It’s pretty incredible the difference 5 games can make. I thought firing Mike Brown was a mistake. I thought Brown was serving as a fall guy to cover for the front office’s inability to improve the roster and to satiate the impatience of a crappy owner. I still think, to an extent, those things are true. But it also seems clear that even if players weren’t actively against Mike Brown (and I’m sure some of them were actively against him), Brown’s voice had grown stale in the locker room. Doug Christie has reinvigorated this team in a way I didn’t see coming, even if I hoped it would be. This team believes in what Doug is selling. The adjustments Doug has made to the scheme, to the lineups, and to the vibes, it’s all working right now. It has me daring to believe in this team again. And yes, I know as well as anyone that the instant you let yourself believe in the Kings is the moment they will pull the rug out from under you and hurt you in new ways you never imagined. But I don’t care. I’m enjoying this ride as long as I can and I am choosing to believe.
Let’s talk Kings basketball!
When: Monday, January 6th, 7:00 PM PST
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
TV: NBA TV, NBCSCA
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140 AM
For Your Consideration
The Kings are on a back to back, but absolutely dominated the Golden State Warriors last night and kept every player under 31 minutes of playing time. Domantas Sabonis and Malik Monk were able to sit out the entire fourth quarter. And as far as a road-and-home back to back goes, a quick drive from San Francisco to Sacramento is pretty light travel. De’Aaron Fox didn’t play yesterday, and is still considered day-to-day. Due to the back to back, the Kings have not submitted an injury report yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Fox gets another day’s rest, as after today the Kings have another three days off before playing the Boston Celtics on Friday. I’m sure when the league scheduled this as an NBA TV game they weren’t expecting a game without Fox or Jimmy Butler, but here we are. Guess the fans will have to settle for the Monk and Domas show, but luckily that’s a really good show.
After winning four straight games, the Kings are now sitting at 17-19, 11th in the West but just 1 game being the 10th place Timberwolves and just 3.5 games out of the 5th and 6th place Lakers and Mavericks. Hell, the Kings are just 4 games out of 4th right now. With 46 games left, there’s plenty of time to finish turning this season around. But we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, and the Kings shouldn’t start looking ahead either. They certainly shouldn’t look past the Miami Heat, who you just know will play a hard fought game no matter how many players are missing. Lost among the Jimmy Butler drama is that Tyler Herro is having a fantastic season. Herro’s averaging 23.8 points per game, with 5.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists. He’s also shooting 40.3% on 9.5 3PAs per game, which is just silly.
Speaking of threes, one major shift the last few games has been the three point accuracy and volume of the Sacramento Kings. For the season, the Kings are shooting 34.5% (21st) from 3, on 35.5 (23rd) attempts per game. Over the last 5 games the Kings have shot 38.6 threes per game and are making 36.3%. Over the last three games, the Kings are averaging 40.5% on 40.3 3PAs per game. Doug talked about how the team needed to shoot more threes, but Mike Brown talked about it too, and the threes weren’t being made even when the Kings got open looks. But Doug seems to have restored some confidence, or at the very least removed some of the self doubt in the Kings shooters. The Kings felt due for a positive shooting regression anyway, and if it coincides with Doug encouraging the team to shoot more threes then the Kings offense could suddenly a lot more potent. I still worry about quality more than quantity, but in the modern NBA you need to be able to generate quality volume from three to stand a chance. But at the risk of playing armchair psychologist, I think there’s likely some truth to the theory that Brown had micromanaged several of the Kings shooters (especially Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter) and his absence is allowing guys to bust out of their slumps.
Prediction
Domas and Malik show out again. The Kings keep rolling. The threes keep falling. The Beam keeps shining.
Kings 125, Heat 109
Lots of rest last night in a ha-ha-ha-laugher (FU Warriors!) as Mike Krukow says. I’ll dare to believe if the Kings figure out how to capitalize on this game and kick the Heat when they’re down tonight. Looking forward to plenty of time on the court for Mr. Carter.
newsflash – SMUD to consider restarting Rancho Seco to make sure that there’s enough juice to keep powering The Beam! (am I dating myself too much?)
Jimmy Butler just got suspended,
And his stay with the Heat likely ended.
Tonight we must manage
To take full advantage
So our winning streak gets extended!
+1 Jimmy Butler is left wondering where his next meal is coming from!
&ct=g
Dude, you’re killing it again this season.
I tip my hat to you.
Back at ya!
&ct=g
Well written preview, Greg. Agree with a lot of what you wrote.
Yes, excellent write up. Your first paragraph sums up my thoughts perfectly.
– Hope this is not a trap game.
– Malik Monk is officially my favorite King since the golden years
– Pretty impressed with Carter. A bit out of control still, but not an ounce of passivity. HIs ceiling may be higher than we think. Great players have the confidence and aggressiveness from day one.
That Malik contract is already looking like a serious bargain, isn’t it?
Yea, he definitely did us a solid. I would think one of the better non-rookie contracts in the league.
As a side note with all the Fox trade rumors swirling, I don’t think there’s been enough said about Fox’s role in Monk staying. I haven’t seen any reporting on it, but I have little doubt that without Fox, Monk never signs that contract.
I wonder how true the reverse is – does a happy and thriving Monk make it less likely that Fox looks elsewhere? I think it’s gotta help.
I have wondered that too, how much of a package deal they are
Yeah, a lot of complexity to that relationship as it relates to the “is Fox happy here?” conversation. I have wondered the same.
I think the irony is that the more Monk unlocks the Kings’ offense with both shooting and assists, the more Fox becomes expendable.
At the same time, Fox had become tired of the losing, which seems to be the key driver in his dissatisfaction overall. But increased usage of Keon and possibly Carter may play a big part in turning the season around. If that happens, Fox’s satisfaction with the team will increase while his value to the team overall drops in proportion to the whole.
I really appreciate that it feels like the team has pulled back from the precipice of disaster, at least temporarily. The whispers of Fox’s discontent have gone quiet amid the win streak. But Fox’s contract situation is going to force the Kings to make some sort of moves to either create cap room for him one way or another.
I think it’s possible that there’s a happy, thriving Monk who helps contribute to a happy, thriving Fox but we end up dealing him away anyway, just based on cap realities. Like others here feel, I’d love to figure out how to be a top 6 team with Fox and Sabonis. I’m just not sure how feasible that is.
Great post. I have the same questions and concerns about Fox’s situation.
Fox can lock in on D every possession if he wants to. If he does that, the Fox/Monk backcourt has potential.
Of course! The ability to add in Keon and Carter will go a long way towards enabling Fox to lock in consistently since he should be playing fewer minutes.
100%. I’m guessing one of the best contracts in the NBA based on dollars vs production
Appears to have good BBIQ from what I’ve seen so far.
We’ll see if Keon and Devin can keep up the defensive intensity again Tyler Herro. Stay focused and snag the win before embarking on a road trip.
It might be in our best interest for Fox to sit tonight, specifically for that reason.
I’m still scarred by Jaime Jaquez Jr. scoring his second career highest point total (26) against the Kings on 2/26/24. I hope DC remembers and has an answer for him tonight, too.
One thing I meant to mention in the total domination of the Dubs last night. If Lindy Waters III’s teammates don’t call him “Triple Lindy”, there’s something extra wrong about that team.
First real trap game with Christie in charge. Will answer some more questions on if this uptick in performance is real or not. Very curious to see what happens.
Fox officially out tonight.
https://bsky.app/profile/jameshamnba.bsky.social/post/3lf43naiw3k2u
More Carter minutes? I’m not gonna complain.
That’s probably for the best. No point in rushing Fox back to play a reeling Heat team. Hopefully with 3 more days off he can get to 100% by Friday.
With Herro as the Heat’s main offensive weapon, Ellis and Carter can key in on him and hopefully do them like they did the Dubs.
Yeah rest his butt
He should play. It’s only his off Cheek!
24 and 23 minutes last night for Ellis and Carter. Should be decently fresh to put the clamps down tonight!
Honestly, the team usually plays better if Derozan or Fox are out because there’s more shooting and defense in the starting lineup. Now that Carter is back, they haven’t been losing a ton going to the bench either.
Fox missed his first game last night. How can “the team usually plays better…” apply to him?
Because they played there best game in weeks last night when he was out? I don’t think it’s his fault. I think it’s a Derozan problem but there’s just more space when one of them is replaced with a role player who can shoot.
I also will choose to believe. Show me more if you want my wallet to believe too!
I guess this is the game thread, too? Keon is a pest. Love it.
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