After facing their first two postponements of the season, the Sacramento Kings kicked off their road trip with a convincing victory against the injury-riddled Orlando Magic, winning 121-107.
All five starters for Sacramento chipped in at least 16 points, with Buddy Hield’s scorching performance topping the charts. Hield finished the game with a season-high 29 points, drilling 7-12 triples in the process. Fox, though struggling from the field, flirted with a triple-double and the big men, Marvin Bagley and Richaun Holmes, each garnered double-doubles as Orlando could not overcome their presence. Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier paired for 51 points but received no aid from their teammates, especially Aaron Gordon, who shot 1-9 from the floor in 26 minutes.
The Kings started the game active from the get-go. Harrison Barnes drilled back-to-back threes one on a catch-and-shoot with the defense scrambling and another off a dribble hand-off pull-up. Hield revived his mid-range shot early on, knocking down two of them in what hopefully is a positive trend going forward. Orlando struggled to generate good looks; they ran horns sets for Cole Anthony to flow downhill on mismatches, but Sacramento cleaned those up. Orlando finished the first quarter shooting 8-26. Sacramento lit it up from deep, going 5-7 in the first.
The second quarter commenced with Cory Joseph and Hassan Whiteside running pick-and-rolls together. It transpired just as you would imagine.
Terrence Ross provided a necessary spark for Orlando off the bench coming off screens, but Orlando still failed to string multiple solid possessions together. Marvin Bagley grabbed offensive rebound after offensive rebound and displayed pleasant vision with a kick-out pass to Cory Joseph, who converted the catch-and-shoot three. Sacramento would lead 65-50 at the half, with a 9-17 clip from deep as a team. Buddy led the way with 15 points as the Bagley-Barnes dyad chipped in 11 each.
Sacramento opened the third quarter with a full-court press defense. Bagley drew some fouls to earn trips to the charity stripe, but went just 1-5 maybe the wrist affected his release? Glenn Robinson III made his debut after Luke Walton stuck to an eight-man rotation in the first half, but Robinson’s impact throughout the game would be minimal. Tyrese Haliburton struggled with his shot tonight, but he generated an easy floater navigating off a strong Whiteside screen. Orlando continued to flounder on both ends. Dwayne’s bacon started sizzling (his shot, if you’re wondering) in the quarter, but even those flames vanished quickly.
The Kings continued to attack Orlando relentlessly and would take a 108-88 lead after Hield drilled a three in transition after Fox’s heads-up shovel pass. Barnes caught fire, curling off picks and attacking the rim downhill. Fox and Barnes also created some positive looks in the pick-and-pop game with each other. The game took a little longer to put to rest than necessary, but the Kings finished the job, winning 121-107.
Game Notes
Despite shooting 4-17 from the floor, Fox continuously attacked the basket and drew fouls, going 7-8 from the free-throw stripe. He added 10 assists, eight rebounds and a block to his stat sheet. His backcourt mate, Buddy Hield, turned in his best performance of the season. Along with his 29 points, he added five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. He executed on both ends.
Marvin Bagley, despite the free-throw struggles, finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and a steal in 22 minutes. He was a magnet on the offensive glass. His frontcourt partner, Richaun Holmes, added a staunch 20-point, 12-rebound game on 8-11 shooting.
Harrison Barnes clocked out a happy man, scoring 21 points on 8-11 shooting to join his five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Active hands were a theme on defense for the Kings, as they came away with eight steals and some deflections.
The bench play was far from perfect, especially with scoring, but Haliburton impressed with a quiet seven assists. The shot disappeared for the rookie, but quality passing and defense aided his 30 minutes.
Game Stats
The Kings shot 14-33 from three-point range, good for 42.4%. However, they were 17-26 on free throws, a 65.4% mark.
The Kings turned it over 15 times, and Orlando scored 23 points off them. The Magic turned it over 14 times, but the Kings mustered just eight points.
Sacramento’s largest lead was 22 points, whereas Orlando never led.
Next Game
The road trip continues to Tampa Bay on Friday, where the Kings will take on the Raptors, who aren’t in Toronto because of COVID-19 regulations. Tipoff is at 4:30 p.m. PST.
Buddy with his season high 29 pts!
Stock price increased. Pump and dump Monte!
I’m hoping that some team watched this game and will make an offer for Buddy
Stamp it.
1-0
4pm start, as such DVR’d the game! Looking forward to watching rather than the usual delete after a recap! ð
I DVR most games due to my work schedule. I get more pleasure watching the games if I don’t know the outcome. Hence I assiduously avoid the game thread and recap till after I watch the game.
Have y’all seen this? “Precap – A Spoiler Free Guide to Tonight’s NBA’s Games”
http://stats.inpredictable.com/nba/preCap.php
I usually watch Kings games regardless of what their take is on the game, but its a cool way to see if you’re getting into a snore or not.
Three firsts happened tonight in my mind:
(1) Buddy played his first good game of the season in terms of postively affecting outcome, not just posting semi-decent stats. Only took him 17 games, hopefully his next positive contribution occurs before Game #35 !
29 points on 17 shots ; 3 steals 1 TO ; +16
(2) Marvin played his first good game of the season in terms of postively affecting outcome, not just posting semi-decent stats. Only took him 17 games, hopefully his next positive contribution occurs before Game #35 !
16 points 12 rebounds on 7-14 FGs in 21 minutes
(3) The coach made a smart substitution, benching worthles Scrub Joseph, as the guy was getting murdered on defense, could not guard Ross, or get a rebound or run a half court set unless it involves standing in the corner. The guy is farcical player who got lucky on a corner three before being mercifully yanked.
There are analytical nerds who contend the long 2 is the worst shot in basketball. No. The worst shot in basketball is when you are smothered defensively, cannot get a clean look at the rim, and you shoot it anyway, or the defense forces you into a highly challenged attempt and you mindlessly oblige. This is also known as the Buddy Hield Playbook, circa 12/2020.
Buddy made three long 2s in the first half and it helped him to establish his rhythm that carried over most of the night. He still jacked a few when he was “feeling his oats” but tonight was the Buddy we saw two and three seasons ago, when he was not constantly hunting for the three line. The competition helped but this is more his skill level.
Where has this guy been?! Screwed over by a bad coach, that’s where, though the culpability is on both ends.
When Buddy is forced off the three point line, there is nothing wrong with taking one dribble and shooting the comfortable 18-20 footer. The analytical nerds think otherwise, the same nerds who could not run a half mile without calling for the oxygen tank!
That shot is there, so take that shot, instead of getting fancy and cute and meeting a quota. It will lock you in and throw the defenders off – balance. If you want more open 3s, be a threat to pump fake take one dribble and launch a long 2, it is Basketball 101!
In the second half we started running high pick and roll with Barnes and Fox. It was very effective. I was calling for that last year as a way to get Barnes more involved. We should go to this playset more often. Barnes is spry and can drive left or right, finish through contact. He is a good weapon and he is potent from this area of the floor. This coach has been remiss in not calling this play more often!
Lastly, Whiteside played very good! The guy is tough and smart and opponents do not want to challenge him! He was sorely missed. Hes becoming more third favorite player after Fox and Haliburton because of his skill and toughness and misguided grief he gets from fans!
Instead of losing our 10 point lead in the 2nd quarter, as we would have without him, Whiteside helped us push the lead to 15.
He also does a good job of making himself available to catch a pass out of the pick and roll, something that Marvin is frankly terrible at. Both Fox and Haliburton got assists because Whiteside shows to the ball while where Bagley would be clueless.
Anyone calling for Metu over Whiteside is more interested in 2021 draft than winning. I am not about tanking, I want to win! Sweep the road trip!
an article within an article
inception!
Whiteside LOL!!! He shows up every now and again. He’s generally Lazy, slow, and disinterested on the court. If he was so good, How come the Blazers, Heat, etc, etc, let him go. He will put in a decent performance against a sorry team and he’s considered a good player. When he gets torn up against Toronto and Bam the next night. Lets see how much you like his game then. Sorry, not a fan of the guy. Essentially, blocks shots, has a few garbage put backs and that’s it. He looked great against a team that has ZERO interior prescience due to injuries. Put him against any decent big man in the league and he gets consistently owned. Whiteside has no hope against quicker athletic teams. That’s exactly why he was benched for a long stretch of games.
The analytical nerds think otherwise, the same nerds who could not run a half mile without calling for the oxygen tank!
What are you even talking about!?!?
https://memes.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/ab2926a4-d9ce-4bcb-abc1-04c2bb541db9/text
Koz was a breath of fresh air.
First time you don’t have to keep cringing
I do love me some Koz. Seems like whatever resulted in him being locked out on Kings stuff at the start of the season has been rectified.
With Jerry retired, we’ve got to keep a thoroughly decent guy like this in the mix.
I’m a bit shocked at how invisible Gordon was tonight. I kind of thought he would have been a hard matchup for the Kings.
In the end this might have been the best collective effort from the Kings starters this season. That being said, nothing jumped out as obvious defensive improvement of changes. I think the Kings were the beneficiaries of plenty of rest and a bad offensive effort from the Magic who were on their 3rd game in 4 days.
A win is a win, but I hope it doesn’t come back to bite us in the lottery.
I really don’t want to get excited about a win against a team missing 3 starters. Issac, Fultz, and Bamba and 3 role players in Okeye, MCW, and Aminu. Kings won a game they should have based on the circumstances. Kings beat a team where half the roster is G league.
Gordon didn’t even show up. Terrible. He’s a frustrating guy. This year he’s really declined.
Yea ORL looked awful right out of the gate.
Bamba played tonight. He isn’t a starter and rarely plays except in blow outs. I would say he’s a bust but he’s played so little who knows.
It will. The Kings were the beneficiaries of a team missing 6 players. 3 starters and 3 role players. Nothing the Kings did tonite surprised me. Bagley, Holmes, and Whiteside looked like All Stars against a a front line of Orlando’s G league squad. Outside of Vuk and Fournier. Orlando, literally had nothing else out there to threaten Sac’s lead at any point.
One of the most complete games this season. Maybe a bad game by the Magic, but still great win!
Well that went ok.
Orlando didn’t really look competitive tonight except for that Birch guy who had offensive boards.
Nice win though. Kings kept attacking throughout which kept the Magic on their heels and kept the lead comfortable. That’s a nice change from usual Kings leads.
UH OH, IT’S MAGIC
The Magic didn’t show much ..
Buddy was dialed in today. It was noticeable in the little things. Good to see.
Magic Haliburton with the assists!
I just saw this now. Sacramento should be your forever home, Holmes!
Richaun Holmes wants to re-sign with Kings in 2021 NBA free agency
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/richaun-holmes-wants-sign-kings-191459177.html
Heart and Soul MVP. Engage
Pay the man.
Pay him like you’re Vlade, Monte!
Oh wait.
Heh. The only person more excited about this than Kings fans is Holmes’ agent. Keep building that market, young man!
Good on Marvin for pounding the boards, good to see a vintage Buddy Hield performance, good to see Fox doing his thing.
Those guys plus Haliburton are our core, and good things happen when they play well together in the same game.
The key is to have those kinds of games together on a consistent basis.
(Rest in peace, Shabba-Doo)
Does anyone here follow the Magic closely? What’s the deal with them? Like, normally teams are bad because they don’t draft properly or can’t keep or attract talented players. But I’ve felt that they’ve always had talented players and most of their draft picks turn out to be great players. Vuc is so good! So is Fornier. Gordon looks totally checked out and probably on his way out to go be an all star on a different team like Harris and Oladipo. How are the Magic not one of the top teams by now?
Well, they were without Fultz and Isaac, but that has been for most of the season. Their offense looked very poorly designed, like they were stuck in the 90s trying to grind it out with the Heat and Knicks. They had very little ball movement and must have taken mid-range/long two point shots every other possession. It was painful to watch them in the half-court, and I am not sure if they even ran a fast break. They need some changes to their style.
And Aaron Gordon looked really bad. His skills as an NBA player are to be athletic and fast. He was not even making basic passes into the post or on the perimeter, and just tried to jump high and throw down missed shots, but all he did was not secure the rebound and allow the Kings to run a fastbreak, Truly terrible.
That last paragraph reads similar to Bagley’s style of play.
“Athletic” and “fast” are really not “skills” at all. That’s Gordon’s (and Bagley’s) problem. They are good athletes who lack actual basketball skill. They will throw down some big dunks and make people go “Wow!!” regularly, but they don’t actually help you win basketball games, because to win a basketball game in the NBA you need to know how to, well, play basketball. They are the sugar cookies of the NBA: all calories, zero nutrition.
Gordon’s decision-making has just never progressed and he doesn’t adjust to the game well. He still throws-up contested mid-rangers and turn-arounds all the time and telegraphs everything he’s going to do. He should at least be a good rebounder, but he doesn’t read the rebound or adjust to the ball off the rim.
Well said Nerd.
Couldn’t agree more. To make things worse, players like that tend to have shortened careers once they lose that bust of athleticism and need to rely more on skill. Look no further to the likes of Amare Stoudemire, Dwight Howard, Kenneth Faried, and Shawn Kemp. All were basically a shell of their former selves by age 30.
how many years would be on your offer sheet for Richaun Holmes this offseason? Two? He’d be 28 and 29.
I don’t think that’s a very accurate assessment of his game. His decision making is fine. He’s ask to take on a different role constantly. When they drafted Issac that had a different idea for his role. When Issac went down it changed again. I think they are trying to force him to be something he’s not. They want him to be a banger inside and that’s not his strength. He played point guard in high school and could also play off ball. He’s has the skill set to be a playmaker and they want him to play like Aldridge. I think his best years are still ahead of him and no one works harder or has a better attitude. I’d love to see him in a Kings uniform and I know he’d welcome a move to Sacramento. Someone tried to compare him to Bagley but that’s not a good comparison if anything he’s closer to Barnes although that’s also not the best comparison.
Would you compare Marvin as Gordon level athlete tho? I see the similarities in the game but I think Gordon is a superior athlete. And I agree they may not win you games but Gordon, like Jones in Portland, will sell tickets. Lol man, I’d love to have a player on our team that’s basically there to compete in the dunk contest for us. Who was the last king, if ever to win it for us? I think mclmore was the last invite right?
They’ve actually drafted pretty poorly. Dipo is the only draft pick they’ve made since Howard that has gone on to become anything approaching a franchise player. Then you have some good role players in Isaac, Gordon, and Redick. Harris was a MIL pick. They’ve made a lot of mistakes in undervaluing good players (Harris & Dipo) but that was a prior FO. The only really good player they have playing now is Vucevic. Fournier is thoroughly mediocre and Gordon hasn’t developed at all and even declined. Really, they just haven’t made many good choices over the years.
Sabonis to I think. I thought they drafted him as well. Idk man I think of them as kings of the east even though they’ve been somewhat better than us but I just feel like every time we play them, they never seem like a clear favorite. Even though they’ve had much better players over the years. They seem like a good group of guys. I would love to see them finally be really good.
Sabonis was drafted by the Thunder.
I don’t believe so. He was drafted by Orlando and traded along with Dipo for Ibaka. It may have been a draft night trade, and OKC may have directed the Magic to draft Sabonis, but I’m not sure.
Well, yeah, Sabonis’s rights were traded from Orlando to OKC. So technically he was drafted by ORL, but OKC was the team that decided that Sabonis would be taken with the #11 pick.
My basketball knowledge is way off this year. Lol before I got married, and had time to play 2k, I knew all the details. Now I’m just as bad as Chuck at playing who he play for haha That’s why I’m glad I have you folks and this TKH community.
I had the pleasure of having Aaron Gordon on my AAU team for 8 weeks so I follow them closely. One of the best bay area high school players I’ve ever seen and a great guy.
With the emergence of Fultz they were poised to have a very good year and in fact got off to a fast start. The injury to Fultz was devastating as was the injury to Jonathan Issac although they appeared to be weathering that injury.
Now they are in a difficult situation. Do they make a trade to possibly sneak into the playoffs or do they regroup at the end of the season. Fournier who’s getting $17 mil this year is in his last year of his contract so they have to make a decision on him. Bamba so far hasn’t worked out and that has sent them back a bit.
Next year depending on how Fultz and Issac come back from their injuries could possibly be a good year for them. Vucevic, Gordon, Issac and Fultz is a pretty good foursome to work with. They are going to need another shooter and some bench strength to really be formidable. There’s rumbles they been looking at moving Aaron and I’d love to see a swap with Barnes where I think both would be a better fit. I must say i’m not objective about Aaron but I know he’d welcome a trade to the Kings or Warriors but the Warriors are so cap strapped that it’s impossible to take on any more salary. How about Gordon, Bamba and Aminu (salary filler) for Barnes, Joseph and Bjelica.
I’d do that trade in a heartbeat. Gordon is a bit redundant with Bagley, IMO, but his deal is not that bad and he’d have value as an asset if the Kings did not want him long term. Bamba is a project and a rebuilding Kings teams and Aminu is just filler. It would help to reset the timeline.
I think Gordon is a bit frustrated with how he’s being used. He’s bulked up his body a lot in response to their desire to have him be a bit more of a banger inside. His outside shooting was starting to improve as he’s was working really hard on it. He was actually a point guard he high school and I think he is more of a playmaker then people might think. I think a change of scenery to the Kings would do him good and I actually like his contract better than Barnes’s.
I’ve had a crush on Gordon for a while. Is he any good on defense?
Meh. Just like his offense. Again, he’s good at the things that take athleticism (1v1 defending) and bad at the things that take awareness (team defending).
Aminu still a good defender? Maybe helpful on the defense but then again, I’d rather see Woodard get some burn first. Our record is exactly where I was hoping for it not to be. I feel like we are right there will keep the rookies off the floor for a while. I’d be okay with it if we were going places but I was hoping by all star break we’d know if we suck. Plus Waltons coaching for his job so he’ll want to squeeze out as many wins as he can even late in the season. That’s why I’d rather them either cut him already or just make it known he’ll be the coach for while.
First game my newborn had the opportunity to see. Proud father.
Kings undefeated when Sterling is watching.
Congrats! Sterling Irving. It has a certain ring to it.
My username is a reference to catch 22 but thank you good sir!
That certainly is a Major Major achievement, congrats! Much as we should celebrate it, due to circumstances beyond my control, there will be no big parade this Sunday afternoon.
Do a lot of paperwork in your job?
Less and less these days, interestingly.
I yearn for you tragically,
John Milton
Can I send you a book I’m writing?
Mount a big-screen on that baby’s bedroom wall STAT! He will never learn to read, but the Kings will never lose. Fair trade, amiright?
Congratulations! Babies are the best.
Let’s say that he will have a chance to learn to write shit about *akers and we have ourselves a deal!
Congratulations! Maybe Sterling is the good luck charm we’ve needed.
Is it just me or does Bagley look a bit less athletic than he did during his rookie year? It feels like there’s a lot of times he could go up for a dunk where he doesn’t get enough lift. And he misses a lot of easy shots in traffic. Just something to keep an eye on.
It’s wild. He gets a bunch of rebounds when nobody is around and BOOM he’s developing. I expect we’ll have more nights of this.
Also, anyone noticed that the team no longer feed Bagley the ball in the paint for him to go one on one against opponent ?
Recent shots by Bagley : either offensive put-back or 3 pts shot…
I like it….as I don’t really want to see him being stripped…also, that’s help in increasing his trade value by hiding his weakness..
He drives into three people, draws a foul, misses one. Doug; I like Marvin’s aggression there.
ð¤·ð»ï¸
Is there a downside to drawing fouls on the other team, possibly getting to the bonus sooner, and getting players in foul trouble? I’m sick of all the missed free throws, too, but even if no points are added, drawing fouls is inherently a plus for your team.
Well personally I’d rather see someone dribbling into a triple team kick it out to the perimeter, but that’s just me. Embiid is doing just that right now and it seems to be helping the team, but I could be wrong.
My bad, I didn’t realize that the yardstick by which we’re measuring Marvin Bagley was a three-time All-Star.
Joel Embiid, Chimezie Metu. They all have a choice when they dribble into a triple team.
Posts up, spins hard, ball stripped. Doug: “You can see this young man’s confidence, Mark.”
This is not exclusive to Bagley though – Doug hasn’t seen a bad play by the Kings he didn’t like in one way or another.
I sense this is bait, but it would be crazy to say that Bagley hasn’t played better of late (or to acknowledge that he’s just 21 and still played less NBA minutes than many first year players).
Having said that, I will agree with you that he’s not really a competitive rebounder from what I’ve seen so far. Reminds me a bit of Cousins, in that they get a lot of loose rebounds, mostly due to being in the right vicinity.
Cousins’ issue was a lack of athleticism, I think Bagley’s might be more of a lack of strength.
I’ve lost a lot of interest in rebounds as I’ve seen so many perimeter teams clear out when the shot is taken. So many rebounds occur in the NBA with nobody around, I’ve personally lessened their importance, but that’s just me.
It’s like the TNT meatheads continuously saying they want to see (insert big man) on the block more. Things have changed.
Orlando was trying to get offensive rebounds yesterday.
Something that has bother me is why does a player get credited for a rebound off of a missed free throw? It should be within the flow of the game IMO. If a player gets a rebound off a free throw it should be counted towards a team total rebound instead rather added to the individual.
Your point about the rebounding stat in general is a good one. I look at a lot of stats but I share my thoughts based on my observations. There should be a stat labeled contested rebounds although I think offensive rebounds is a significant stat.
He looks a bit slower to me, but I haven’t noticed any other changes in his athleticism.
He certainly has had a strange progression. I agree, it looked like he elevated higher on dunks rookie year. He also had better touch around the rim and was halfway decent at the charity stripe. Now he lacks those things but has a quicker release on 3s and doesn’t bring the ball up the court, carrying the ball on his hip for 5 gallops at a time with his afro bouncing wildly. Still can get offensive rebounds though, I’ll give him that.
Off Topic: Has Walton stated that he has some “Personal issue” with Parker ?
He still haven’t seen god damn one minute on court……….
I really is strange we haven’t seen him, not even in garbage minutes, and there have been plenty of those this season. At just 25 years old, I can’t imagine he is washed, especially after we heard so much praise about him in camp.
I’m not sure there’s much to discover with Jabari Parker. But still, you think there’d be some minutes available, considering how the rumblings were that he was impressive in the pre-season.
Walton played for U. Arizona, Parker played for Duke, and Walton is still salty about the 2001 NCAA Championship game. It’s the only plausible explanation.
Fox started, but didn’t score over sixteen points.
Almost a perfect game: Barnes/Buddy trade value goes up, Bagley/Fox/Rese Lighning play pretty well. But they won… Come on fellas!
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