something needs to change in Sacramento, and soon. If Walton isn't willing to make changes himself, how long does this losing streak need to extend before Monte McNair and the Kings start to consider a coaching change?
I would argue we've already reached that point, but what I think and what the Kings do are rarely aligned. With tonights loss to the Knicks, Sacramento has lost their 9th-straight game with no positive takeaways or momentum to speak of. In addition to a win of any kind, the Kings also need to provide coach with a new clipboard.
Luke Walton is NOT happy with the outcome of this game 😳 pic.twitter.com/PScnrBVrlE
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) February 26, 2021
Next up: Detroit Pistons on Friday.
This is both good and bad
More good than bad?
More good than bad. Glass half full.
Truthfully, it’s just bad. The lottery is based off of percentages and luck. Hopefully lightening strikes twice, with a bit of luck. I am confident the FO will make better decisions. Speaking of FO…Monte, whereTF are you?
Brown this is bad. These kids are young and their foundation should not be a losing mentality. These teams bully us. That’s way beyond bad. It’s hard to root for a team that lays down evertime we get punched in the mouth. I want to blame Walton, but it’s not just him. It’s the team. The Kings have become a floor mat for other teams. And why is it, some average player always gets a career high against us?
Big Bird came into the game late and had career highs in points and rebounds…BIG BIRD.
23 years in. Go Kings… ð
Chances on Walton surviving the weekend?
I’d be more surprised if we DON’T lay a goose egg this road trip.
100 percent. He is an integral part of the tank.
YES! YES! YES!
The problem is you run the risk of losing the locker room and creating disgruntled players. Walton will need to be the sacrificial lamb to save the greater good. As much as I don’t like the idea of Gentry as interim coach, he is well liked by players across the league.
Frankly, I’d vote to lose this particular locker room.
Most of it depends on the Detroit game. If they lose that one, he might be gone. If they break the streak, I think he’ll stay on board, unless they immediately start another losing streak.
I’d say 25% chance he’s gone by the the end of the Lakers game.
Knicks broadcaster/or color analyst said something late in the 4th qtr The Wolves just fired their coach after losing to…
Same shit different year. Lose Walton needs to stay on to complete the tank this season . Let Monte work some magic in coming months.
Vivek is a ego run amuck. Unless he backs the fuck off nothing matters.
it’s Fucking ridiculous. Walton shouldn’t have started the year as coach. he’s terrible. Players obviously tune him out. This organization is constantly unstable and you can see it on Kings performance.
We should have tried to pick up Billy Donovan. Chi-town is playing great. Doc Rivers was a pipe dream, but I do know the kids would play better under him or even the janitor than they would Walton.
I don’t know if he makes it through the week but he put the fear of God into that clipboard. Guarantee it doesn’t miss any defensive assignments tomorrow night. That’s the kind of one dimensional checkers Luke is playing.
I would wait until the end of the season and try to hire Mark Few and if that fails higher Nancy Lieberman.
I said a week ago I thought he’d only be gone if he lost 10-12 games in a row. Well we’re almost there. I think if they lose to Detroit tomorrow he may be gone.
Not only high, I think he lasts the full season. Bottom dollar has been hit hard by COVID-19 and it really is probably a good idea to have as many ping pong balls for this draft!
I know we’re supposed to tank.
I know we’re not good.
But what the fuck is this?
I’m genuinely depressed.
If you’re genuinely depressed’ over sports, you need to get some help.
This is the first time I have genuinely considered that you might be the actual peaches.
you need to stop your consecutive streak of bad posts
Oh fck lool no chill
No, if your genuinely depressed about the Kings you need to get some help lol
I’ve missed 3 of the last 4 games and I usually look forward to every game. I can’t watch anymore until the young guys get time or a lineup/roster change occurs.
I have DVR’d the pas 10 and watched zero of them. Not even mad about it
Ha.Same. I’ve got a list of Kings games on my DVR… and I skip over them to watch reruns of Shark Tank or The Profit. I’m still a fan of the team… but they seem to be on a break from caring so I just thought I’d stay with them on that front. I’ll watch next year when we have a new draft pick, some more trades made, and a new coach. This season was fun for a week or two, but now it can end any time now and I’d be good with that.
Not sure if you’re serious about the depressed part. If you are, you should definitely find another hobby to release this stress. This pandemic is a mental challenge for everyone so if the Kings are compounding that, talk about it. Who cares if someone thinks it is silly.
i dont get high or low anymore, i just watch. The last few years, the Kings have found ways to find new lows, so there are no expectations from me anymore. Its crazy cause i just laugh at the things they do.
The Sacramento Kings: Zero De’Fensive Fox given.
Lol, I guess he needs to watch the tape.
I interpret that quote as hell yes we will be…but prolly a fools errand to interpret anything Walton says.
Probably won’t make much of a difference but it would be nice to see Walton hold players accountable. You think Bagley would start or have any leash if he played for Tibs? Buddy too
Zero accountability.
This is like when a reeling NFL team loses 38-3 only we’re not starting a backup qb. What usually happens is the following Monday won’t be pretty.
It’s time.
Tank on Monte…
In Tax Season and worked a long day. Came home to watch the game…….good thing I screwed up the recording. Still need to figure out this Hulu thing!
I’m glad I did my taxes a couple weeks ago! I always have to video chat with my Dad so he can walk me through, lol.
Warrior and Lodge 49 are streaming on Hulu
We’re essentially in a tie for the fourth worse record, within distance of Cle at the three spot. The possibilities are endless.
In a five player draft I want the Kings to finish no worse than 3rd worst.
Who do you take at #2?
Hopefully the Kings don’t take another number 2.
Jonathan Kuminga!
Leave that up to the advanced scouts who have been watching every move these guys have made since the age of 14. Even after all that, they still miss a lot. Jalen Green has been working out at our club gym. I watched him work on just his left hand for about an hour. Great guy, great high school player, great work ethic, terrific athlete and would love to be a King.
I’m beginning to lean towards Kuminga.
Yeah, that’s where I am too. I currently have Kuminga, Suggs, and Mobley pretty much even. So fit and versatility come into play and push me to Kuminga. But I wouldn’t be mad with any of them. Suggs, obviously, is the worst fit, but if we move Hield, a Fox, Haliburton, Suggs guard rotations with occasional 3-guard line-ups would be pretty darned exciting. Green would be my last choice of that top tier, but he would be a great addition as well. Basically, no real way to go wrong in that top tier IMO.
Your loser mentality is making you look weak. That is not an insult by any stretch. We shouldn’t be playing for lottery spots. That’s a weak and losers’ mentality. I don’t give a fuck who’s in the draft. One person can’t save this team. We need a coach who will make this team put it all on the line. A coach that will make our players accountable. If you can’t defend, then sit your ass down. Somebody on the team is hungry. Feed them. I know what we can’t when then all, but we gave up 140 fucking points to the forever sorry ass Knicks.
I saw a few trades that were pretty beneficial for us. Buddy & Bagley for CJ & Kanter.
Barnes for Nesmith and RWIII. We then need a legit PF. Maybe the draft. Who knows.
Ok fair enough
This is a hilarious combination of sentences:
𤣠𤣠𤣠…I’m tired of losing!
Everyone is tired of losing. But this team isn’t a mentality shift away from winning. They need high end talent. The draft is one of the King’s best chances to do that.
Being a Kangz fan has broken 9sac8.
Into pieces bro. 23 yrs years man. Smh
Prediction: minority owners do not like McNair’s failure to go all-in for the playoffs. McNair forges a good relationship with Walton, says if we become allies, you’ll keep your job through losses. Walton is getting Brett Brown treatment for political reasons. It’s not crazy. Joerger would be playing Bjelly 35 minutes and Whiteside 25 minutes. He may not even give Hali this many minutes at CoJo’s expense. Luke has bent a fair amount toward a rebuild, considering it’s the first half of the season. I think he’s protected.
I thought the Kings could win a majority of these last 5 games. Major injuries to both The Blazers and Lakers. But, after getting waxed tonite. This Tank is 4real. Can Jones, Doug, Kayte and Ham put in their resignation papers? Boasting Bagley’s performance. Man, his defense is atrocious. Losing against the Pistons could be the death knell for Walton. Then again, Vivek will stay the course. Which. Is a good idea. We need that Top 4 pick.
On FB trying to erase this game out of my head and stumbled upon this little video.
Robert Woodard with 28 today
https://fb.watch/3UaeVgBeFE/
Gonna be nice seeing him get minutes after the g league is done and barnes is traded
I wonder if Walton makes it to the end of the season.
I’d keep him and let the tank roll. Or let him go and put someone in charge that’ll focus on playing the youngsters.
Bullshit play by Walton there. He smashes the clipboard out of his assistant’s hand like douchebag, then looks around to see if anyone cares. They don’t. At least take the fucking thing from the guy before you smash it, dickhead. It’s not his fault you’re a dummy.
Walton is 100% that person who, deep down, will blame the players for being too stupid to understand what he’s trying to do before taking any responsibility himself.
just so petulant and immature. That gave me flashbacks of Cousins, with everyone around him just feeling awkward about the infantile outburst.
Agree. If he’s going to do a stunt like that…which can work sometimes, you need to have the meltdown full on in front of the players to their faces, while they’re paying attention. Not off to the side like that and what if that was assistant coaches lucky whiteboard with some sentimental value? Jerk move all the way.
And not at least pick up the clipboard…and forget the marker!!! F him, we can tank by trading vets and playing younger. Walton needs to go, either soon or end of season whatever. I just don’t think he has anymore cat lives to start next season.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk Walton
the Bagley experiment is over
BBIQ is innate, largely immutable
The guy is completely clueless on defense and I really don’t see that aspect of his game improving.
That ain’t like improving shooting
we’ve seen how correctable low BBIQ is with McLemore
No young player can learn defense in this system or with this personnel. There’s no defensive leader and accountability.
I’ve said I’m giving up on Bagley 100 times too but am always reminded that he’s 21. I know that’s the typical answer, but anything can happen.
I disagree, Hali gets it. He knows where to be and play as a team defender, Bagley is too often caught flat footed, out of position, helps when he shouldn’t or doesn’t help when he should.
He plays like a guy who was the #1 option on offense his whole life but never bothered to learn defense and likely wasn’t taught it either.
I agree with the last part because he has been the #1 option his whole life, and it’s easy to be good defensively in High School and College when you’re 6’11. That’s exactly why it’ll take time and development to learn those things and it would be downright foolish to give up on him now as he’s just learning these things.
It’s hard to say ” he helps when he shouldn’t or doesn’t help when he should ” unless you’re the one coaching him.
For those 2 clips above…I can almost guarantee you his role on the first one was to be baseline help and stop penetration from weakside drives and layups baseline. It looks like he though dude would do an up and under in which case he would be there to block it. Cojo would have the responsibility to drop and try and intercept a pass to Bagley’s guy. This is a defensive rotation most well taught High School and College programs teach in practice called “shell drill” He took a risk though, and it didn’t pay off…
With the second clip only the coach would know who screwed up because you can totally have your strategy be that Bagley is supposed to stay with the roll man to prevent the lob, while Barnes is supposed to fight through the screen, and next closest perimeter players sag with help defense to challenge the drive. Regardless of what the strategy is, Bagley should be calling out to Barnes where the screen is coming from…and it doesn’t appear that he did so. If he was also supposed to step up and stop the driver then it’s a double folly…but again…hard to tell from a fans perspective.
Hali gets it…but he also gets caught helping too much and losing sight of his man for backdoor cuts or flared out jumpers. Sometimes the risks pay off with a good play, sometimes they don’t.
There it is
He was never a good defensive player in college. This is the guy whose legendary coach threw out his usual defensive schemes in favor of a zone, solely to accommodate for his shortcomings.
How many players are that hopeless?
They didn’t change the whole scheme for Bagley.
https://www.wralsportsfan.com/duke/video/17438841/
That doesn’t really dispute the claim. Capel even outright says they did it because they were a terrible defensive team. Of course, nobody in that video is going to name names. But the move to a zone was clearly designed to protect Bagley and, to a lesser degree, Carter from having to defense perimeter actions.
This details the basics pretty well:
https://www.theringer.com/2018/3/26/17163732/duke-zone-marvin-bagley-wendell-carter
A couple money quotes:
The next one is within the context of the limitations of how much a coach can really improve a player in a single season in the one-and-done era.
Good organizations /GMs don’t hang onto players who are very unlikely to improve-and can spot that.
Hanging onto Bags will require sinking money into him. It’s a bad bad bet. Tying up money in a player who is very unlikely to improve enough to really contribute to winning is what keeps organizations shitty.
Has Buddy improves of D? Enid Kanter? Montrez Herell? It ain’t happening.
Bagley was the number 1 option vs lesser competition. This is the NBA though. NO BOYS ALLOWED. Bagley has to man up.
To compare him to one of the most instinctive young players we have seen league wide the last few years isn’t really an apples to apples or fair comparison. Some of way you say is true and while it’s hard to imagine him ever being good defensively, it’s not impossible to imagine him being average in a better system and time. He has made strides this year defensively even if that leaves him in the poor category.
Well there is the problem, he’s not instinctive, and from what I understand, instincts can’t be taught.
Prolly right…doesn’t mean he can’t be a useful player. Leagues chalked full of guys that aren’t instinctive.
That was one of the better posts I’ve read in awhile. Very well said.
The chances Bags learns to play good D or D rebound-etc is slim to nil.
it’s his 3rd year in league. The age thing is bs.
Damn his age. They didnt make excuses for Hakeem, Shaq, Ewing, Smits, Malone (both), etc. Hell the didn’t make excuses for Mark Eaton or Greg Ostertag.
WhyTF are we making excuses for Bagley? Even Sam Bowie had a few good years in the league.
I was heavily criticized from someone on here for comparing him to Enes Kanter a few weeks ago.
Because all 30 teams in the NBA would rather have Bagley than Kanter and Bagley is better than Kanter at 21. The question is, what is Bagley’s trajectory? I think on offensive he can be a 15+ or even a 20+ point scorer. On defense, that is a bit more murky.
Here you go. Actually eerily similar. https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&player_id1=kanteen01&p1yrfrom=2014&player_id2=baglema01&p2yrfrom=2021
My God, that is depressing.
If you think that’s depressing do not look up his comp to Jahlil Okafor.
For something slightly rosier, here’s a ceiling comp for him:
https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&player_id1=randoza01&p1yrfrom=2003&player_id2=baglema01&p2yrfrom=2021
Does that really say a lot though Mephariel? I’d rather have Bagley than Kanter as well but that still doesn’t make me feel warm inside.
Nah bro. At this point give me Kanter. He knows his role and is an automatic double double machine…in limited mins might I add.
As you should have been. Kanter is a better offensive player!
Bagley is 21 and improving slightly Buddy is the worst off ball NBA defender in the league and he’s 28.
Intelligence is innate. Basketball awareness, or BBIQ is a form of it
He can be taught scheme for years, but McLemore is still probably in the wrong place at the wrong time and how old is he?
Probably the biggest aspect of defense is effort and commitment to playing it. Watch Dort on OKC sometime. What your talking about is also important, but if your coachable and willing to put forth the effort and have decent physical tools, you should be a decent defender. When I watch Buddy his effort level is sporadic at best and I think he’s just not coachable. I can’t think of another NBA player at the age of 28 so clueless.
The excuse I hear over and over again is that Bagley was raised in the AAU system, and they don’t teach defense. Aren’t almost all NBA players coming up in AAU now?
Yes, and plenty of them play defense. It’s a poor excuse. Nothing about playing in AAU forces players to be poor, unaware defenders.
Is there a way to keep Bagley and hide his weaknesses (until he improves to average level in these improvement areas? Like any realistic trade targets that can salvage what we have in Bags?
Exactly. Bags does not contribute to winning. Please, please, please move on from him. Luke too.
You don’t want to put money in a player like Bags. If McNair gets rid of both I’ll know he has some power.
Clueless on defense is Buddy Hield especially off the ball. He’s 28, at least Bagley at 21 has some hope and seems to be making an effort.
What’s your hoops pedigree to be able to be a reasonable judge on the BBIQ of a professional basketball player?