The Sacramento Kings were on the road to play the Phoenix Suns, lost Malik Monk in the second quarter to an injury (more on that later), faced some really rough officiating throughout the game, and blew a late fourth quarter lead. It’s all the recipe for a Kings loss. And yet the Kings stepped up, never stopped fighting, and won the game 127-118 with a convincing overtime performance. Far from a perfect game, and this team still has plenty of issues to work through, but a win like this against a good Suns team is still a big positive in this early part of the season.
The Good
DeMar and De’Aaron Stepping Up: DeMar DeRozan finished with 34 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. It’s a good stat line even before I tell you that he only had 10 points at the end of the third quarter. DeRozan took over the fourth quarter, and scored 24 points in the fourth and OT. Just a dominate late-game performance. De’Aaron Fox finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists. Fox was 0-6 from 3, but didn’t keep chucking them, opting instead to get into the paint and the mid-range. Fox scored 8 of his points in the OT period, and the Suns had no answer for him.
Your Regularly Scheduled Sabonis Double Double: Domantas Sabonis finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists. He was really flustered by the officiating, and ended up fouling out early in OT. It wasn’t what I would call a great Sabonis game, but I think it’s important that we never lose sight of how good Domas is every night.
Keegan’s Continued Rebounding: Keegan Murray had 14 points and 14 rebounds. Keegan has been a monster on the boards this season. Keegan still hasn’t found his rhythm from beyond the arc, going 2-6 this game and missing some open looks, but I’m very happy with how Keegan is contributing in other ways.
Huerter’s Bounce Back Continues: Kevin Huerter had 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 7 deflections, 3 steals, and 1 block, and shot 5/9 from three. Just a fantastic game from Huerter. I just typed “it’s so good seeing Kevin back to the Kevin of old”, but that feels like it’s selling him short. This season has not just been a bounce back year for his shooting, but Huerter is contributing across the board and has been really disruptive on defense. It’s been great.
A solid bench outing: Despite losing Monk early, the Kings bench combined for 21 points and 10 rebounds. It wasn’t the best night we’ve ever seen from the bench, but it wasn’t the complete zero we’ve seen at times this season. Lyles had 8 points, 6 rebounds, and a block. It wasn’t what I would even consider a good game from Lyles, but a big improvement from most of the early season he’s had.
The Bad
Malik Monk injured: Monk rolled his ankle in the second quarter and did not return to the game. Chris Haynes reported that Monk will miss today’s game against the Spurs and is day to day. I’d consider this “the ugly” except that just being day to day feels like a good outcome.
Three point defense: But wait, Greg, the Suns only shot 31.6% from 3, how can you say the defense was bad? I’m glad I asked. Despite the Suns going 18-for-57 (57!) from three in this game, the percentage is more of a reflection of the Suns inability to make shots. The Kings allowed a ton of open looks from three, continuing a trend for the year (and really for the last…decade?). It didn’t hurt them this game, but it’s going to hurt them more nights than not. The Kings need to figure it out.
The Ugly
Inconsistent Officiating: This was a frustrating game to watch, largely due to an inconsistent whistle and baffling interpretations by the officials. I don’t know what a charge is or isn’t. I don’t know what’s vertical and what isn’t. I don’t know what constitutes a possession (and neither do the shot clock operators). The Kings were visibly frustrated throughout the game. Sabonis and Huerter both fouled out, while Keegan also had 5 fouls.
Kings of Kings
As I highlighted above, there were several really good performances in this game. I’ll give the nod to DeMar DeRozan. 16 points in the fourth quarter. 8 points in overtime. Just a spectacular late game performance. DeRozan has given the Kings another shot-creator, someone who can control the tempo of a game, someone who draws fouls (and makes free throws), and who the defense rarely has an answer for. He’s been everything we hoped he could be when the Kings acquired him this summer, and this game was a perfect encapsulation of it.
I wonder if, after Sabonis, Murray is the most irreplaceable player on this roster. Murray is probably 4th on the team MVP totem pole, but no one else can come close to replicating what he does, especially defensively.
Fox & DDR were a combined 9-28 before finishing on a combined 15-20 tear. That is crazy.
And 1 – Refs rarely dictate the outcome of a game, but they regularly (and negatively) impact the experience. And last night was one of those games. In the same way that the Kings should be embarrassed when they shit the bed, last night’s crew (and the NBA) should be similarly embarrassed.
And 2 – Thank you to each & every vet for their service. If you are a vet & a Kings fan, thanks for serving twice!
I’m not giving the refs themselves a pass, but as you indicate, the league should have long hard look at itself.
When you have such a huge business, have you really invested sufficiently in getting and training good referees? Are they being paid sufficiently? And when will you stop constantly tinkering with rules to “enhance the product” (spectacular bball) and stick with some consistency to give the refs, players and fans an idea that they know what the rules actually are?
I’m not even mentioning the integrity of the game, because I am not that naive.
We don’t want refs to be bigger than the game. But they should have strong enough character to withstand the constant screaming and cursing by superstars with an ego big enough to fill an enture arena. It stands to reason that some refs will go chest to chest with some of them at times and have tos how who’s boss. And that is without talking about the influence of betting (and the integrity of the game).
We are complaining about a reduced viewership and a less compelling product (YMMV); have a look how the FIBA officiates (and has far fewer time-outs. Maybe time for some soul searching?
Great take.
https://x.com/JomboyMedia/status/1855993037559668861
Yeah the difference in officiating between an NBA game and the Olympics gold medal game is jarring. I know FIBA refs have plenty of their own controversies, but they flow of the game was so much better.
I like how the FIBA rules give the officials some power to stop the players from chasing fouls. That is a big part of keeping the flow of the game.
Well said Rik. Officiating an NBA game is difficult, obviously, but it is a game between two teams. I can’t stand how sometimes referees decide they are going to be a main character in the outcome as well.
Nice try Cacti
I would agree. Without Keegan this roster is dead in the water. The kid is is now 19th in the NBA in rebounds per game. There are only 2 non-centers getting more boards than him.
I think we can finally put the “Keegan is not a 4” notions to bed, amirite?
He is a four now. If they ever get the big this team has clearly needed he can go back to the three and be great there as well. Good problem to have.
To me, the biggest issue with Keegan at the 4 is he tends to guard the best player 1-3. So that leaves DeMar to guard the 4 which creates a huge mismatch.
Yep. We need another big. If Huerter keeps up his defensive prowess he had last night it is easier.
I can’t love Keegan’s game any more than I do. Fans and writers love to comp players, and I think fans were hoping he was PG or Middleton, I think this season we are seeing Dan Roundfield 2.0, fully updated with three point range for the modern game. His versatility on defense, how many shots he challenges, crashing the boards, and being able to put up 15+ pts without a ton of plays ran for him. Roundfield is one of my top ten favorite players of all time, and I think Keegan’s ceiling is sky high.
Two other things that stood out to me last night:
Kevin’s complete game. The three point shots he hits are different than any other player on the team, if anyone else shot those same shots their % would be abysmal. Along with his passing, there is a dynamic quality that you get from him that seems almost underrated, and his team/help defense has been very good.
I think the Sun’s would be toast against the Kings in a playoff series. I am sure Durant could win a game or two, perhaps Booker, but the Kings are tough for them. With Booker/Tyus/Beal starting, they are going to get picked on at some point. Bud has them playing very good defense, but at some point isolations happen, and Beal cannot guard DeMar, Fox, Monk, or Keegan one on one, and Tyus will struggle too, and he is too small to put on a shooter like Kevin or Keegan. Especially since Grayson trained with Boris Diaw over the summer and came back with a dad-bod, he can’t waddle fast enough to stick with Fox/Monk, and Royce can’t guard everyone, let alone stop DeMar when his going full Deebo like last night.
Dr. Rounds! What a pull. Sneaky athleticism, great defender, and nice all-around game.
If the clutch bros can consistently do their thing in late 4th quarter, what do you think about Monk being in that lineup? Get ready for spray 3s, or perhaps he can be swapped out for defense?
My thoughts are that if you have Fox and DeMar running iso clutch plays down the stretch, there would be better balance with Keon on the floor for defensive reasons. We saw it in the Raptors game, and I really liked it.
Last night Huerter played better defense than Keon and he scores. If he continues that trend there is no need to make a defensive switch at the cost of scoring.
It’s wild to me that can find any reason not to have Keon in the game. YOu are definitely consistant. Yeah, Huerter had a good game and even got to wear the defensive crown, but Keon is still the better defender.
Monk is normally in for crunch time. It’s been that way for 2+ seasons. He just wasn’t because of his injury. Put me in the camp that having 3 iso scorers in the game at the same time isn’t all that good at closing out games. You need stops.
Against the Raps two games ago, Brown chose to go with Keon in crunch time instead of Monk the the Kings rolled the Raps in the 4th. So much so that the benches were emptied with over 2 minutes to go. In the Clippers loss, Brown went with Monk in crunch time. The Kings couldn’t get stops and lost the quarter and game.
The proof is in the pudding.
When did I say Keon is not in the game?
It is wild to me that Huerter having success on both sides of the floor is not a good thing because it might push Keon out of a few minutes. Winning is the point.
Keon takes minutes from Monk as well. Keon can give Fox rest. Keon can give Demar rest. There is plenty of room for him to play his 20 minutes because our bench is thin and he is a versatile guard. Keon can be on the floor with Huerter (mind blown!!).
If Huerter continues to do what he did last night, which his trend is showing, he should stay on the floor.
Mark Jones broke me last night. There is only so many “playing with food” and “fish grease” one person can take.
Did you know that Marty means “Complainer about Broadcast Teams” in Arabic?
Maybe I am wrong, but it seems that I rarely hear you comment on the game or the state of the Kings.
He can fan how he wants.
I can’t comment on the larger context, but, at least in this case, I can certainly say that last night’s call was getting a bit overplayed with all the tired catch phrases. My wife, who doesn’t care at all, went on a rant about all the silly sayings.
If you’re going to be fun and have fun “regular joe” catch phrases, at least rotate them out. There’s 82 games to cover, why reuse the same 3-5 phrases over and over and and over year after year?
There are many free ways to follow this team with plenty of different voices. Or there is mute.
How was the game?
A win is a win, is a win, but man, that game shouldn’t have been that close. No Durant and then Nurkic went down for the second half. That’s two key starters they were down. I don’t the Kings would stand a chance against any team if two starters were missing. Without near perfect minutes down the stretch by Fox and DeRozan, I think the Kings would have lost that game.
As mentioned, it was horrible officiating last night. I’m glad the Kings were able to overcome it.
Once again, it seems opponents have a clear game plan when it comes to 3pt shooting. The suns average 41 3pt attempts per game…with Durant. Last night they attempted 57, and a lot of them were wide open. Until the Kings’ defense addresses this trend, it’s going to be the thorn in their side all season.
Tbf Plumlee played Sabonis much better than Nurkic. Game may have been over way sooner if PHX wasn’t forced to pull Nurk out because Domas was feasting on him.
I think the 3pt defense is a result of lack of rim/paint protection and also due to a lack of length. They need to sag more than most teams because Sabonis (yes hard to believe but he does have a weakness) is not a great rim protector. And then when they close out on the 3pt shots the length hurts them. 6′-9″ vs 6′-4″ guys closing on a jumper is a big difference.
11 teams above .500 in the league (actually, 11 teams at or above .600). 9 of them are in the West. Oy gevalt!
We’re roughly 12% into the season, and the West is already +17 over the East in W-L.
Insane stat
Loved seeing Fox and DeRozan take over in the 4th and OT. Been critical of Huerter many times but he played great, I hope it continues. Keegan has added to his game again, just keeps getting better and better.
Monk going down is tough our very shallow bench is now a kiddie pool. Maybe someone will step up.
I gotta wonder if MB needs to tell Fox to cut back on the 3s. His hand is half tape right now and is obviously affecting his shot. I understand it helps with spacing but if he can’t physically do it might be better to cut it back.
Early days of Fox and DeMar have been a bit clunky since they play redundant roles on offense. However, I believe this game offers some insight into what an ideal arrangement may be: Fox should become more of a Jrue Holiday type and allow DDR to take the reigns on offense for the most part.
Fox has been a monster on the glass, is in the midst of his best defensive season by a mile, and is averaging a bunch of assists per night. On a team loaded with scorers, Fox contributing elsewhere makes him invaluable.
DeRozan, on the other hand, is mostly just a scorer. He’s an extremely good scorer, and will occasionally nab a steal, assist or rebound, but that’s mostly what we can expect. I’d say the Kings ought to lean into their respective strengths to optimize the roster.
I’d love to see more games where DDR is around 25-30 where Fox is more around 20/7/7. Obviously Fox can still help close out games like he did last night, but as a matter of general roles Id say having Fox be a bit more of a swiss army knife looks real good on him and the Kings.
Fox is averaging 24.2/5.2/4.9 right now. He’s scoring and doing the little things, plus the defense. I’m very happy with how Fox is contributing in a variety of ways. 27.3% from three on 6.6 3PAs and 3.7 TOs per game are my only complaints.
Not sure if this is meant to be a counterpoint to what I said or not. Either way, I totally agree that Fox has been playing some great basketball. Shot isn’t always falling but he’s been making an impact in lots of different ways.
I think the 1-2 punch in crunch time is deadly. Two players who thrive when the game is on the line and can both create their own quality shots is a big luxury, not sure when the Kings if ever had this.
I love that Fox is engaged and contributing in multiple ways even with a busted up hand.
It is tough to defend, if Fox and Deebo run a PnR at the top of the 3pt line, they can dictate who they are being guarded by and most teams don’t have two lockdown defenders.
That is what I kept thinking last night, and why I think the Suns are not well suited to play the Kings in post season.
I think the closing lineups that also have Monk in the game are dangerous for a lot of teams as well, as most teams do not have two POA defenders that quick, and with Deebo & Fox pulling the best two defenders, that is gonna leave some room for Monk to do Monk things.
I think Fox can easily average a double the entire season with Derozan at his side. Fox needs to focus on the team and less on ISO Fox. He can score 20 plus a night easily and still get ten assists. He is that good. He has not had the talent next to him to do it yet. Derozan is that guy.
I agree. It will be interesting to see Fox not have to be ‘the guy’ all of the time. And play with some more discipline/control. Like maybe not jack up so many threes with a busted shooting hand.
Passing the ball to Derozan or any of the other four is way better. I think he is seeing it but it is not an easy adjustment. He has had to be that guy his entire career.
DeMar’s ability to get to his spots and score consistently on fade-away and turn-around jumpers is incredible. He is “indefensible.” And as soon as opponents start to double-team him, he’s going to be an able and willing assist maker. Truly a game changer!
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