The Sacramento Kings fell to 0-3 on the season Sunday following a 123-112 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Sacramento got off to a good start, leading 28-25 after the first quarter, but defensive problems lingered in the second as Memphis dropped 42 points and took a 67-59 lead into halftime.
The Grizzlies hit 12 three-pointers in the first half, continuously exposing Sacramento’s perimeter defense.
The Kings fought back in the second half, eventually tying it up at 106 with 5:30 remaining, but Memphis closed things out with a decisive 17-6 run to seal the victory. Yet another was another example of the Kings playing competitive basketball for stretches without any chance of sustaining it for 48 minutes.
Zach LaVine led the Kings in scoring with 37 points, five assists and two rebounds. LaVine had a nice scoring night, but his lackluster effort on defense and rebounding were quite frustrating at times in this game. Darius Acuff Jr. showed more encouraging development, looking calm and collected while playing the floor general role. His shot stopped falling toward the end of the game, but he played in an efficient manner for the vast majority. He finished with 22 points and seven assists and just one turnover. He finished 9-of-23 overall and 2-of-9 from three.
Keegan Murray was sidelined by injury, so Precious Achiuwa moved into the starting lineup alongside De’Andre Hunter. Achiuwa provided much-needed energy, contributing 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals in 39 minutes. Domantas Sabonis added 15 points and 15 rebounds but recorded only assists, a noticeable difference from the offense running through him in the last game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Malik Monk, meanwhile, continued to look rusty in his second game this season, scoring six points on 3-of-8 shooting, 2 assists and 2 turnovers in 12 minutes. Emanuel Sharp played 14 minutes, had 1 rebound and 1 block, but led the team in +/- with a +11.
The Kings did shoot 47% from the field, but were undone by familiar problems: bad defense, rebounding struggles, consistent fouling and bad execution down the stretch. Memphis finished with a 54-44 rebounding advantage, made 15 three-pointers and went 89% from the free throw line, compared with Sacramento’s 64% from the line. The Grizzlies had 6 players finish in double digit scoring. Ty Jerome had 31. Rookie Cameron Boozer finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Kings just could not secure defensive rebounds and avoid fouls in the fourth quarter, which allowed the Grizzlies to easily pull away once the game got close.
There were positives, including Acuff’s continued growth, Achiuwa’s effort (he kept them in this game at various points) and Sacramento’s ability to crawl back into it. But through three games, the larger concerns remain unresolved. The Kings have now given up 121, 128 and 123 points in three straight losses to start the season, and the offense doesn’t even seem high powered enough to counterbalance that.
Next up, the Spurs in San Antonio to kick off a four-game road trip.
These guys could be 0-7 before their next home game. Feels like this season is already lost.
They are already there, if we include the preseason.
It was toast when Doug was aloud to continue coaching this team.
Thanks Vivek
and has Doug already gone away from running O through Sabs (imo- the only way they are any good on O or mildly competitive) ?
Damn, Doug is toast. In the post-game presser he was questioned about the Kings being severely out rebounded and in response he simply said the Kings were only out rebounded by two on the offensive end. Then he said this loss is on him and that he needs to find a way to be better. Um, wut? Find a way? That’s all he said! Find…a…way…to…be…better? At, like what?
He can instantly make the team better by stepping down as head coach.
Be better? Just leave Doug.
Mike Woodson just waiting in the wings…
Yep. And there won’t be any meaningful improvement.
I don’t know. Woodson isn’t great or anything but at least he is a legit NBA head coach. DC has yet to show even that.
That said, the roster is what it is. And if Keegan and Hunter continue to be overpaid 7th-guy level roster holds then we are pretty effed. Maybe Woodson can run something that actually sets up good shots for those guys (not that Keegan will hit them! lol)
Zach and Domas have been fine so far, and I have no problem with how Acuff has been, but outside of Precious the rest of the guys have been awful.
I feel pretty safe in saying this is the worst team in the NBA, maybe by far, no matter who is coaching. Agree that Domas and LaVine have been fine, but neither can play defense, and LaVine has the unique ability to score 20+ and still be a negative on the floor. Too many GLeague players in the rotation, and as you noted, Keegan is a complete unknown.
He might be better off using Luke Walton’s “I have to review the tape“-response, and I never thought I would say that.
I’m resigning myself to the possibility (likelihood?) that this team will have the worst record in the league this year. What I want them to avoid is the record for fewest wins in a season (current record is 9) or the record for longest losing streak (current record in 28 games). With Doug, I think both records are realistic.
To add… worst start to a season (18 straight losses) is also within reach.
I’m at the point that everything that has a small chance of embarrassing Vivek enough to step down is a good thing.
The rest is just rearranging deck chairs.
I agree. I’ve come to welcome any turn of events involving the Kings on or off the court that may get through his asinine ego and bubble of sycophants to possibly make him realize it’s better to cash out and move on.
I completely agree. I want every single record for futility to be owned by Vivek and the Kings. I want all of those things attached to his name forever so that for the rest of eternity, everyone will know how bad of an owner he was.
…so that it never happens to the Kings and their fans again!
Not only is Doug a bad coach, but I don’t like his antics on the sideline. All this fist pumping when the Kings do something positive gives off a bad look to me. Maybe after a win he can celebrate.
From Reddit: Darius Acuff Jr.’s 73 field goal attempts are most for any player in his first 3 career games since the merger. Previous high was Kevin Durant with 64
In the last 50 years, Darius Acuff has the most field goal attempts for any player in their first 3 games at 65 attempts.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that if Doug Christie is giving Acuff the green light, it is probably a horrible idea.
I think those attempt numbers will go down as the season continues and he has more experience under his belt.
Just some additional context (most FGAs thru a players first 3 games since the merger):
1) Acuff (19) – 24 of 73, 33%
2) Durant (19) – 28 of 64, 44%
3) Iverson (21) – 25 of 55, 45%
4) Trae Young (20) – 25 of 50, 50%
5) Wilkins (22) – 34 of 49, or 69%
My personal takeaways, none really…other than he is in really good company and the Human Highlight Film was my first real “Whoa, there’s people that can do that!?!” player I had ever seen (a close 2nd was Muggsy Bogues).
Personally, I don’t have an issue with DA taking as many shots as he needs to in order to get comfortable as the future of this team is far more closely tied to DA’s performances than it is to LaVine’s or Domas’s or anyone else on this roster.
Until the roster is completely reshaped, there is not a single player or coach who can make this a winning team so IMO, the best path forward is to speed up DA’s learning curve by making sure he has an all-time green light getting plenty of film to review afterwards.
I don’t know where to start, other than to say this team really sucks, and the coaching is even worse.
Really, the goal for this season should be: showcase any veterans to the league, don’t get in the relegation zone, and continue to develop your young players.
On that last note, I don’t understand how a Daequan Plowden gets minutes whilst Nique Clifford and Alex Karaban get DNPs.
The likelihood is that none of the three guys you named guys are NBA players.
Plowden looks more NBA legit than Nique and Karaban.
I liked the Nique pick but he hasn’t shown much.
I was pretty surprised and unimpressed when they took Karaban after trading back in to the 1st round. He just seems very meh.
Karaban strikes me as the kind of dude that could notch out a role on a properly functioning franchise like the Spurs or Heat who now how to correctly and efficiently use players skillsets.
I couldn’t agree more. Really wonder what it’s like to support a team that knows what it’s doing.
Yeah I think Karaban has the tools to be a useful player. He has no shot in this organization though.
When they traded up, I thought they were securing a defensive wing like T. Brazile (DEN) or B. Miller (LAC), or even a scorer like C. Carr (LAL), I was very disappointed that it was Karaban.
Unfortunately for the Kings, San Antonio needs a win and would not likely sit their stars this upcoming game.
Oh look, the reigning NBA champs have the same record as the Kangz. If the Knicks fire the coach that lead them to the championship, maybe we can hire him.
I didn’t watch the game. I didn’t watch the shortened version, nor did I watch the “highlights”.
If I am looking at the box score correctly, the Grizzlies “bigs” were mainly Beef Stew and Boozer (with some Post minutes). Sabonis only had 8 FGA??? Does this team just try to suck every game?
Is the coaching thinking “Edey is out, we should be able to attack the paint with our little guards”?
Why not feed the big man?
Why does this team always seem to do the wrong thing???
The 4th quarter was shocking. Sabonis was at the dunkers spot for a good chunk of it and LaVine was bringing the ball across half court to initiate the offense. A couple of those times he didn’t even pass, it was just ISO and attack the rim for Zach. Doug is really leaning into the read and react thing. Zach did have one flashy dunk…so there’s that.
What is so hard about running the bread and butter PnR with Sabonis and Acuff. Just run that every time!
If Doug is really resorting to Zach as PG then he will definitely be gone by Thanksgiving. Hell, maybe he wants to be fired at this point. The team is shit, he’s gonna get caned eventually, and no one else is going to hire hime, so why not take the paid time off before the travel schedule kicks in, eh?
Seeing Nique and Karaban ride the pine is the chef’s kiss to all this. Those two are guys the Perry traded up to get! YOU GAVE UP PICKS FOR COLLEGE SENIORS WHO AREN’T PLAYING!
Yeah, the offense looked best in the Portland game. Acuff was getting it to Domas early in the possession a lot in that game.
That’s true about LaVine. To start the 4th, Zach just dribbled the length of the floor and bricked a couple of 3’s. I knew the Kings were done then.
Clifford and Karaban didn’t play at all. Why? Hunter played how many minutes? Either one should have some playing time over Hunter. Why doesn’t Karaban play at all? Is he really that bad compared to Hunter? He needs to play.
Domas is shooting 21-26 thru 3 games. 14-15 <5ft., 6-9 5-9 ft., 0-1 10-14 ft., 0-0 15-19 ft., 0-0 20-24 ft. & 1-1 25-29 ft.
They need to win some amount of games to not finish with a bottom 3 record. They should be trying to feed Domas as much as possible to bank some wins before the trade deadline.
But they keep screwing around, almost like Perry didn’t get the memo that the Draft Lottery changes take affect THIS SEASON!!!
Yep. We finally decide to tank a season too late. Kangz
OT: “Prediction Markets” are to gambling as vaping is to cigarettes. Lipstick on a pig. The utter hypocrisy of the NBA dealing with player gambling scandals while at the same time crawling into bed with these companies is disgusting. Rules for thee but not for me.
I feel this will only bite the league in their ass, and they will deserve it. The problem is, these billionaire owners won’t care because they are lining their pockets and they feel untouchable.
The fact they call them “prediction markets” is Monty Python levels of absurd.
My prediction is more gambling scandals in the future of the NBA.
Several judges have already ruled that prediction markets are just thinly-veiled gambling sites regardless of how they want to market themselves. There are over 100 lawsuits in state courts directly related to this issue. The prediction markets are trying to say they will “self-regulate” but there are few who are buying it.
As recently as Sept 2026, a few states (TN & OH in the 6th circuit, & NV in the 9th) have already won lawsuits resulting in the markets being regulated in those states no different than traditional bookmaking sites.
Leaks to national media about unhappy players are just a week or two away.
I wonder if LaVine is already there. He seems to be playing with a bit of anger so far this season. There is a bit of something to prove. Maybe he’s like “I’m gonna try and drop 40 every night just so I can get my ass traded out of here.”
ConZacht year!
Leaks?
Zach and Domas have already made statements questioning the offense/continuity/leadership to the media directly!
All signs point to their new 2-way player…
Leaky Black!!!
Tied at 106 and I thought ok we might have a game here. I blinked and Memphis was up by 10. Doug won’t make Thanksgiving. Players will ask for trades. Arena crowd looked like a summer league game. Boos rained down. For the “sell the team” folks around here this is pretty much an ideal situation so far.
Very frustrating. I know they will lose a ton, but it was so fun to watch how they played in the first half against Portland. All the passing made it fun, and it worked.
Why they go away from Domas is a mystery.
Sadly, this is still part of the fallout from knee-jerk moves like firing Mike Brown and trading Fox for pennies on the dollar and Vivek’s man crush, Lavine.
If only they had given Siakam the money he demanded.
If only they had traded Fox instead of Tyrese.
If only they hadn’t made Vivek majority owner.
If only …
I’m not here to defend Doug, but why isn’t Scott Perry getting some heat for putting together this awful roster
Because he was stuck with Zach and Domas as center pieces. I think they are good players and a good coach could do something with them, but as the best two players on your team, you are already behind the 8 ball. Thanks Uncle V/Monty!
I think it’s a mixed grade for me. Bad: Dennis Schroder was a terrible signing. Keegan extension isn’t looking good. Doug Christie as HC.
Good: He has found some gems: Achiuwa signing was great. Maxime and Cardwell were excellent value. Acuff is a solid pick at 7. Sharpe looks like good value.
Meh: Nique/Karaban/Westbrook. And TBF, Nique and Karaban are late 1sts so I’m not sure expectations are all that high.
Incomplete: Ben Simmons. /insert sad face gif
Well, to draft Nique, Perry had to add an asset. Same with Karaban.
Schroeder was just a huge mistake. Doubling down, they had to throw in Ellis to move that contract. Tripling down, they took MORE money back with Hunter in that deal.
It’s been a lot of bad/insignificant moves by Perry. He has not done anything great, imo. But, it’s what I expect from a bottom 3 GM.
Yeah, trading into the first round for 2 guys that seem like they should have been 2nd round picks.
I disagree about their being good players. I think Domas is the only one that makes it into the average conversation. The Kings are a perfect of example of the “somebody has to get stats in an NBA game” corollary. These guys all get a few stats on the Kings but wouldn’t move the needle at all on any other team. Nobody on the Michael Carter-Williams Sixers process squad was good. Not one player. MCW won rookie of the year. The Kings are basically in the same boat. Lavine is not a good player. He’s actually an awful player. Sabonis is not a good player. He’s a decent stat accumulator who no contending team would trade for. Keegan might have a bottom 5 contract in the league. Hunter is awful. Acuff is awful right now but hopefully will improve. Precious was out of the league before joining the Kings. None of the young guys save maybe Raynaud have any value.
So, Perry has done a terrible job. Doug has made it worse. And the players aren’t any good. All while the owner sits around twiddling his thumbs because he has no idea what he’s doing. But other than that, everything is going great!
It’s been a domino effect since the Schroder signing. They had to dump JV to make it happen, then attach Keon (who is starting for Brooklyn, averaging 2.3 steals and shooting 40% from 3) to Dennis to take on more money for Hunter. Perry capped out the team which forced him to waive and stretch DDR in order to squeeze some room for Precious, Plowden, and Simmons (who is now done).
If only Perry had not signed Dennis and just gone with Russ, the Kings would have had $25M in available cap space.
It is a snowball effect of stupidity.
And because of the cap issues after all that (taking back a more expensive Hunter in that deal), they then had to add a 2nd rounder to move Carter because they could not just waive him due to cap issues. The icing on the cake, Atlanta took the 2nd and Carter, only to eat the salary by waiving him.
Perry is trying to clean up an overflowed toilet with a broom. He is just making more of a mess, imo. Nothing is getting better.
This team indeed has a perimeter problem. Offensive, defenisve, and coaching (When it comes to being cerebral and thinking outside of the box).
The average NBA team shot 37 three-point shots last year in the Kings only shot 30. The team is currently doing the exact same thing. Doug Christie when he took over coaching in late January 2025 said he wanted his team to shoot 40 three-pointers per game. He has not honored his statement. He has identified the problem, but not come up with a solution. It’s time to find someone that can stick to their word.
Also, the team is full of power forward and centers that can’t or won’t take three point shots. The lack of having the diversity to shoot three-pointers from all position players on the floor is a serious NBA-deficient problem that needs to be addressed immediately.
Perry seems to like his throwback bigs. I think he is stuck in the early 2000s when it comes talent evaluation. Small combo guards, bigs that don’t shoot. The game has passed him by, I think.
Christie wants to defend the paint so we lose because every team takes that reasoning to do what has done to the Kings shoot the 3. Every team as far back as a care to go shoots the 3 far better than we do. Its a trend that will continue as long as Christie defends his position. I fail to see how that works when every team we play as a shooter at the top of the key wide open for a 3 all the time. And they make them constantly. Go figure.
Right now do we have anyone on the team other than Lavine who can shoot the 3 at a consistent rate?
Even more aggravating is that Doug and Scott preach “defensive first mindset”, and how they want to be a tough, physical team. It’s all lies. Can’t draft Acuff at the same time preaching how great you want to be defensively.
The team defense has sucked for over a decade, and the current Coach/GM are just continuing the company stance.
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