I can’t remember the last time I was this excited about a Sacramento Kings basketball game, and that excitement is doing an absolute number on my nerves. It feels both amazing and daunting to feel this good about this team. Coming in with the momentum of a three-game winning streak, the Beam Team hosted the Brooklyn Nets for their first nationally televised game of the season. The national stage was set, the lights were extra bright, and the home crowd did not disappoint. Tonight was the Kings’ first chance to prove themselves to a league-wide audience. Let’s see how they did:
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings win, 153-121
Sacramento Kings: 153 pts, 60.2% fg, 48.8% 3 pt, 84.0% ft, 39 ast, 42 reb, 17 to
Brooklyn Nets: 121 pts, 49.4% fg, 39.3% 3pt, 90.9% ft, 25 ast, 29 reb, 17 to
LIGHT. THAT. BEAM!!! Under the judging eyes and pressure of a nationwide audience, the Kings completed their most dominant performance that I think we have seen in the last 16 years. In a rare turn of events, I am relatively speechless at what I just witnessed, but I will do my best to describe how beautiful this game was.
The Good, The Better, The Best, & The Rest
The Good
- Domas Dominance: Domantas Sabonis exerted his dominance early, absolutely terrorizing his matchup against the weaker Nic Claxton. Any time Sabonis was able to gain even an inch of post position, Claxton was already beat. Sabonis bullied his way to the rim for strong finishes, even when the Nets tried to send extra coverage. In his 28 minutes, Sabonis finished with 17 points while going 5-5 from the line. Once clearly established, Sabonis used this dominance to get the rest of his team involved. He used the extra attention to his advantage and found cutting and spotting teammates for open looks. This unselfish play resulted in seven assists for the big man. The Kings’ offensive control for the entirety of the game began with Sabonis playing like a star from the start.
The Better
- Defensive Execution: The Brooklyn Nets are kind of a hot mess right now, but they can never be counted out simply because they have Kevin Durant on their team. And the Kings showed an acute awareness of why this man is known as the Slim Reaper. Durant still had some incredible possessions, as all-time great players do. He finished with 27 points, going a perfect 11-11 from the line, in 31 minutes. But nothing was easy. The Kings showed an early intention of doubling Durant, forcing the ball out of his hands, and daring someone else on the Nets to beat them. And, boy, did it work. Constantly facing double teams 35-feet from the basket, Durant reluctantly gave the rock up to open teammates. The Kings’ scramble defense from this point was also impressive. Gray jerseys flew around the court, hands reached for the rafters, and feet shuffled more than a deck of cards at a casino. The Kings’ constant activity in recovering out of their double teams with hard closeouts and fake coverages made it difficult on the Nets to make quick decisions to their advantage. Through three quarters of Durant’s damage, the Kings held the Nets to just 7-21 from distance and forced 13 turnovers. The frenetic defensive energy paired with the precise execution of their strategy completely stymied the Nets.
The best
- Non Stop Offense: This game was so fun. From start to finish, the Kings just kept scoring. In the 2nd quarter, the Nets closed in on the Kings’ early lead and tied the game at 40 points. But then the Kings turned on the freakin’ jets and never looked back. Their offense found its peak flow at this point with constant off-ball movement, sharp cuts, and quick decisions. The ball flew around the court, never stopping to let the defense catch a break, as the Kings completed 21 of their total 39 assists in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. The defensive energy was palpably contagious as it leaked into their transition offense. The Kings cashed in on 20 of their 41 3-point attempts, and it truly felt like they were going to make every shot that left their fingers. We even got to celebrate a Richaun Holmes 3-pointer late in the game. It was just one of those nights. Everybody got to share in on the fun and seven Kings finished in double figures.
The Rest
- The Purple Lion is Out of the Bag: The purple beam is shining extra bright tonight as it illuminated every TV across the nation. Adam Silver got to enjoy the electric atmosphere of Golden 1 Center firsthand, and the NBA on TNT crew was forced to learn a few things about Sacramento Kings basketball. With this dominant performance, I expect the league to be put on notice about the Sacramento Kings and no longer write this team off as an easy night in their schedule.
The King of Kings
Terence Davis was built for the big stage. His energy off the bench was even more electric than usual, as he channeled all of his chaotic juice into a flat out amazing performance. Davis was the jet fuel for the Kings tonight, as he scored 10 straight points in response to the Nets evening the score in the 2nd quarter. And he didn’t stop there. He was everywhere, all night long. Leading the Kings in almost every category, Davis finished with 31 points on 7-10 from the 3-point line, three steals, four assists, nine rebounds, and one very deserving crown.
Up Next
Thursday, November 17th vs. San Antonio Spurs – 7:00 PM (PT)
Brooklyn Dance!
Dance thread!
TD my man
that kid on the right is AWESOME
Kyrie Irving’s Day Off
https://twitter.com/nbcskings/status/1592907369117515777?s=46&t=iaEuaXkzCJcgUn18OeHd3A
“this plastic plate on a moveable cart lights up the beam” lol
lol yes they need to improve this tech
Beam 2.0 incoming!
Ladies and gentlemen, I have been to the Great Wall of China, I have seen the Pyramids of Egypt, I’ve even witnessed a grown man satisfy a camel. But never in all my years as a sports fan have I witnessed something as improbable, as impossible, as what we’ve witnessed here today! The Sacramento Kings… are good?
MikeMikeMikeMikeMike
So, the Kings are good.
Kings fans:
Kings fans: Everybody step up while Lady Luck thumbs her nose at the Kings again. [beam lites again] We are above .500 and tied for 8th place in November.
Adam Silver: [to Portland] I thought I fixed this thing to pay off this year.
Utah Jazz: [to Silver] It’s been paying off all season. I guess it’s empty.
Portland Trailblazers: [to Kings fans] Oh, I’m sorry.
Kings fans: Sorry? This has never happened to us before. We broke even in November. We’ve never broken even before in my children’s lifetime. We’re not a loser. We’re a break-evener! The Warriors are a loser. See them eating ice cream? You know what this means? It means that my life isn’t so terrible. It’s… It’s so-so! [laughs] Isn’t this great?! [exits]
Warriors: Hey, guys, did the Kings call us a loser?
Adam Silver: I’m afraid so, Ws.
Warriors: Good. I thought they said, “Leave me some.”
(If you get this, you are probably old!)
So I’m this old
Kings Fans TKH commenters believe that what you come back as depends upon your how good you fan for the Kings in this life. If you led a good life, you come back in an elevated state.
Warriors Coach like Colorado?
kings fan No, Coach. Uh, more like a Sacramento King, Conversely, if you’ve been a bandwagon warrior fan, you come back in a more lowly condition.” A laker fan
Oh hey, I got a mention on ESPN!
by the way, that philly game came RIGHT AFTER the kings thrashed Dallas by 58 points, 139-81. It was a glorious two game span.
So let’s do that again.
Definitely did not play down to the level and effort of the competition tonight. Glad to see the desire to beat a team down.
No better way to be on national television and have a performance like THAT.
LIGHT. THE. BEAM.
39 assists, 8 guys with at least 3. Wow.
8th place in the west!
Oh, and also……………we’re above .500!!!!
Been so long since we’ve looked amazing on a national stage. Such a special night. Now go Artemis!
Damn I had no idea it was launching last night!
WHAT. A. GAME.
Even during the golden era, we never had a regular season performance on national TV like that!
Favorite part of the post game for me… Charles Barkley, “we should call the commissioner and replace all the Lakers games with Kings games.”
Haha!
Said that at halftime, too. 😂😂😂😂
Audible Viagra
I saw.
They conquered.
I came.
Sorry I didn’t catch that…come again?
done
TMI
Kings offense is elite and tonight they had everything working. Thing of beauty
Kings win big!!!!!!
Atmosphere inside the G1C was electric tonight!
TD3 showed OUT! Unstoppable! Picked up Keegan’s minutes and crushed it!
Those tiny Nets players were not match for Sabonis’ strength!
To cap it off Holmes knocks down a triple and Len throws down a alley oop slam!
Big win! LIGHT THE BEAM!!!
76-6 still on the menu!!!!
Love this username!
That Delly to Len ooop was SO sick then the Holmes 3. The starters were falling down on the bench.
When Richaun hit that three I legit thought I was dreaming. WHAT. A. GAME.
Terence Davis Harris* III
Chuck calling out Shaq all night
Jus the insane energy from EVERYONE
Most points scored since 1993!!!
First TNT game in FOREVER
GODDAMN
For anyone who was there tonight, I am jealous.
BTW, love the Good, Better and the Best column in the recap!
Well done.
Yep! Looking forward to more of these!
Kings are 1 game back of home court advantage in the playoffs.
Does anyone know what medication to take to get rid of a long lasting erection?
You need to put it directly into the beam.
DON’T CROSS THE BEAMS!!
Watch a Laker game
.
Was just gonna post “think of Puke”.
Yep, that’ll do it. LMAO
If you’d like the erection to go away, you can light a match, blow out the flame and put the hot ember on your wrist. And that will focus the brain elsewhere, and you will lose your erection. . .
Take your finger and flick your testicle and if you do that till it hurts, your erection will go away.
. . . Sorry, had to say it . . .
I read your comment and it went away!
You sound like you speak from experience..
Yes, that’s what they told me when I called the Viagra hotline.
We are the 16-year old playoff virgin
Have you ever felt a post-season and it feels like…a bag of sand?
Thanks for your suggestions everyone. I’ve found the cure
(slide whistle noise)
It’s ok, it will bounce back with that second jump! Just make sure not to injure it because it is fragile!
We’re trying to get rid of an erection. We don’t want it to have a second jump. Not sure what to say about not injuring it because it’s fragile…
why would you take anything?
Fantastic win. Great and succinct write-up Mirann . Hopefully we will continue to enjoy this strange feeling of rooting for a winning team.
I’ve never been happier watching a game! I’m guessing the bandaid is staying all season now… I’m lovin it
I mean this in all sincerity: FUCK IT, WE DESERVE THIS!
The Kings are now 2nd in ORtg at 116.5 after tonight. They’re 26th in DRtg at 114, but I wouldn’t sweat that too much. It would have gone down a little bit had Brooklyn not scored 39 in garbage time (aka the 4th qtr). The Net Rtg of +2.5 is 10th in the NBA. FWIW.
aka the second half
I was at the game… HO-LY SHIT…
Glad you got to enjoy it live.
Me too
I was in section 117 near the tunnel, great atmosphere and good times
I’m jelly like Delly.
Good Delly!
Billy Crystal looks like how KD looked last night.
When Kings Fans Met the Playoffs
Mike Brown & Sacramento Kings – “perfect pairing”
We won by so much, I had to put in the backup dancers
I have win on national broadcast game
Even Monk is catching on.
https://twitter.com/AhmadMonk/status/1592779379473776640
Beau Estes, the master rhymer behind the NBA’s TOP 10:
https://twitter.com/NBABeau/status/1592776245342707712?s=20&t=g07pk3Gqria-6W106s628g
Light the mane!
Sabonis +44 in 28 minutes.
Just… insane.
He didn’t miss a shot. Nor a free throw!
I know alot of people were mad about the hali trade but I don’t think there’s any denying now what Sabonis brings to this team. He’s jokic-lite and the pairing with him, fox, huerter, monk, and keegan is going to be a beautiful group for years to come hopefully. Fox is an elite scorer and coach brown seems to have broken him into playing defense and man I’m happy we kept him. I called playoffs before the season and they called me a mad man but fuck it we deserve it!!!
Also, we need a “Light The Beam!” Shirt in the store lol
#LTB
I want a custom jersey with “BEAM” on the back
Yep. It’s not whether Hali > Sabonis or Sabonis > Hali. The irrefutable fact is that Fox/Sabonis > Fox/Haliburton.
May I add to the equation?: Fox/Sabonis/-Hield > Fox/Haliburton/Hield
Well put Rob & Gregory. But that said, I agree with Gregory’s equation. I don’t care how well Buddy Hield is playing in Indy right now, that wasn’t ever happening in Sac. That ship had long sailed.
That’s pretty much how I’ve looked at it. Buddy got paid, and decided to chuck his way out of sacramento. He wasn’t doing this team any favors by being on it.
Exactly right about fox/hali, the combo in theory could have worked but it just didn’t and it’s clear now that both of them are thriving without the other. I feel fox might have felt some type of way about the love tyreese got and you can tell he flipped a switch inside the moment he got traded.
If it took trading hali to get where we are right now I’d make that trade 100x. Hali was a fun player but now we have a really fun team
Yeah, and while his offense has ticket upward, Buddy is still as much of a liability on defense and via turnovers as ever.
Meh…
Welp. I want to take personal and full credit for this amazing win. You can all thank me, for I am the reason this happened.
I was invited to go to this game tonight as part of a work group. Great seats too.
Aaaaaand….
I didn’t go. Wasn’t feeling up to it, so decided just to skip it and stay home and rest.
And you all know… THAT is exactly why they did what they did. I’m convinced of it.
Your welcome Kings.
Nice to enjoy a blow out win for the first time in too long a time. Here’s a swagger dance:
As for the Nets – they reminded me of many of the recent past Kings teams. Jacques Vaughn has job security – but man, that is a game that gets guys fired (remember Ty Corbin taking over one season). Also, seeing TD go off reminded me of games when the Kings would play a team and their 6th, 7th or 8th guy on the bench would look like an All-Star against Sacramento.
I went to this game – also had great seats (Row EE) which a friend secured. Fun to be there and actually see this happen in person.
That’s how Claxton looked trying to guard Sabonis under the basket!
Kevin Huerter was the most underrated player this game and has easily been our biggest offseason acquisition. Feels good to see a player come to Sacramento and take a step forward rather than a step back like so many players in the past. Cheers to the Beam Team!!
Cheers to Monte!
And he’s a lame-duck GM…. Vivek is finding the right moment to introduce his new GM, Sim Bhullar.
Lol Monte is about to get PAID and rightfully so!!
The Kings procured Huerter on a 4/$65m deal for the 2024 first-round pick (top-14 protected). If the pick doesn’t convey immediately, it would be top-12 protected in 2025 and top-10 protected in 2026. If it still hasn’t changed hands by that point, the Hawks would instead receive two second-rounders.
If Huerter stays anywhere near this level of play, this will go down as one of the better trades in Kings history.
And you have to remember that part of the equation from the Hawks standpoint is that they were over the luxury tax line as well. They’ve now gotten under that line by both trading Huerter and Harkless (who they received in the Huerter trade of course).
And they continue to sign their young talent to extensions. This comes back to the fact they signed Bogdan Bogdanovich and that he misses a lot of games. Would you rather have Bogi at 18M AAV or Huerter at 16M AAV? That said, if AJ Griffin or Jalen Johnson pan out for them it’s not likely that big of a deal. Plus, depending on where next year’s tax line actually ends up, they might not have to do a deal like they did with Huerter to save money. They could keep Bogi all season and let his contract expire as some of the other younger players (like Okongwu) start getting expensive.
This is a reason, and not the only one, I’ve been a fan of McNair’s for the most part. I think he’s rather adept at both spotting talent and understanding the value of asset’s both to the Kings and to other NBA teams. That’s 90% of a GM’s job IMO. (I might be too low on the percentage, actually. I consider that a safe low ball guess though.) And one of the things McNair I think understood was that the Hawks were in a bit of a box with their financial situation. He took advantage. That’s how smart GM’ing works.
Having said all that, I agree about this being one of the best trades the Kings have made in a long, long time. The Cousins deal was a good one, IMO, Divac just didn’t do anything with it. The Sabonis deal is looking like a very good deal, but that’s going to take years to determine. It reminds me of, although not under the same circumstances, the Doug Christie for Corliss Williamson swap. That was, I think, the best trade Geoff Petrie ever made. It wasn’t the best player he ever acquired, but it was the best fit of any player he acquired over the years.
I think that Webber for Richmond was Petrie’s best trade. Bibby for J-Will was ballsy as hell. Miller for Hedo and Pollard would have been brilliant had Webber’s knee not turned to dust. Artest for Peja had an incredible short-term ROI.
These are criteria deals, I’ve found. Are you talking best player? Most important? For me, I’ve found over the years it’s one thing to get a star in trade. It’s another to find a complimentary star level role player and those are tougher to get. Lots of teams don’t find that guy, McNair might not with this group. Assuming that the core is Sabonis, Fox and Murray. (I’m operating under that assumption until told otherwise.)
So that’s why I say that Christie for Williamson trade is the best Petrie ever made. It’s not the best player he got, as you point out, but I think it’s the trade that had the greatest bang for your buck if you will. The Kings were around a 45 win team before Doug Christie, the immediate 4 years afterward they were a 55, 61, 59 and 55 win team. Now I’m not saying he was the best player, but this comes back to something that I think Jerry Reynolds mentioned on the podcast about Harrison Barnes. It’s a difficult adjustment to being the 5th best player and DC13 did it almost as perfectly and seamlessly (or it just seemed that way) as you could hope for.
It was, in actuality, a good move in a series of a lot of good moves for what in retrospect is easily the best era of the history of the franchise. Hopefully we’re in the beginning of a new one. That would be a pleasant change.
McGenius, indeed…
Edit: Reply fail, my bad.
He has a higher true shooting percentage than Steph Curry right now
Un Freaking Believable!
Am I still dreaming, or are the Kings a game out of first place in the West? I watched the first half, and what can I say that hasn’t been said about Davis. He was electric, he’s our microwave!
We are 2.5 game back of 1st!
Meant Pacific Division, one game back of PHX. Thanks
The Kings are now second in the league in points scored per game. Maybe Mike Brown is really an offensive genius???
Score a shitload, clamp down defense last 2 minutes close games = PROFIT
that has been exactly our strategy. Make em work for 3 quarters, then clamp in the 4th. It’s so weird, because our defensive rating is bad but the last thing we keep seeing every game is great defense
Yep, this is what they’ve been doing, and I’m not totally sure it isn’t by design – especially in the short term.
For a team learning how to play…not just a new style of defense, but defense, period – it’s going to be FAR easier to get the team to play shutdown defense in brief spurts (i.e., the last 4 minutes of the game) than it is to try and ask them to do something new and foreign to them for a full 48 minutes.
And when you’re blessed to be coaching a team with this much offensive firepower, it can cover for a LOT of defensive deficiencies in the short term, because it’s becoming clear that this team will be out of very few games this season, simply because of their ability to pass and shoot their way back into almost any game.
I didn’t get a chance to post last night … Last night’s game was pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, … pretty, good.
“Turn on the f*ckn Jett’s!!!!!!”
I’m well aware that this is not how this works, and yes I know it’s still reality and blah blah blah. So fly through twice with that bullshit. That said, since the 0-4 start, this is what the Kings numbers look like in the 9 games (7-2 record) since:
ORtg: 119 (2nd)
DRtg: 112.6 (21st)
Net Rtg: 6.5 (2nd)
Both the ORtg and Net Rtg are 2nd to Boston are #1 in Net Rtg by a wide margin in this span but that’s mainly due to better defense on their part.
This is the template, IMO, of a 45-50 win team. These are the team 4 factors and current ranks in the NBA.
Offensive 4 factors:
eFG%: 59.2% (2nd)
TOV%: 14.5% (12th)
ORB%: 24.1% (23rd)
FT Rate: 29% (7th)
Defensive 4 factors:
eFG%: 55.9% (26th)
TOV%: 15.3% (15th)
DRB%: 74.7% (6th)
FT Rate: 24.7% (7th)
Some players individual numbers:
De’Aaron Fox:
ORtg: 116.9
DRtg: 111.5
Net Rtg: 5.4
TS%: 60.1%
USG%: 27.6%
AST%: 32.7%
TOV%: 8.9%
AST/TO: 2.74
DRB%: 13.6%
Domantas Sabonis:
ORtg: 123.8
DRtg: 111.5
Net Rtg: 12.3
TS%: 66.2%
USG%: 22.9%
AST%: 27.3%
TOV%: 9.9%
AST/TO: 2.71
DRB%: 30.6%
Kevin Huerter:
ORtg: 119.4
DRtg: 113.6
Net Rtg: 5.8
TS%: 73.2%
USG%: 17.7%
AST%: 12.9%
TOV%: 9.2%
AST/TO: 2.00
DRB%: 8.1%
Harrison Barnes:
ORtg: 121.3
DRtg: 111.6
Net Rtg: 5.8
TS%: 58.8%
USG%: 15.1%
AST%: 10.0%
TOV%: 5.9%
AST/TO: 3.00
DRB%: 14.2%
Keegan Murray:
ORtg: 113.9
DRtg: 108.5
Net Rtg: 5.4
TS%: 53.1%
USG%: 16.3%
AST%: 5.7%
TOV%: 11.9%
AST/TO: 0.85
DRB%: 10.5%
Malik Monk:
ORtg: 115.2
DRtg: 111.8
Net Rtg: 3.5
TS%: 61.3%
USG%: 23.5%
AST%: 28.6%
TOV%: 10.7%
AST/TO: 2.38
DRB%: 7.8%
Things that stand out to me, personally. Fox and Sabonis are your two best playmakers, other than Monk, and their AST/TOV ratios aren’t perfect but are heading in the right direction. Sabonis is exactly the player you were hoping for. If anything, my only gripe is I wish the Kings could find a way (and I think Fox is trying in that regard) to get him a shot more or two in the matchup’s Sabonis can score in. Speaking of Fox, his ultra hot start in the first 4 games is actually what is boosting his TS% right now. But….if he keeps up a 60 TS% over the course of the season I’ll be doing a very large happy dance. Whatever the hell that means.
Other stuff: Huerter can shoot the damn ball. Barnes does not make mistakes, Monk is a much better playmaker than a lot of us thought (I thought Monte McNair was full of shit when he said Malik was a better playmaker than any of us realized; glad I was wrong), and Keegan Murray is, I know this will be a weird thing to say, a rookie. He’s going through it right now. And that’s okay. Hopefully his back recovers quickly.
One important note I always look for in DRtg in particular: Do you have wide fluctuations within, say, your starting lineup or do you have groupings of players together. It’s revealing to me that Fox, Sabonis and Barnes all have nearly identical DRtg’s. It tells me there is a defensive gameplan, and they are sticking with it. Monk’s DRtg is near those 3, Murray’s is significantly better (not sure what that means if anything), and Huerter’s is a bit worse. That tells me they are moving in the right direction since those DRtg’s of Fox, Sabonis and Barnes are all significantly better than the overall team DRtg.
This team might not look wonderful on defense, but they stick together and they make their offense stand up. This is an offensive team that gets enough stops to win games. That’s their template. During these 9 games, they’ve been doing exactly that. I’m curious to see how long this continues, if it does continue. I personally think it will, but proof is in the pudding as they say. Beating Brooklyn isn’t nearly as impressive as one might think and beating them down isn’t that big a deal. It’s also true the Blazers could lose to the Nets in a couple days, too. The NBA is crazy that way, and the Nets are scuffling atm. (Although they were playing better a week ago in fairness.) They are talented enough, especially if Kyrie Irving turns off his dumbshitness for the season, The game in mid March in Brooklyn could be quite the contest. There is, after all, a lot of season left.
That all said, a fun team with a lot of fun players who play a beautiful brand of basketball with a head coach and organization determined to create a path forward that fans want to be a part of. I’m down for that. 16 years of horrible basketball is more than enough for me.
great post. I’ve known for years it would be VERY easy to wash away my pessimism regarding this team, and here we are.
You guys read all that from him?
So many words …
Copy and paste has it uses you orange and black clad assclown.
Copy and paste has it uses you orange and black clad assclown.
😛
Great post. Nice to see growth with this team.
Maybe it’s time to organize a Kings Herald game meet-up.
Monte loves us, right?
I’m totally in to meet up at a game or sports bar or something.
Just put in a bunch of ($5) bets guessing the finals matchups with the Kings competing against the top 8 teams. Guessing Knicks and Kings in the finals on $5 nets $50,000. Extremely likely it doesn’t happen, but anything’s possible! Possible the Kings would be 9-4 if two end of game calls went the Kings’ way.
This was the game that did it for me………….I’ve finally come to terms with Greg Wissenger not being named Head Coach.
Favorite post game quote:
KD: Sometimes a team is just better than you.
Good time to step up and shine, would be nice if they earned themselves another national broadcast. Regardless, consistency is key. This was just one game of 82+
Get back to work.
Exactly….four straight emotional, high-level, high-energy wins.
Have to guard against a multi-game letdown after the events of the past week.
I have a feeling coach is already on it, though, and doing his best to ensure it doesn’t happen, or if it does, not for long. (It’s a looooong season – every team will have its ups and downs over the course of 6-7 months.)
I swear I’m not trying to be Debbie Downer here, especially as we’re all riding the high of the past week or so.
It’s a looooong season. Every team will have its share of ups and downs over the course of 6-7 months.
This team WILL struggle at points. Almost every team in the league does. So be ready for that.
But what matters is that we can all see what we have now, what works, what’s missing, etc.
This is at least a play-in team. It’s probably a playoff team. It’s a team with almost endless firepower on offense, with 8 different guys who could lead the team in scoring on any given night.
It’s a team learning how to play defense, first by learning how to put the clamps on in the final four minutes of games, while they continue to learn the concepts to become an average defensive team in the longer term – which they’ll need to become a Top 4 or 5 team in the West.
As KG21 said below, the eye test says this looks like a 45-50 win team. Taking the 0-4 start into account, I’ll stick with my preseason prediction of 44-38.
Along with needing to take another step on defense, they’re also a couple of players short of being a Top 5 team in the West. (As I see it, a rim protector, and a bigger, athletic defensive stopper at the 3/4. If KZ can develop, we might already have the latter in-house.)
This really is beginning to feel like the 1998-99 club in many ways, and I’m SO here for it!
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