After losing his debut game against the Lakers in Los Angeles, a game in which he only had a day to adjust being head coach, Christie has begun implementing his philosophy: a defensive-minded, high-energy approach. Though it is a small sample size and potentially a honeymoon phase, it appears to be creating positive results.
Over the last two games, some of the team’s defensive metrics have seen an uptick. The Kings have allowed opponents to average 113.5 points per game this season. Over the last two games, the team has allowed 103.5 points. The team also has averaged 9.5 steals, compared to an 8.1 season average. Additionally, the team has averaged 16 offensive rebounds per game compared to its season average of 10.5.
Christie has expressed how he wants his guys to play hard, and not just in a general sense. He harkens it back to his days of playing defense at a high level and how difficult it is. He gets it, but he wants his guys to play so hard on both sides of the ball and for each other at such a high level that it hurts so bad that they need ask to come out of the game.
“Which I know is super, extremely hard. Because there is a conditioning aspect to what I am asking you to do because you’ve got to play hard on both ends of the floor. As somebody who did that, I totally understand it,” he said.
Christie’s aggressive defensive coaching, he is a self-described “eye contact person” who wants to confirm his players are engaged, has become a calling card of his early tenure. “I’m aggressive by nature. That is what I want to see from them,” Christie said. “We might not be the biggest and different things when you look at other really good defensive teams, but there’s always something that you can do out there and we have guys that anticipate well. You put pressure on the basketball, I want you to fly through the gap.”
The effort on defense was on full display down the stretch in Wednesday’s win over the 76ers. The Kings went on a 15-0 run to close out of the game, implementing several traps that led to stops and turnovers, winning the fourth quarter 33-18. Domantas Sabonis referenced a crucial moment when Christie spoke to the team during a fourth quarter timeout while down six points and three minutes to go in the game.
“Doug called a timeout and he said let’s get three stops in a row and we’re winning this game, and we got stops the whole rest of the game,” Sabonis said.
That is a team locked in with their coach and each other, a very positive sign considering what transpired in the month of December.
In another sign of good leadership, Christie gave his assistant coach Luke Loucks credit for calling the defensive approach in crunch time: “Luke offered up trapping because I believe we had two fouls to give, and then we ended up under two minutes still with one, so it allowed us to continue to be super aggressive,” Christie noted.
There are several little interactions that get brought up also that show he has the ear of the team. One came last night after the game when Christie mentioned an interaction with Trey Lyles: “We’ve talked about not talking to the refs, and I was like Trey, you owe me, and he was like you’re right, my bad,” Christie said.
Christie complimented the resilience the team has shown in the midst of a coaching change and trade rumors swirling: “There’s two things that you can do: You can give up; you can let up. Or, you can get at it,” he said. “These guys, they continue to come in, to respond, to listen, to try and do what I’m asking of them.”
What Kings fans are asking for is effort. Play hard and play for the city. Winning at home through defensive intensity and sustained effort is something Christie has put an emphasis on.
“These fans deserve that,” Christie emphasized. “This is our house; we want to defend our house.”
And this was all summed up perfectly after the game when Christie brought the team up to the roof of the Golden 1 Center to see the beam.
“Ya’ll are the light of this city man and when you light that motherfucker; it means something to people,” Christie said to the team while standing directly under the beam. “And when you come and rock the way you guys is rocking, you’re going to continue to lift them, and that’s what we’re here to do so continue to be that light.”
This is a feel-good moment, and a moment the team and the fans needed. Of course, we can’t get too carried away with two wins against teams without their top players (Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Joel Embiid certainly would have made things much more difficult). Wins are wins though, and wins at home when they hadn’t been happening, are important.
Christie has shown that he is flexible with his rotations, he’s trying to simplify the offense and free things up a little more, and is encouraging less barking at the refs. Plus, he is just a genuine person who played a long time in the NBA. And not just in the NBA, in Sacramento, on the most successful team in Sacramento history. That alone shouldn’t qualify him as the head coach necessarily, and I like most of you am concerned about how this could all turn out for him (it’s still upsetting that Vlade got put through the ringer), but if he can connect with these players, get them to buy in and it results in wins, then that is all we can ask for at this point.
I believe in Doug Christie’s ability to get this team to play harder. Imagine if he also had more length to work with. We need to make some sort of move before the deadline or MM needs to go.
“The Los Angeles Lakers finally swung a trade, bringing in Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton and sending out D’Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second round picks to the Brooklyn Nets.”
I missed this! Couldn’t / Shouldn’t we have offered better? I hope this means we are overpaying for Cam Johnson and Day’Ron Sharpe. Do you think Kevin Huerter and three firsts would get the job done?
The Kings only had one 2nd round pick they could trade (others are tied up in the Atlanta pick for Huerter years back).
Kings would need to add more salary to the trade, and I don’t think three 1st round picks is a good deal at all.
Maybe have it not be the 2025 pick? I’m worried Monte is going to do nothing because he can’t find a good deal. Just like last year…
You ready for this magic I cooked up?!?!
Sac gets: Bobby Portis and Cam Johnson
Mil gets: Devin Carter, Day’Ron Sharpe, Doug McDermott (eligible 1/14): They get two young guys for future while also all 3 being able to contribute this year.
Nets get: Huerter, Colby Jones, Alex Len, 2 kings 1st rounders: basically 2 firsts for Cam and likely a future trade piece in the off season with Huerter.
Fox/monk/keon at guards
Murray/Derozan/Cam at wings
Sabonis/Portis/Lyles at bigs
Everyone locked up for multiple years except Lyles which we could obviously resign if we wanted.
That 9 is competing with any team in the league.
You and Jack use a different trade machine.
I use fanspo, think it’s the most accurate
Accurate meaning you think that deal actually happens?
legal trade.
i think something like this could happen but in separate deals. Mil the tougher one for me actually but i think thats pretty solid return for portis so, maybe
Now that is a competitive 9! I would definitely make that trade if I were the Kings management. The Nets are looking for best available deal, so I’m not sure they go with this one. I think the Kings need to add a third 1st rounder to get something like this done.
We can’t do 3 for cam
One of the league’s older teams giving up 2 first rounders. I don’t think that’s a good idea.
We aren’t that old lol
May not be the best opinion, but I think we can do better than Bobby Portis. And again, maybe it’s just me but older players or seasoned vets tend to get OLDER quickly when they come to Sac. DDR is now 54 years old and has only been here a quarter of the season.
I have other examples, but shit I’m tired from work and don’t feel like thinking.
Go Kings.
One thing I was thinking about Doug is the old adage that great players make lousy coaches. Back when MJ was coaching, I read an article somewhere that talked about his struggles to coach. The gist of it was that he had so much natural talent and basketball IQ that he couldn’t connect with players, couldn’t understand the challenges they faced in maintaining game intensity, conditioning, and just plain raw talent. In some ways, Jordan was born with that ability and he just didn’t have the patience for players who needed motivating. It’s hard for gods to teach mortals how to excel.
When I think about Doug’s tenure as a King, he had to work his ass off for every opportunity. He outworked everyone on the court to continue to earn his playing time. He had a lot of natural talent, of course, but he brought his lunchpail to work and much of what he accomplished was through sheer will and determination. I hope it serves him, and us as Kings fans, well.
So far, we’re talking small sample size against squads with injuries, so I’m not going to get too fired up just yet. But it does seem like Doug has the capacity to really reach players and have an impact. Thanks for the article, Blake! I’m happy to have a little something to be encouraged by.
Hopefully he can reach Huerter and Murray and build their confidence back in regards to shooting. That would make the season entirely different.
I think of Ty Lue, another lunchpail, hard working player that has had success as a coach.
Yeah, the list of middling NBA players who became great coaches is pretty extensive. Ime Udoka looks like he could be joining those ranks, too.
Others have pointed out that there could be a mechanical problem with Murray’s shot, too. Hopefully between focusing on mechanics and support for their confidence, Murray and Huerter can return to form.
I will be watching Murray’s shot closer after your comment about mechanical issues. Didn’t DC work with Sabonis on his shot over the last couple of years? I do like the improvement I’ve seen there. Hopefully DC can bring back the great shooting Keegan Murray to go with the growth we have seen in every other area.
Right? We all know that guy is in there. I’m hoping Doug figures out how to unleash the beast.
I am starting to think Brown just over coached the guys and it got in their heads. Hopefully they can play a little more loose and just trust that they know when to shoot the ball. Catch it and let it fly. Nothing else matters. Can’t think about mechanics or any of that when you are competing.
I had read that he had that affect on the previous teams he had coached and was kind of waiting for that shoe to drop. But I was hoping we’d get more than 2 1/2 years before it did.
Yeah I agree on the over-coaching. It was probably inevitable, this was the concern with hiring a coaching carousel re-tread to begin with. You know what’s eventually going to happen! Doc’s team will lose a 3-1 lead in the playoffs. Thibs’ team will get run ragged until the wheels fall off. Etc.
Bird is the only star player that comes to mind that was a really good coach.
Larry was coach of year and later executive of the year . An exception to every rule .
Then why can’t Chtiste be the exception? It’s happened before.
I was actually trying to make the point that Christie was not a “star”, per se. He was more of a Johnny Lunchpail role player-plus, in my opinion. I think he understands the hard work and focus that it takes to become an established player in the NBA and has a chance to impart that knowledge to his players.
Doug Christie the player made his living on grit and determination. If Coach DC can instill that toughness in the players he coaches, then the interim tag should be removed soon.
Yeah, most of the true superstars can’t coach. Bird was an exception. Lenny Wilkens was another great player and a was a pretty good coach for a very long time.
And who can forget Kings coaching legend Bill Russell?!
Jerry West also hit all three of superstar, coach, and Executive.
Reggie Theus? Paul Westphal? (star players who were NBA coaches) and Kings coaches.
Some other coaches who were NBA stars (and you could include Celtic greats KC Jones, Bill Sharman – not Bob Cousy) – Jason Kidd, Kevin McHale were decent. Steve Nash did not fare well.
One star coach who was also a 2x All-Star as a player was the tough, hard nosed Bull – Jerry Sloan.
On the Trivia front:
Larry Brown, a 1968 ABA All-Star had 23 assists and was MVP of that ASG. Helluva coach.
Also, John Wooden was a star player way back in basketball (not NBA) history.
I hope Doug Christie is Jerry Sloan 2.0. I see some parallels.
Nice! I like that comp. Two guys who look like they are willing to throw down in a heartbeat.
Uh, Rick Adelman was a player, Phil Jackson too.
I qualified those who were star players. The list of former players who have coached NBA teams, many of them as star coaches, but not star players, is extensive.
To my best recollection, and without a search on Google to confirm, I feel confident in my knowledge that Rick Adelman was not a star player (Geoff Petrie was, however. He was a GM, not coach) and Phil Jackson, who has collected the most Championships as a Head Coach, was also, not ever considered a star player (he was an okay bench player). Pat Riley, George Karl, Mike D’Antoni (Italian League star), Nellie, Doc Rivers, Rick Carlisle are among the winningest coaches in NBA history and not considered former star players.
Of a particular interest to us Kings fans: The Rochester Royals had a Rookie of the Year 1944-45 by the name of William Holzman who won an NBA championship with them in year of 1951. He was 1st Team All-NBL in 1946 and 1948, which gives him Star status. Growing up in New York, we knew Red Holzman as the Coach of the NBA champion 1970 and 1973 New York Knicks. He was inducted to HoF in 1986.
You can think and work on mechanics during practices and the off season but when playing you play loose and all that practice will pay off.
Exactly
True with playing music as well. Interesting parallel.
You might be on to something with the over coaching. I believe in Doug Christie, Coach DC, to get the best out of the players. We are a wing and a big away from being a really complete team!
I was going to say something similar with 2 other points. 1 it felt like he coached not to lose in games vs coaching to win. I believe that the “over-coaching” and other inconsistent hooks have lead to our poor bench play.
Doug is a dawg.
Now is the time to follow your coach’s lead.
Definitely willing (hoping) to believe that good change is afoot, but will hold out on feeling optimistic until we get a larger sample size of games. Tonight’s game against the Grizz should be a good indicator of the direction this team is going
Anyone that change the identity of this team is welcome. The identity of this team is a result of the culture that is engrained into this organization. A mediocre team that is competitive and no longer the softest team in professional sports is a step in the right direction.
Change the identity and get some players. Getting some players likely involves moving Fox for reasons outside of Doug’s control at this point.
Fox is the best and most exciting player on the Kings; he gets better and more productive every season. Moving him would destroy this team.
Finally, for the first time in weeks I feel like I can contribute once again to the discourse going on in here. I’ve been angry and disappointed with this team and the vibe that they created. I visited home (Sacramento) for the first time in 2 years last week over the holidays. Of course I had to catch a game even though I was already feeling down on the season. I was still believing. I went to the pacers game with a friend I grew up with in Sacramento. We had a good time together catching up but the game was a bag of shit. We both left the Arena feeling sick. The vibe was horrible. Probably the worst game I’ve ever attended. The crowd was disappointed but the product they were watching. It was quiet. There was no energy, the players produced zero energy, zero fight. The fight and the effort is what defines watching a game in sacramento. Over my life time I’ve seen a lot of Kings games. The crowd and the team usually feels very engaged. Even in the worst of times there was a sense of pride and fight within the building that you could be proud of, win or lose. Not that pacers game. Not at all. It was gross. Something was off. Way off. It was a virus that had spread and I left the arena infected by that virus. Then Mike Brown gets fired. I was pissed. I have been preaching consistency with the teams leadership for years and signing Mike brown to an extension was a move I fully supported. Firing him mid season seems like a massive mistake (yet again). Despite how bothered I’ve been with Mike Browns horrendous rotations, lack of schematic adjustments and ridiculous challenge calls.
However, since Doug (one of my favorite Kings players of all time) has taken over the team, the vibe I feel within myself is shifting back to my normal kings obsessed purple glasses wearing base line. There’s something about that which is undeniable. This team, this fan base, was hemorrhaging blood all over the floor for weeks. Mike Brown was a big part of that. Doug has stopped the bleeding. Respect.
Will he turn the season around? Obviously we all hope that. I’ll say this, it’s nice to have hope again. It’s nice to want to engage with this community again. It’s nice to have a heart beat again. This team is 100% better than they have shown us so far this season despite the clear needs for roster adjustment. Statistically they aren’t even laying that bad. A sense of pride, heart, fight, confidence and swagger has been nonexistent. Maybe Doug can bring that back. New year, new coach, new vibes. something appears to have shifted for the better. Let’s hope it continues. Respect to all you die hard Kings fans, happy new year.
Sorry you had that experience at the game. I can definitely relate. Hope is something this team needs and the vibe needs to continually improve in the locker room and the arena.
Happy New Year and glad you are back.
Well stated. Nothing worse than (as a non-season ticket holder) paying for and attending a game that ends up being non-competitive, win or lose. Pre-COVID there were alot of those for me; I’m traveling from Reno, mid-winter the drive is a big deal over and back Donner Pass, and while I always have a good time, witnessing a blow-out loss SUCKS.
Unrelated to this post, I’m watching the Stockton Kings game and Devin Carter is off to a really great start with a steal, rebound, assist, and a 3 pointer in the first maybe 3 possessions.
He seems to be a player that Doug is going to love. He’s a basketball player through and through and I’m excited to see him with the big team
Man, he looks impressive against G leaguers. At the half, he’s got 8 pts, 7, rb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 2 stl in 19 minutes, going 2 of 5 from three. He had an absolutely monster block to end the half. Seriously, like nothing I’ve ever seen.
I’m buying in.
He finishes 4 of 10 from three with 17 points, a team-leading 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. His three point shot is kind of odd but seems to be effective.
On defense, he just refused to allow uncontested threes by the opponent. At one point, he flew all around the perimeter to guard open players. He must have defended 4 or 5 open players on a single possession. It was very Keon-like. I’m not sure if he’ll ever get paired up with Keon in the backcourt but having those two guys on the team will go a long way towards reducing that opposing 3P%.
He was 3 assists away from a triple double in his second game since March! Can’t wait for him to join the big club.
Also, the Stockton Kings shot the three ball effortlessly, going 21-50. I was particularly impressed with Dexter Dennis (5-10 beyond the arc) and Isaiah Crawford (4-7). Isaac Jones also looked like a men among boys out there. Good performance all around.
I was checking out his stats at half time and was kind of blown away by the stat sheet. His first 2 games of technically nba action he’s been elite just going off stats. Monte I think got another steal. And I’m super excited for the keon pairing for spurts at a time. The way doug described going balls out for a few minutes at a time I could only imagine that back court flying around being a pain in the ass on d for the other teams guards
The team is certainly more watchable the past two games. Wins will do that, so the true test is how the players (and fanbase, for that matter) respond though tougher opponents and losses.
The thing that has stood out most for me is how impressive, coherent, and focused Doug has been during his interviews. Mike Brown’s interviews were enigmatic, scapegoating, often downright odd. I can totally see how players would eventually tune him out, particulity in the context of his bizarre and inconsistent rotation on one hand, and stubborn adherence to schemes that don’t work on the other hand.
Doug’s rotations (by contrast) have been consistent but flexible enough to meet the needs of the moment. And, like with the traps, has shown the willingness to try different things. I can see whay the players are playing hard for him. Let’s see how sustainable it is.
I don’t necessarliy think think this is enough to climb squarely into playoff contention, but I am definitey enjoing the games more. Is there a chance that we can have the good vibes and still have a bad enough record to keep the pick?
Doug seems like a good guy who embodies hard work and positivity. I hope that puts some fight into this team, enough that I can enjoy watching games and try to ignore the swirl of rumor and organizational stink. I’m taking it one game at a time at this point.
Doug Christie is the all-time winningest coach in Kings’ history at .666! Does he still have the interim label? Let’s get him locked-in with a long-term contract…
I’m absolutely hoping and rooting for Doug’s and the team’s continued success, there is no other appropriate response, IMO.
I’m interested to see how long Coach DC can keep the team rolling and how he will respond when things get tough in the Western Conference meat grinder. Will tell us a lot about whether he should be considered for the full time gig when the season is over.
We are the very smallest of sample sizes DC’s coaching career, but if he can somehow squeeze blood from this turnip of a season then I’m on board. FWIW, I’m not holding my breath on it. Let’s give it to the deadline (or sooner) and see what we got.
OT: Just wanted to dust this off since Butler has basically said “trade me.” tonight:
Sac gets: Kuminga, Looney, Kyle Anderson, Gui Santos
Dubs get: Butler, Len
Heat get: DeRozan, Wiggins
sprinkle some pics and swaps where needed.
Nice. We’d have to give up at least a 1st rounder to get that good of a haul for DeRozan and Len. More likely we’d get Wiggins, not Kuminga. If I was Miami, I’d insist on that.
Len probably turns that deal bad for GSW at this point. He has not shown any signs of life in his sparse moments of play this year. I think he knows he is not playing here at this point so he is existing. Looney is interesting for us. He is definitely an improvement. Kuminga is always in the mix and I am not sure what he would do for us. We need some gritty players to turn this thing in the right direction. Kuminga is not gritty.
He’s just an expiring big body to replace Looney.
In your fantasy it works. I wish it would work as well. We share the fantasy of Len being accepted in a trade in return for a good center.
The trade is really just about Butler, DeRozan, Wiggins, and Kuminga. Everyone else is just filler. Trust me, I really don’t think Len would be a deal breaker in this asinine deal.
They’ve won 2 games but the truth is none of the underlying issues have been fixed. They’ll win the odd games here and there but this is a sinking ship and nothing is changing that unless there are massive changes to the roster.
I like Doug but I haven’t seen anything that leads me to believe he’s fixing anything substantial. It’s not his fault either, just like it wasn’t Mike Brown’s fault. The problems lie much higher on the org chart than the players or coach.
Can the Pepperdine alum bring in a Wave of fight amd confidence to produce some wins?
He will need to go 24-24 to finish above .500 for the 51 games since he took over the reins.
The 15-19 Kings will need to go 26-22 to break even (41-41) or 31-17 to match last season’s Play-In record of 46 wins.
The NBA Trade deadline is Thursdsy February 6 or 5 weeks away.
Poor Vlade, getting put through the (w)ringer for being a lazy idiot and one of the worst GM’s in the league and set this franchise back a decade.
And with all due respect to Doug, I am more concerned how this will turn out for us fans.
Where did you dig that up? And if not said recently, couldn’t you find something fresh with which to disparage Christie?
I “dug this up” in the last paragraph of this article we are commenting on. I hope that is that fresh enough for you?
And please explain how this is disparaging Christie? I am simply more interested in what his failure will do the franchise and fanbase than to Christie himself. What is disparaging about that?
I misread your post to be quoting Christie and so wrongly assumed, if said by Christie, it must have been a long time ago … I thought you were impugning Christie for expressing sympathy for Divac. I am sorry.
Happy you pointed that out, thought it was weird too
To clarify, that line wasn’t about the fact that Vlade made bad decisions and making excuses for that or protecting him from criticism. It was about how he should have never been in the position to make that decision in the first place based on his experience. Just seeing the Kings legends that everyone loved so much be put into these prominent roles where their impact on the franchise is tarnished in the fans’s eyes is the problem. I don’t wish for that to happen to Doug also.
More about the decision to hire Vlade, than it is about how Vlade himself failed.
Great to have hope. I’d much rather see a team that give all-out effort and fight instead of one that simply rolls over and dies.
That being said, I would be kidding myself if I think this team turns it around with the absence of talent/roster balance/competent ownership. Seen this too many times now in the past near 20 years. Would love to be wrong;
Doug Christie: Team Player Forever!
(Given to honor him by my son and me on Oct 27, 2015)
That is awesome!
A win tonight against Ja and the Grizzlies will go a long way in convincing me that DC can turn this around.
I too like Arco Thunder said above felt sick watching this team the last few weeks. And I felt something I haven’t in a long time watching the end of the Sixer game. It was actually exciting instead of boring, pride less basketball.
if they win tonight, playing all four quarters, if Carter plays and looks as good as advertised, we may be onto something.
Ja and Smart are out, and Edey is questionable. Memphis is far from healthy.
The NBA has the Kings as rest day on their schedule.
They all three have been out a few games now, if I am not mistaken. In any event the last game.
Why not add more?
Nobody is pushing the timeline to compete.
Is what it is.
Our organization is far from healthy.
So it all evens out
I totally agree with you that the performance of this team had become outright sickening.
As much as I would enjoy seeing DC turn this season around, I’m trying not to get too caught up in ascribing success or failure to individual games. At this point, how many practices has DC been able to have with the team, maybe two or three at most?
His impact so far is limited to motivation and rotation. I think we’ve seen a small uptick in effort against some lineup-constrained opponents. And his lineups have been far more consistent in three games. Cool cool.
The Kings should beat this depleted Memphis team tonight. Even if they lose, I’m not going to get too concerned. If they dominate from the start, great. They dominated the Spurs and Jazz about two weeks before MB was fired, so it wouldn’t be an indicator that they’ve turned a corner, at least for me. Sustained success. Sustained defensive intensity. Some sign of life from the perimeter. That’s what I’ll be looking for at this moment in time.
I like the effort on defense, there has been significant improvement. Lots of rumors circulating around a possible Fox trade.
Rich Paul has definitely been marketing Fox and behalf of the Kings making it known he is available.
The front office needs to join in the identity change. Get a team that can and will compete. Find Doug the big wing everyone has seen as huge gaping hole.
Math is definitely hard…
That edit button can be your friend
Mike Brown didn’t have his players properly conditioned physically or mentally. If DC can inspire each player to give 100%, the results will pan out.
IMO, they need to have fun playing again.
The season is long and you really need to enjoy playing the game with your teammates in order to bring full-effort every night; hopefully DC can put get their collective mind back into a winning mentality.
IF the Kings turn it around and miraculously get into the playoff and win a playoff series, DC will be the coach going forward. It’s gonna be a sad day when he gets fired by Vivek.
Vlade got fired, it was damn good riddance feeling for me. I still loved him as a player but what a terrible hire.
I pray and hope I won’t get that same feeling with DC.
Go Kings! NBA Champs Kings!
Vivek sell the team!
Fun article!!!! Light the Beam! Pulling for Christie even though it remains to be seen if he works out. Like many, I fell in love with the Kings during Christie’s tenure as a player there. Let’s go Kings!!!!!
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