The Sacramento Kings left the friendly confines of Golden 1 Center to visit the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs are already deep in the hunt for Victor Wembanyama, and the Kings were riding three-game win streak. Let’s see how they did.
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings win, 132-119
Sacramento Kings: 132 pts, 55.1% fg, 46.7% 3 pt, 80.0% ft, 24 ast, 38 reb, 5 to
San Antonio Spurs: 119 pts, 51.6% fg, 38.5% 3 pt, 65.0% ft, 27 ast, 40 reb, 10 to
Kings win! In what has become a familiar pattern over the last several games, the Kings went through the motions in the first half and played sloppy basketball, and then turned on the defensive effort in the second half to put the game away. We can hem and haw about whether this is a wise or sustainable habit, but it’s getting the job done.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
THE GOOD
- Harrison Barnes continues his hot January: After dropping 27 points on Friday against the Rockets, Barnes tallied an efficient 29 points on 11 shots. Barnes is now averaging just over 22 points per game for the month of January. He’s also shooing 51.7% from beyond the arc while taking 7 threes per game.
- Double Double Domas: Ho hum, another game, another near triple double for Domas. Sabonis notched his 20th straight double-double, finishing with 18 points, 18 rebounds, and 8 assists tonight. It’s easy to get used to Domas playing like this, but it’s incredible how many ways he impacts the game every single night.
- Fourth Quarter Fox: Fox finished tonight with 23 points, 3 assists, and 1 rebound. Overall it definitely wasn’t Fox’s best game, with quite a few misses early in the game, but as usual Fox turned in on in the fourth quarter. Dunks in traffic, floaters, step-backs, Fox carved up the Spurs defense to help put the game away.
THE BAD
- Shooting Guard Play: While it was great to have Kevin Huerter back from illness, he definitely wasn’t in his usual flow. He hit a couple big shots, but ended up with just 9 points on 11 shots. Malik Monk also had a quiet night, with just 2 points on 4 shots in 15 minutes of game action.
THE UGLY
- The First Half: As I alluded to earlier, the Kings were in full on play-with-their-food mode in the first half. It didn’t matter in the long run, but the first half was an abysmal showing with zero defense and poor execution. I’m not going to fret too much, but eventually a first half like that is going to come back and bite the Kings in the ass.
The King of Kings
I mentioned the poor performances of the shooting guards, and that usually spells trouble for Sacramento. But tonight it proved to be an excellent opportunity, and Davion Mitchell took that opportunity and ran with it. As usual, Davion was everywhere on defense and earned himself the DPOG chain yet again. But tonight also featured an offensive explosion from Mitchell, finishing with 19 points. He made 7 of 8 shots overall, including 4 out of 5 threes. Davion seemed much more comfortable and agressive in seeking out his offense, and it was great to see. The Kings are a completely different team when Davion can impact both ends of the floor.
Up Next
Wednesday, January 18th @ Los Angeles Lakers
“remember the Alamo”
“LIGHT THE BEAM!”
Crockett!
Rec.
Houston!
Rec.
Sam
♫ Davi…
Davion Mitchell…..
KING of the wild frontier! ♫
In regards to this photo for the article….was this one of Mezi’s monster dunks, or almost dunks?
Domas missing out on All Star selection would be good. That dude needs some rest and recuperation time. Every time he comes up hobbling or rubbing his thumb I see our season falling apart
Bruised and broken Domas with almost another triple double… 18 and 18? How you gonna keep him out?
Also getting hit to the head 10.1 times per game can’t be good for his long-term health.
I’d hope he and especially the Kings coaching staff/FO make it known that he won’t be playing in the game IMO. He’s a lock to make it, but he really needs that nice break to let that thumb get some rest.
Maybe they can just let him participate in the 3-point contest instead.
Because there are so many things that an organization can just dictate as to what a player does with their free time.
I get the point about rest and risk of injury, but if he and Fox are named to the team, they need to go, and they need to play. I doubt half of all NBA fans have ever seen them in live action. It’s time to remind the basketball world that we ball in Sacramento, and I’ll take the benefit of letting the two of them demonstrate how much fun it is to play alongside them.
The NBA has just a little bit of say in that decision. Not really free time if chosen.
Player: “My knee is sore.”
NBA: “Enjoy your weekend off.”
That’s how much say they have.
Team markets the player to get in. NBA markets the player after being part of the popularity contest, NBA politely forces player to run up and down the court during the All Star Game and don’t forget all the media garbage. Pretty much how it goes.
What if I’m big Domas and I wanna play in the game?
Not sure, but he’s been in the All-star game before. Maybe at this point he is more concerned with recuperating for the playoffs.
I just hope if he does play in the game, his thumb doesn’t get wacked by Kevon Looney or Austin Reaves.
Why would his teammates be trying to hit Sabonis’ thumb?
LOL, my bad. 🙂
I guess they could wack it accidentally going for the same rebound.
#FriendlyFire
Yea, I remember CP3 hurt his finger right before the all star break and still wanted to play in the game
Two times.
Time to dance!
Pre-Alamo dance
Move over, Spurs. There’s a new cowboy in town.
looks like Sarah Huckabee
working on curriculum
Hey, hey, there’s no need to be insulting.
Gov. Huckabee
Gov. Huckabee.
Jinx!
Not in my book!
Watching Domas get legit elbowed in the face by a guard and played on… Poeltl gets shoved in the mid section and falls down touching his teeth on the ensuing hardwood flop. Priceless.
Solid win. Be nice for Monk to get more consistency, would really propel this team forward
Thank you Coach Popovich. We love you!
I SAID!
Pelicans pay McCollum like an Allstar and they pay Zion like a basketball player. I wonder what’s going to happen.
?
Ok I’m your news source……….. McCollum was quoted as saying ” I get paid like an Allstar” the meaning is he doesn’t care about making the AllStar status… Meanwhile his playmate…. Zion misses more games than he plays because he is broken…. How much does he get paid? That is a fat contract.
?
Ok I’m your news source……….. McCollum was quoted as saying ” I get paid like an Allstar” the meaning is he doesn’t care about making the AllStar status… Meanwhile his playmate…. Zion misses more games than he plays because he is broken…. How much does he get paid? That is a fat contract.
Totally understand that. CJ gets paid more than Zion.
Back to your question…..what is going to happen??????
??
I will stop commenting on the forum
???
Puts the Pels in a tricky spot. I got ya Ellis.
I second that.
This juicy-delicious purple beam shooting into my body is helping me ignore your near boo vibes about the janky first half execution, dearest Greg.
I mean, they did suck in the first half…
Why has this not been a thing?
If we continue playing like we did in the first half, especially defense, other coaches know this, then we are in trouble not the playoffs. Offense wins some games but defense will get you into the playoffs.
Offense gets uppi playoff games, too. Just not beyond the 1st rd.
This team has turned my Kings jacket from ironic to cool. Now that they’ve extended my wardrobe, extend Monte!
EXTEND THE BEAM!
Widen the beam
Just don’t ask CalTrans to do it.
Fake, that is.
Talk like that, Joda doesn’t.
Jou’re wrong! He doesn’t mess around with the backwards English talk when talking about his “manhood”.
Luke Waltonwalker?
I just learned from NBATV that the Kings are an offensive team and fun to watch. Thank you NBATV
If this is drunk Ellis, I’m all for it.
Kings win 3 out of 4 Qs, lose the one Q by 2. And that is with them playing less than optimal.
I dunno, sounds like a strong team doing what needs to be done to get the win. This was a should be a win/was a win type win.
Sacramento has been on the other side of too many of those games to the upper level teams long enough, 16 or so seasons, so it’s a familiar look.
They are starting to look like a team that is learning how to win. This also brings their road record to over .500., one of only three teams in the Western Conf. This also puts Sac as the #4 team out West, and 9th in League overall.
The season is now more than half over. 42 down, 40 to go. Do I still worry that they will tumble, stumble and fumble and ultimately crumble? Hey, it’s The Sacramento Kings. Of course you have to worry…
But for now, at the start of 2023, I’m feeling like this is the start of a new period in Sacramento Kings history, and it’s a good one. It’s an uncomfortably good feeling and I’m trying to get used to it.
Let’s Dance!
&ct=g
that said- and I know this is way premature- in order to capitalize and build on this success which does seem (lord do not strike me down) more “permanent”, is it time to make the one big move to take advantage??
and what is that move?
I do like the fact that this is a team- DS + Fox always contributes and the third person rotates. Not like some other teams where the single guy always has to contribute.
Tonight Davion , recently HB.
And 1 –
Point differential: NBA.com has the Kings at +3.0 and basketball-reference.com has them over +2-
The last time Sacramento finished with a (+) point differential, and again, it’s now at half a season, not full – was 2005-2006, also the last playoff appearance with a 44-38 record.
The Kings are tied with New York for 7th in point differential on NBA.com
This is feeling more and more like 2022 to me. Monte has a stud rookie and a garbage contract… can he turn that into the 3rd star??
I think we are getting close to that kind of decision. Right now the Kings count on 8 rotational players: Sabonis, Fox, Barnes, Huerter, Murray, Monk, Mithcell, Lyles. The extended bench consists of Metu, TD, and KZ. Monte may be trying to decide to improve the periphery without touching the core, or swinging big to try and take this team to the next level.
Things are good right now, so he may not want to rock the boat. I could see him trying to improve the 7th to 8th man in the rotation, ideally a playable backup big man. I think he could make that kind of move without hurting the core or long term assets. The correct minor move could also be a big difference maker in making a playoff run.
Now, if he wants to swing for the fences, what you suggest about moving a stud rookie and a garbage contract could possibly work. Would Monte pull the trigger on a Murray and Holmes for John Collins or OG Anunoby type player? Does he include a future pick? It seems risky and could upturn the apple cart, but he’s shown to is willing to make that kind of move. No one saw Hali for Sabonis coming.
I guess we will find out over the next 3 weeks.
These are tough decisions. IMO I would not upset the core although Barnes,s contract is interesting. If Monty could keep Barnes for let say two more years on a good but not expensive contract that might be good. Let’s see what happens with him this year. Right now I would’t do a major trade unless he can really get what he wants. It just might upset what we have now. There are some players we might trade to get a good backup center. IMO this is what would change the second unit and the team and will probably get us into the playoffs. Players who might be available are TD, KZ, Metu and Holmes. You mentioned Zach Collins the other day. Watched him last night and do see potential as a backup center. He is young can shoot seems tough and can rebound. Like your imput. Thanks. Like to hear from murraytant also.
PS I think 2 minor trades would be okay for now. I don;t think it would upset the apple cart. 1- Davis for Reddish. Davis can streak shoot but doesn’t play defense. Dais is small for his position. Reddish id 6’8″ and does play defense. IMO a new team would be both good for Reddish as well as the Kings.2- Holmes and a second for Zach Collins. Of the two He would be the most important as he would backup Sabonis.I like Plumlee but he is also 32 years old. Collins is young,can shoot, rebound and fascilitate. His drawback is he has had injuries in the past. Given a better chance with the Kings IMO he could succeed.
At this point, I’m thinking about Sabonis. He is a star and has 1.5 years left on his deal. What does he need to see from this team to take an extension here? If he walks, the Haliburton trade was a disaster.
Sabonis clearly enjoys playing here, and he can make the most money by staying. The organization looks nothing like a shitshow to him, and barring something incredibly unusual, he’s not going anywhere.
I think trading Murray for Collins is a bad idea for precisely what you’re implying Sims: That’s bad long term decision making. I don’t see moving Murray in the same way you moved Haliburton for one reason: You drafted him to be the 3rd star in a year or two. How he fit with Fox and Sabonis matters alot in that regard. There’s a reason those two had a predraft dinner with the kid.
I don’t think the Kings would trade for Collins unless it’s ancillary pieces like Holmes, Len and Davis. And a 1st rd pick in 2025, like what I typed out the other day. I don’t think the Hawks do that because of optics and strictly speaking they aren’t in the tax…. yet. They could hold off a little while. The question is do they benefit waiting? And this is the problem McNair has. Trading Barnes and Murray (or one of them) isn’t going to help you. Barnes especially. It’s bad long term value to trade Murray especially after dealing Haliburton. I’m not saying never, but that trade isn’t likely to happen. The Kings have to add to Sabonis, Fox, Barnes, Huerter, Murray, Monk, not take one out of the mix.
I mean if you move Holmes, you are probably doing so, if you can, for a Zach Collins or Mason Plumlee type who helps you now and is a better fit for your system. Or trade your expiring contracts for Plumlee, especially. If you end up moving Holmes, you are more likely doing so for a longer term expensive deal like Collins.
That said, Sabonis, or his agent really, know this and are aware of this. Assuming you believe James Ham (believe anyone at your own risk), Domas’ relationship is really with McNair out of everyone in the FO. If that’s the case, and McNair goes out and finds help at this deadline, Domas really doesn’t have much to complain about. Especially if Murray develops. And, if that’s the case, since Sac can pay Domas more years and dollars than anyone else, and on top of that since Domas isn’t eligible for an extension worth signing (that Domas would sign, to be clear) or the supermax, he’s hitting FA in 2024 regardless. McNair knows all this. It’s just the fans……would really like to know the plan, and, as you know Sims, we’re always the last to know.
TL;DR: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
P.S. I have no idea what will happen… but I would guess a smaller deal is more likely than a bigger one just due to the fact there are more mechanisms to make a smaller deal happen. You can’t force what isn’t available. But I think if the right big deal is there, I have confidence McNair will make it.
I’m with you on this. I don’t like the idea of trading a player on his rookie contract, unless you are getting a bona fide star, like Sabonis. John Collins is not that.
I too prefer getting a smaller piece that helps the current core. A Plumlee, Zach Collins, or Naz Reid could do a lot to help this team without hurting the chemistry. The Kings aren’t a title contender. They are just trying to make noise and build something long term right now. Develop Murray, build a winning culture to keep Sabonis, and see what he future brings.
My silly double dose of pennies-
I agree fully. This season was to make a step- baby step perhaps (new Coach, new players) but better if they could. Well, they did. They appear, at this time, to be over performing from predicted.
Unless fortuitous karma has tricked us again, this season is a big step, maybe a giant step. Look at what happened to the TimberPups last season: new coach and a 16 win jump. Big step!
IF, Sac has a 16 game (or 12,13,14,15) game jump – it’s fantastic. Amazing,, even.
Do you change that core roster now? Swing for the fences, strike while the iron is hot, double down on your 21 hand?
Do you think that will take this team to the level of Contender? This season? I don’t.
I guess could be it does. But unless the talent you’ve had hoped to get is now somehow gettable -I think that small moves on this already ramped up season is plenty, and then you see what the draft and Free Agency can bring.
Can’t do that super-garbagey defense and toying in the first half against teams that aren’t at the bottom of the league. Will be interesting to see how they play the first half against the Hollywood tragedy team next game.
1predict
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