The Sacramento Kings faced the Golden State Warriors to kick off a 7-game road trip. Could the Kings start the trip with some positive momentum, or would they fall back into bad habits?
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings win, 134-133
Sacramento Kings: 134pts, 52.7% fg, 45.8% 3 pt, 84.2% ft, 33 ast, 34 reb, 10 to
Golden State Warriors: 133 pts, 55.8% fg 51.4% 3 pt, 78.3% ft, 30 ast, 33 reb, 13 to
Kings win! Kings win! Light the Beam!
In an absolute nail-biter, the Kings took it down to the final possession to secure a win. The Kings and Warriors traded baskets and traded leads. Both teams will complain about calls and non-calls. Kevin Huerter, with the Kings up 1, went 0-2 from the free throw line leaving the Warriors with a final chance to break Sacramento’s heart. But Steph Curry dribbled off his foot on the final possession, and De’Aaron Fox recovered the ball as the clock expired.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good:
- The Black Falcon: Spoiler alert, Barnes is the King of Kings. More on him down below.
- Offensive Flow: The Kings finally looked like the Kings of last season. The threes were raining in, the ball was moving around the floor, and the Kings DHO was making mincemeat of the Golden State defense. It was beautiful to see the offense firing on all cylinders again.
- Star Fox: De’Aaron Fox is back, baby. Fox went off for 29 points on 16 shots, including back-to-back threes in the fourth quarter to quiet the Golden State crowd and control the Warriors’ momentum. Oh, and Fox was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. It was great seeing Fox back to his old form.
- The Starters: All 5 starters scored in double digits, and all five had an impact beyond just buckets. Huerter, despite the missed clutch free throws, had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists. Keegan Murray had 14 points and 6 rebounds, and played phenomenal defense on Steph Curry for extended stretches. Domantas Sabonis played through a tight whistle to still finish with 18 points, 13 assists, and 8 rebounds. It’s Sabonis’ 26th straight double-double.
- Davion Mitchell: For a guy who has struggled throughout the year, Davion Mitchell had himself a GAME. 10 points, 3/5 from 3, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, and Davion executed the most textbook chair-pull on Klay Thompson that you will ever see. It was great to see Mitchell have a good night again.
The Bad:
- Malik Monk: Woof. This was a rough one for Malik. In 19 minutes Monk scored 4 points and committed 3 turnovers. He often played indecisive and out of control basketball, which has been a concerning trend in the last week or two. Monk just has been trying to do a little too much, and it results in unforced errors.
The Ugly:
- Late game execution: The Kings once again made a game much closer than it needed to be. Missed free throws, and poor execution nearly cost the Kings the game. Any Kings fan watching the final few minutes was having horrible flashbacks to the Bucks loss. The Kings escaped this time, but the end-of-game execution needs to be better. Too much Iso ball, not enough ball movement, not enough focus.
The King of Kings
Harrison Barnes
Black Falcon, come on down! HB did it all for the Kings in this one. Barnes finished with a career high 39 points, plus 4 rebounds, a steal and a block. Barnes was a blistering 7 of 12 from beyond the arc, and 14 for 24 overall. It was a marvelous performance, and begs the question of why the Kings stopped running plays to involve Barnes in the offense for the first half of the season. Give me more of this version of Harry B, please.
Up Next
@ Dallas Mavericks, Saturday, January 27th, 6:00 PM PT
I am very happy for Harrison Barnes.
Now the fans gonna be “we can’t trade Barnes”. Damn, now is the only time to trade him. When he seems to have even an inkling of value.
Who are you getting that’s better or better fit ? Just asking .
seemingly the most attainable guy is Kuzma. Is kuzma better than Barnes? It’s very very close. Then think about fit. Is kuzma a better fit than Barnes? It’s very very close. Can you trade Barnes for Kuzma straight up? I doubt it. Should that be the reality and a fair trade? Yes.
Do more assets come back to the kings with Kuzma while swapping those two guys? Likely no.
Do more assets go to the Wizards with Barnes in order to get Kuzma? Likely yes.
With all that in mind, I don’t think this trade (as an example and the one that I feel is the more “likely” or realistic rumor out there) is worth it.
This great game by Barnes only reinforces that feeling for me.
to me, the Barnes conundrum comes down to two things. The coaching staff making a point to get him more involved and Harrison himself being more assertive (which has always been a problem for him since he has been a sacramento King).
One would have to consider Barnes´ locker room value in that equation, and not a single person in this chat is able to do that.
i would not go after Kuzma but rather trade Baenes plus Edwards and 2 seconds to the Rockets for Olipido(expiring) Cam Whitmore and Tari Eason. Eason is almost the same as Jones but a better rebounder and 3 point shooter and is only 22. Has a 7’2″ wing span. Rockets are looking at Barnes as a vet to help with the young players and a fit in the locker room. Edwards would be a trade off with Cam Whitmore.
I know Monk has an expiring contract but would really like it we could trade him straight up or with a second or 2 for Alex Caruso.
I see a player that saw the team struggling and he asserted himself into an expanded role. Barnes is fourth option with starters and first or second with back up… he should have more minutes with backups and I think we will see more scoring from him.. wish we had a stron defensive forward that could start so we don’t see teams start strong against us.. the player doesn’t need to be better than Barnes just different.. my useless two cents..
My guess is that, unlike us, NBA GMs have far less volatility on a player based on a one or two game performance. The league knows who Harrison Barnes, and his value is not going to spike or crater off of a hot or cold couple of weeks.
Well, I did say inkling. I still think he has very little trade value, despite the last couple of games, but at least he proved he’s got a few ounces of gas in the tank,
Harrison Barnes interviewed after the game:
Omg! Missed FTs at the end had my head hurtin’. It seemed set up for another terrible disappointment.
And yet… Kuminga (career high) gave up the ball instead of going in for a two and gave it to Steph. De’Aaron with the clutch D.
Too close for comfort!
Great game -again. I thought Sabonis got some bad calls. I watched the TNT broadcast and it was painful – very pro-Warriors and obviously they knew little of the Sacramento Kings.
Yeah, I nearly had a heart attack with Kevin missing both his free throws. But not to take away from Kevin’s other contributions tonight, especially on the boards. I’m just glad we got two stops on the Warriors’ last two possessions for once.
Agree – the results speak for themselves
What about Kevin’s pass to Sabonis for the dunk.Up by 1. Also Huerter was there with Fox to double up on Curry. He also had 10 rebounds.
I didn’t leave that out…that’s why I said “not to take away from Kevin’s other contributions tonight, especially on the boards.”
The issue I’ve had w Heurter is that his D is very so so, and he’s not clutch. He missed a big 3 last night late in the game, as he did in the playoffs. He almost never hits the shot when needed.
And then complete choke at the free throw line. He gets in his own head.
Point being, this is why Huerter needs replacing. If you’re gonna be an average defender and incredibly inconsistent shooter you’d better be clutch….. he’s not.
I appreciate his effort but he’s not the starting guard the Kings need
He had a really good game. This probably isn’t the game to complain about him.
It’s not about any 1 game. It’s about seeing Huerters limitations moving forward…. again. Time to cut bait.
Cut bait may be harsh. Huerter needs to be upgraded/replaced.
It was pro warriors. Not shocked on that at all. In fact it’s expected.
referees… it was pretty horrible honestly. Did the kings get some favorable calls? Yes. Did the warriors get some favorable calls? Oh my god!!! YES!!!!
i think the best example is the call mike brown challenged. The loose ball foul on Sabonis. Seriously man, WTF was that? He’s under the basket, he jumps up for the ball while facing the basket. Kuminga with Sabonis in front of him, runs and jumps forward towards the rebound. He then flys into and over the back of Sabonis where their arms meet close to the ball (which happens on every single contested rebound that has ever been rebounded). The foul is reviewed and it stands?!?!?! Are you F’n serious??? In replay it was absolutely obvious that if there was a loose ball foul to be called at all, it was on Kuminga. Over the back. Easy to see.
pathetic.
total horse shit
The referee’s in the NBA are making games hard to watch. This is the first time I’ve ever said that. Before it’s only been frustrating but today’s calls and no calls for both teams not just the kings really started to annoy the hell out of me. Almost made me turn off the game. Had it not been the warriors I think I would have.
in my mind I’m thinking… why am I even watching this?
Referees who are Employees of the NBA with the sole purpose of making games play out fairly continuously do the opposite night in and night out across the league. Can calls get missed? Sure. Can mistakes be made? Sure. Can there be some consistency of what is and is not a foul? Apparently not.
Sabonis gets a pocket pass going to the rim with a full head of steam completely destroying the chest of Draymond Green causing him to fly across the floor, landing on his back. It was extreme contact. That’s not opinion, that’s not bias in any direction. That’s fact and it’s not debatable. To make matters worse, it was very, very obviously extreme contact. It was a foul on someone, period. Did Draymond Green have his feet set and draw a charge? Was Draymond Green not in position and un able to get his feet set resulting in a blocking foul?
apparently it was neither of those things when it absolutely has to have been one of those things.
its pathetic.
I didn’t see the officiating having an impact on the outcome of the game either way. Definite outcome on the enjoyment of watching the game, but I thought that they were pretty much equally bad both ways, which is usually the case.
Yes need to master the art of complaining but avoiding a T, to a point where refs makes a call in your favor next play. Probably need to add number of coach challenges in coming years, what fun.
No thank you, I’d rather the Kings just play hard and ignore the bad calls to the best of their ability. Win the game going away, fuck the refs.
Well, at one point (I think it was in the 3Q) even TNT’s Warriors-biased crew was complaining that the refs calls were ridiculous as there were obvious calls not being made (Green’s multiple blocking fouls/collisions with Domas) while the Kings were getting hit with ticky-tack touch fouls on the other end if someone happened to brush against Curry.
I think the quote was something along the lines of “You have to call something, it’s ridiculous, either a block on Green or a charge on Domas but it was definitely a foul on someone, while on this end they’re calling ticky-tack fouls” (as Mitchell was called for a foul when Curry flung his body into Mitchell while running around a screen).
Who does except us. Keep it that way.
Wasn’t it Warriors’ announcers? IMHO, not as good as Kyle, Mark and Katie.
No. It was Brian Anderson, Grant Hill, and Jason Greenberg…..in other words, the broadcast team for the NBA 2k video games.
Great game. Great shotmaking by both teams . Seemed Fox, Domas were who we knew they were and Barnes looked for one night like Durant . True joy !
TWO NIGHTS!!!
Loved seeing Steph putting the win to bed for us at the end!
Nigh-night!
Memories of Buddy Hield.
Walked into the locker room. Didn’t stay to acknowledge any King. Great class act.
I actually prefer that to players laughing and hugging it out after a loss. Great players hate losing more than they love winning.
You can still be a class act and not so cocky.
Man oh man, what a game. Pretty crazy that our last three games against the Warriors were all decided by exactly one point.
There are plenty of good and bad things I saw tonight, but for now, I will simply celebrate us beating the Warriors on their home floor in front of their fans. So glad we don’t have to play them anymore this season…can’t stand their constant waving their arms and shouting at the refs for a foul every time they drive to the basket. Good riddance to them this season.
Also happy to see Harrison have a career night against his old team.
Hopefully no Warriors in the playoffs/play-in, either. This team truly deserves to go down in flames for their entitled attitude.
The extra curricular antics of the warriors is agonizing to watch. Steph curry can’t make a shot without boasting immediately after. It’s impossible for him to be humble. That… is super annoying.
I like Steph Curry the person, I respect the hell out of his game, he is incredibly fun to watch dribble, pass and shoot the basketball. It is simultaneously incredibly annoying watching him brag about being good at basketball each and every game he plays in. Like dude… you are amazing at basketball. We all see it, you don’t need to tell me after every shot you make. You’re good. You’re very very good, I wish you didn’t have to ruin how good you are with your braggadocios bull shit.
Difference between confident and cocky.
Their bench is extra annoying doing this. So much so that their rookie Podz whatever was Klay-level complaining when he got a foul. Dude, you’re a rookie, you don’t get any special treatment.
How do you know for sure we won’t play them again this year. What about the playoffs?
Uh……..I was talking about not seeing them again in the regular season. Of course we could still play them in the postseason, obviously….
I thought the Kings played well……………………..on offense, at times
But the D stunk. duds made about 56%
But the beam be lit
poor lil stephie dribbled the ball off his foot.
and my heart hurts, chest pains, and stomach pains and a headache. No more of this.
stressful but Kings win!
I feel just fine with this version of Barnes. He’s playing like he has something to prove and is going out there trying to prove it.
Of course I enjoy this as much as the next Kings fan. Too bad I wouldn´t be surprised at all if he scores 2 points in the next game. I almost expect it to happen.
I’d be inclined to agree based on his disappearing act – however, I think they have had two games where they tried to feature Barnes more by drawing up plays for him and the results have been phenomenal. I suspect the team will want to keep the good times rolling and continue to get Barnes the rock. He likely won’t be as effective as this two-game outburst, but he will put up some numbers again next game. I’ll predict 21 pts and 8 rebounds.
I’ll go for the 21 points but I don’t know about 8 rebounds. Usually gets one or two.
Great write-up!
Those 2 missed FTs at the end…what is it with this team and free throws?
Funnily enough, they actually were good overall from the line tonight, which is not the norm….except of course those last two at the very end…
Don’t forget Huerter did make the Krybaby Klay technical. That extra point was the win.
And the night before.
Yes. Only one missed FT from monk before the Huerter pair. Great effort hitting the free shots. How can they keep that trend going?
It looked to me like Fox figured out his FT issue—ie- looked as though he moved a bit to his righ? Looked back to normal.
Kevin missed those 2 but didn’t hang his head and did what good basketball players do. He makes a great pass seconds later to Sabonis for the dunk and helps Fox with the double team on Curry. Next time and there will be a next time he makes them both to win the game.
What a game. Phew.
Wow that was crazy. I might of have to delete all Kings related stuff until after all star break if they had lost this game…
I want to know what Sabonis was having during his post game interview. What a goofy happy self. You be you Sabonis!
Congrats HB on your game! Happy for that dude!
More random thoughts for me to share:
speculating here…
Fox Was avoiding the media for two weeks. Then was asked about that multiple times by the media when he finally made himself available again. His response was dismissive and avoidant with a layer of disdain and frustration. That’s how I read those reactions, responses and body language. I know I’m not the only one. During that two week stretch of avoiding the media he played some of his worst basketball in the last 1-1/2 years.
Suddenly and simultaneously Fox makes himself available to the media while Harrison Barnes role on the floor changes COMPLETELY. Is that just coincidence?
My speculation tells me no. These two things are definitely linked. How might you ask? Trade deadline looming, Barnes being brought up in every trade rumor and how his potential departure affects the face of the franchise. Again, pure speculation here but this is my conspiracy theory…
Kings GM Monty McNair works out the structure of a trade sending Harrison Barnes out for Kyle Kuzma. He then does the correct thing and runs this potential trade that he likes by his star player before pulling the trigger, gauging DeAaron’s enthusiasm for the mid season roster change. Fox responds with not only rejecting the idea of that trade making the team better but takes insult towards it, seeing the viability of the proposal detrimental to the locker room and overall success of the team.
Monty then takes insult to that response feeling like DeAaron doesn’t respect his expertise in making the team better and tells him that despite his disapproval of the idea he’s still going to move forward with it. He was doing him the professional courtesy of presenting the trade to him now in hopes of his approval but that his approval isn’t necessary for him to do his job.
From this point DeAaron is pissed off. He starts to lobby for keeping Barnes on going to management, ownership, players and Coaching staff about what is about to happen and how he disapproves of it whole heartedly. Explaining how Monty told him that he was going to make the trade happen anyways. Through that frustration and anger, knowing that a team leader was about to be shipped out, the vibes in the locker room took a nose dive and a 4 game losing streak began which included passionless basketball from Fox who up to this point was playing out of his mind having a career year and putting up huge numbers and production consistently. 30 points a night on average went to 4 stinkers and a noticeable attitude shift on the court from not just the Kings franchise player but several others including most notably, Barnes.
Losses started to pile up, bad vibes started to spread as the debate of trading Harrison Barnes, a 2026 first round pick and Chris Duarte for Kyle Kuzma began to circulate throughout the locker room. Finally, after 4 straight losses Mike Brown, Fox, Sabonis, Harrison Barnes, and Monty McNair got together to discuss what was currently happening with the vibes in the locker room and this trade that’s being ironed out with Washington hanging over their heads. During that meeting they discussed how Barnes is better than Kuzma on the court if he’s given the opportunity to do so. Fox- “We don’t feature Barnes in the offense at all. Are we going to feature Kuzma since we are trading so much to get him? Yeah, that changes the dynamic of what our offense has been doing so far this season. If you want to change the dynamic of the offense why not just feature Barnes more?” “He’s better than Kuzma anyways”. Mike Browns response, “that’s a solid point Foxy, we can try that. And to your point, I think the risk of dealing Barnes for Kuzma could potentially be detrimental for this team. Let me talk with my staff and make some offensive adjustments. We can start featuring HB more like we did last year when we were having more success offensively.”
Monty McNair’s response: “Ok, you guys win. I’ll trust your judgment and put my faith in you. I like Kuzma A lot, I think he would fit really well on this team and in this offense but I get your argument against the trade. I’ll call Washington now and tell them we are out. Let’s move forward together with this new plan of getting HB more involved offensively and get back into the top 4 of the western conference.”
Everybody shook hands and left the meeting on the same page. The next day the Kings played the Hawks. Barnes was called on more than any other player and went off for 30 points while the Kings as a whole played one of their best all around games of the season. 2 nights later Barnes remains a feature in the offense scoring 39 points in a win against the Warriors. Fox suddenly looks like the consistently amazing player he was all season going for 29 and having that passion he’s been displaying all season.
coincidence?
I think not.
my prediction for the remainder of the trade deadline… nothing. Absolutely nothing. The kings will not make any trades until after the season. PERIOD,
Spoiler alert.
On the next chapter, Washington end up offering Kuzma plus 2 second rounder for HB.
More Drama happened.
At the end of Arco’s book have the Kings playing the Warriors for the Play-In.
We have a few months to prepare our heart for it!
Yes? No? Maybe? All I care about is the team winning. If that means HB needs the ball a bit more, then get him the ball.
A more even distribution of shots is probably better anyway.
Great comment. Thumbs up for you today!
Especially when involving Murray.
Um, wow
This is WILD! But it makes so much sense!
Fun to read…but no way.
Plus, Amick already said Foxes issues had to do with being called out for not being at media after Pels….
Barnes going off after trade spec/everyone calling him out is odd though. Why?
Did the coaches suddenly realize they needed to feed him more? If so, why the hell did it take the coaches that long to adjust? I’m not sure I love the way Brown adjust times. The fact that it takes him a while to figure it out. But all of this could be bullshit.
I think the answer has at least some to do with the last couple of opponents. Barnes had + matchups against Klay Thompson and Saddiq Bey. Next up is probably Derrick Jones, Jr., followed by maybe David Roddy? When the Kings are at their best, they are selfless and exploiting the opponent’s weakness. Barnes has been the benefactor of that the last couple of games, and to his credit, he and his teammates have made the absolute most out of it.
Good points/possibilities
I swear I heard this too (or something similar), but I can’t find anything on it. Do you have a link or remember where you saw/heard this?
Carmichael Dave interview yesterday. I think Amick also tweeted about it afterwards, too.
Yeah, but Amick seems to be pulling that out of his butt. He’s the only one who has said it with no evidence to back it up.
Amick is fine overall, but he has an over-inflated ego and he thinks reporters such as himself play an actual part in the NBA instead of just reporting on the sport as observers. He’s thinks he is on the same level as a true insider (player/agent/team mouthpiece) like Woj.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Fox stopped talking to the media at the same time the media got upset that he (or the team) withheld his availability to them after a bad night and bad loss.
It seems like the most logical answer for his ghosting them, frankly. Considering what we’ve already seen of his moodiness, and how it coincides with Jason Anderson’s explanation, too.
I get that, but it’s still just speculation from two obviously biased individuals (biased towards their profession) as they feel entitled to answers as media members, but it was the Kings PR staff that they should’ve directed their anger towards, not Fox. The PR staff are the ones who chose to put Ellis out there for questions.
Then the media called out Fox for because they wanted to ask their questions to him, not Ellis. Maybe Fox took offense for being blamed for something he doesn’t control (in that he wasn’t chosen to speak with the media after the Pel loss), IDK, I’m just guessing like Amick and Anderson.
It all seemed stupid to begin with, I don’t much care if reporters get their feelings hurt but I do care if local reporters make the media coverage about them instead of the team.
I think I heard Amick in Dave Carmichael yesterday or the day before.
Nice write up. Don’t you think Fox understands that NBA basketball is a business and if someone like Barnes is traded to help the Kings get closer to their objective Fox would be acceptible to this. He isn’t Lebron James who thinks he has to be involved in every trade or decision made by the Lakers.
I do think he understands. I do think he wants players to make the team better. I also think he likes Barnes a lot and that losing him would kill the vibes and leadership dynamic of this team. That happening in the summer time is one thing. that happening mid season is likely a horrible thing for this inexperienced squad. I also think that Fox likes Barnes over Kuzma on the court. Again though, I’m only speculating.
[Barnes is sitting in front of his locker, staring into space.]
Brown: So, what do you think?
Jordi: Let’s ask him.
Brown: Harrison, how’s it going?
[No response. Barnes continues staring into space.]
Brown: Huh.
Jordi [approaching Barnes]: Well, what do you know.
Brown: What’s that.
Jordi: He’s got . . . switches.
Brown: Switches?
Jordi: Switches.
Brown: Well, what do they say?
Jordi: One says, “GS 2012-16.” Another says, “DAL 2016-19.” A third says, “SAC.” and the last one says, “Darth.”
Brown: Well, which one is it currently switched to?
Jordi: SAC.
Brown: Let’s try Darth.
[Jordi switches Barnes to Darth mode. Barnes lifts his hands for the basketball.]
Can someone give me a brief tutorial on how to post a gif? I FEEL LIKE DANCING AFTER THIS ONE!
Giphy.com Search, click, Share, Copy Gif Link, paste into TKH comment
Congrats, Hobby916!
It worked! Thanks
No problems. Go Kings!
Let see if this works…
Off Topic:
Trade Pistons/Wizards 14 Jan 2024
Marvin Bagley III: 17.2 ppg/ 9.6 rpg (5 games).
Since trade:
Wizards 0-6
Pistons: 2-4
Poor Marvin Bagley. If he was only given an opportunity he would become an all star. (Says his Dad and no one else).
His Dad and a whole lotta Kings fans here for a few years.
Huerter’s missed free throws kind of ruined the win for me. It seems all the past disappointments against Plays With Mouth Open played the tape forward in my mind, and I saw Curry winning the game. What an odd thing for my brain to do.
Sure would be nice if the TNT crew had an orgasm every time the Kings made a great play. Probably too much to ask.
I love this board and I love this team. We have nice things.
How many new pairs of undies did those announcers need during the game? Even if the Kings were on fire and blew the Warriors out 20 all game, the talk still would have been focused on the warriors.
The TNT crew did talk about the game instead of rambling stories over it . Enjoyed it a great deal more .
For sure.
Agreed dude. The missed free throws at the end absolutely ruined the win. I’ve never been so disgusted while being so happy before.
Yes, because the Kings are showing their underlying flaws that will keep them from moving forward.
So, wins are great but the foundation is flawed…needs fixing.
D is bad. Heurter ain’t clutch. Can Sabonis hit a mid range in playoffs consistently? Can they make free throws etc etc
Marty, let me try to make you feel better by looking at this game from the perspective of a Warriors fans watching Curry, admittedly one of the best shooters ever in the NBA, from one of those mega-uber expensive court side seats.
In the last minute and one half or so of the game Curry drove into the lane for what looked like another short scoop basket or layup. Keegan left his weak side defense and blocked Curry’s shot….from behind.
Not long after that shooting screw up by Curry, the Kings had a shooting screw up of their own, relatively close in to the basket and a multi-player scrum ensued trying to nab the rebound. When the wrestling stopped the ball was landing in the lap of a Warriors player who likes to make sleeping baby motions at opposing players when he sinks a late game shot. There was Curry laying on the ground with the ball in his lap…as he sat astride the out of bounds line, giving the ball to the Kings. Another screw up by the GOAT.
Lurch forward to ten seconds left in the game and there is Curry double teamed and though not called, as it hardly ever is, Curry is pushing Heurter with his arm fully extended after the push trying to “create” distance so he can reprise El Cid one more time for the national audience. Off his foot goes the ball. Game over.
He is a great player, great shooter. But he screwed up three times in crunch time. Here is the kicker. Before those three screw ups he missed a wide open three from one of his favorite places on the court.
Heurter absolutely has to make those FT’s. Absolutely.
I took some comfort in Curry losing his cape mid-flight when the victory was in the balance.
And it seems Dubs fans are already beginning to turn on Curry.
From “Golden State of Mind” comments:
”…but I am giving him a C- at best because when your team plays well enough to win, and you are the leader of the team, and the ball is in your hands in the final possession, and you blow it again, by turning it over yet again, it doesn’t cut the mustard.”
“…but Curry decided to take it to the sideline where even if he doesn’t lose it he’s going to have to jack up a contested 3 from 35 feet.
On top of the physical mistake he made a horrible mental decision.”
“Curry handling the ball will always lead to getting trapped and double teamed resulting in a TO. Simple and proven approach by other teams and we haven’t adjusted. Curry and Kerr have not adjusted.”
Fucking sore losers
Holy shit. LOL. Sabonis is empty calories? These dudes on crack.
What a couple of carbuncles on the ass of humanity these two geniuses are.
He’s just jealous of his triple-doubles because all Green can get is triple-singles.
Losing their shit! Perfect.
Now you’ve done it!
Nice write up. You are right that the offensive flow reminded me of the Kings of last year. When we were taking 3s they were the result of a good kickout pass or swinging the ball around. Players seemed to have a confidence when it was their time to shoot which has great to see.
Barnes played like a star tonight and I appreciate the other teammates recognizing this late in the stretch and feeding him the rock. He has such a bag of tricks to get up a good shot, would like us to try and utilize him more to take the pressure off of Fox to carry the teams scoring needs. Agree with the comments below he had shades of Durant or another prolific scorer who can just pull up and find his shot. Also LOVE how he defended down the stretch. If we are going to trade someone Barnes recent play has certainly opened the eyes of other GMs.
Davion had a great night as well, love how he got some minutes as I think he has a higher ceiling and is still only in his 2nd year. It took Fox awhile to become the player he is today, so I’d love us to give Davion at least one more offseason to work on his game, get in better shape to become the defender he always was, and work on his 3pt shot. However, he is another player who might be traded and I think tonight helped the Kings showcase his potential.
The Warriors always play their best against us maybe because we play the style of ball they perfected and won championships with. May also be that they have a superiority complex and despite their struggles still view us as the queens.
Think a win like this can galvanize the team, and hopefully Fox continues this type of effort and play!
Davion is in his 3rd season, so the improvement needs to be happening now as he is also 25 years old.
He looked more decisive with the ball in this one, and hit a few threes. He needs that floater game to come around as he was getting by defenders but would just kick it out because that skill is not there yet. I mentioned that in the offseason too. Too small at the rim most times, so use his speed to get by someone and float one in there.
He had the highest ORTg (186) and was tied for lowest DRTg (140) with Monk for that game. Monk was terrible, btw.
I like Davion’s overall game. He can be assertive in his attacks to the rim and his defensive tenacity shines nearly every chance. I think he has some unlocked potential still as a distributor, but I don’t believe that’s his nature. If he was able to see and hit the open man on 90% of his drives, I think he’d be an awesome backup pg. That and adding 6 inches, but that’s a little harder to do.
I stand corrected you are right haha! Losing track of time these days. What struck me the most about Davion on offense was his speed and ability to penetrate. Fox is famous for this and it’s rare I feel like in the NBA.
Also just saw Kings making Davion available for trade! Crazy wonder which team will take a chance on him and what we can get in return.
Did you see the way Klay put his shoulder into Davion’s chest and then his forearm? Those “sports analysts” from the above podcast must be livid.
It is incredibly rare when a teams wins while letting their opponent shoot better from everywhere on the floor. The Warriors shot 55% and 51%. That math almost never works out.
A win is a win is a win, but the Kings got lucky.
Great win but neither team making it out 2nd round playoffs, both bad defensive ratings still. Keep this currently fun core and get eliminated, or make potentially unpopular moves now? Monte has a rough 2 weeks ahead.
I vote for no trades. I just don’t see a deal that makes sense out there. If they get eliminated in the first round then so be it Stick with the continuity you chose to stick with during the off season. It’s a long season. If Barnes starts getting featured more does that fine tune an offense that was getting a little stagnant. Does Sasha eventually find a way to stay on the court (maybe Mike brown decides he wants to see more Sasha) and the results are more like what we hoped for?
in the off season all options are available and big decisions will need to be made regarding Monk. What ends up happening?
They really need a better backup Guard. Malik and Davion are short by NBA standards for the position. Duarte is basically unplayable, and Jones is just not ready for important minutes.
They can run those Fox/Monk/Mitchell lineups against certain teams when they also go small, but that lineup gets destroyed by most teams that are higher in the standings.
Not sure how they can accomplish that though.
I don’t think either one makes the playoffs right now.
I do. I think the Kings make it whether by leapfrogging one of the current top 6, or via a play-in win. L’s, Jazz, Mavs, Rockets – I think the Kings win a play-in game(s) against any of them.
I don’t see them catching the top 6. In fact, I’d wager we are going to start seeing the top 6 begin to separate themselves from everyone else.
I also don’t have any confidence in the Kings going into the play-in. Do you remember the Rockets completely destroying the Kings twice, because I do. I’m also not taking the Kings over LBJ in a one game playoff. Maybe they can beat Dallas and tomorrow will be an indicator.
Ah…but would you take Sabonis over Davis in a one-game playoff?
Will Davis be playing, or in street clothes?…
Both. Starts but leaves at halftime due to a hangnail.
Yep. I remember the Rockets games. I think the Rockets will fall out of the play-in, or if they do make it, I think the Kings still win. L’s would be the toughest draw, IMO.
I suspect injuries will be a huge factor in the second half of the season.
I don’t think it’s likely that the Kings bust into that top tier, but I can also see a path in which they do.
Look what I found.. LOL
I agree with the team we have. Need to make some changes. Kings although have a little better chance but not much.
Nice win! I like that they are running some post-ups for Barnes. If that is effective (which it has been the last two games) it has the potential to really open up the offense..
Nice to see Davion, Huerter and Barnes all have strong games. I have been saying trade them but if they can play like this, why? They need to be more consistent, the whole team does.
Monk has been playing too out of control. He thrives on creating chaos and when he is playing well it is a positive but I think he needs to dial it back a bit.
I’m not sure what to make of this team. Sabonis seems to be the one rock you can count on. The inconsistency of this team is hard to figure out. To me, it makes Monty being non-reactive totally make sense.
Like the way we’re playing last two games. The Davion chair pull is one of my favorite plays this season.
Liked Draper’s GIF on the TNT halftime show!
Your boy Drapes
That’s the one!
Bam!
Win something big first then we can complain about the national announcers.
Meh, crappy announcers are crappy announcers.
I’m specifically referring to our homer perception of bias. Crappy will be crappy either way.
Kevon Looney has been a real problem for the Kings. For Sabonis in particular. Last night he was a non factor. Have the Kings figured out the combination? Or was it just that Sabonis made some outside shots, thereby neutralizing the sagging defense strategy?
I think the Kings were hitting a lot of 3s because Looney was not guarding Domas up high, which allowed him to just screen and get those DHOs. Warriors went small to guard the 3, then Domas went down low when Looney was off the court. Perfect storm.
That post-game question posed to Domas about MB not playing McGee was such a dumb and awkward question. There were so many stupid non-basketball questions asked, about where his wife sits, was Domas thinking about dinner during the game, etc.
No wonder the players are tired of talking to the reporter pool. Talk about basketball.
There was a time not too long ago when the press room was largely filled with – what is the word that I’m looking for – journalists. Guys with actual degrees that were earning a living off of their chosen career. Those days appear gone forever.
Not trying to be angry old man yelling at cloud here. The internet and social media has made a treasure trove of great writing and perspectives available to all of us. Look no further than the articles and supporting threads at The Kings Herald. But as a former journalism major, I can tell you that there is an art to preparation for Q & A periods, which includes nuances such as when to ask open vs. closed questions, when to press with a follow up question and when to zip it, and when to shut the eff up when you have nothing pertinent to ask (any article written here by Blake is a crash course in doing it right). And a great number of the people that now have access to the press room have never learned those lessons.
Completely agree, the rise of community journalism has it merits, especially in places that lack freedom of the press, but so much of what makes a journalist trustworthy: professionalism, integrity, info-vetting, source-checking, god-damn proof-reading, etc., has gone by the wayside to be the first to report.
Agree with your position here… Social media has ruined so many great things.. of course I’m the old guy yelling “get off my lawn”
its all a misunderstanding. There’s a video out that that shows who’s asking the questions. You’ll understand why Domas was all smiles
it was Recee, Domas’ wife, and Coach Mike Brown asking him questions.
Yeah, I saw the video this morning. It explains the weird ass press conference a bit, just glad to see them having fun again.
I saw DLo and KC having a good time watching the post-game presser themselves, they had a good laugh due to Antonio Harvey pulling a David Paterson in front of the camera.
Oh! come on. Have a little fun once in a while. Life would be better for it.
hope this works
This will explain some of the questions that were given during Domas’ post game interview.
It was also Coach MB who asked about Javale, Chris Duarte, and Kessler Edward.
They were just joking around. Good vibes
It’s Friday, and I am still riding the win over the Warriors high.
There might be better, but 25-18 is a good place to be.
OT: Luka is going off on the Hawks in Atlanta with 41 pts in the first half! He played 22 minutes in that first half and the game is tied. Hopefully he burns himself out tonight and won’t be at his best against us tomorrow night.
And Booker is going off as well.. I think they have a personal contest going after some of the exchanges between PHX and DAL the other night.
So are today’s players just better scorers, or is today’s NBA allergic to defense? Combination of both?
I’m just of the opinion that the Trae Youngs and Steph Currys of today’s NBA would be the Steve Kerrs and Mark Prices of yesteryear. Larry Bird would make Luka his bitch, right?
The players are probably better at scoring, but the rules and the way the game changes over the years is what makes all these dudes seem to be better…the defense is also mainly non-existent for the most of games now.
Most of these “scorers” now probably would be bench guys in the 80s and 90s. If Trae young took 13 3pt attempts in 1988, he probably wouldn’t see the court again for a while because of bad shot selection.
It’s such a weird discussion to have.
If the players of yesteryear would have the focus on advanced analytics, training regimens etc. of now, how would they adapt and look?
If the players of now would have to deal with the rigours and defenses of the NBA of yesteryear, how would they adapt and look?
And how would today’s society, rules, morals and (social) media affect those players? Would someone like Larry Bird talk so much shit on Twitter that he would be reviled by fans? Would Wilt be bankrupt and out of the league from dozens of child support court cases? Would Bill Laimbeer be suspended and in anger management therapy and Karl Malone in jail? Would Norm Nixon be married to a Kardashian?
Hahaha! The NBA Multiverse!
LOL.
Add in Dr. J and March Maddness and we have….
I think the talent of players today outshines some of the oldies. But the game and game philosophies have changed so much along with them. It was just common to put a player on his back when he came in the paint. It’s a flagrant 2 now.
Elgin Baylor, Bird, Jordan, Russell, Brent Barry and more would still be stars today. Can you imagine Brent Barry with today’s shooting emphasis?
Fun to think about.
Wow Atlanta with 143 pts and still lost.
Hiding HB to develop Keegan must be a hard thing for the franchise. It sure is for some of the threads
Badge Legend