The Rockets are the worst team in West by 2.5 games, but have found some decent momentum moving forward with the play of young star guard Jalen Green and his electric (and sometimes erratic) back court running partner, Kevin Porter Jr.
This is one of those games people are going to assume the Kings will win easily because paper tells them it’s a done deal and then not tune-in till a frustrated text from a friend tells them of a far, far different situation. Also, Alperen Sengun is questionable (again) so… maybe count me in as one of those people? Who knows anymore!
When: Friday, April 1st, 5:00 PM PT
Where: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
TV: NBCSCA – Mark Jones (play-by-play)
Radio: KHTK Sports 1140 AM
For Your Consideration
Binary Stars: I kinda love that we’re all just ready for this season to be over. I’m over here trying to find five new ways to skin a cat, our good friend Jill Adge is posting podcast episodes with captions like “Who wants to hear about the Kings playing meaningless game? Not us! Seasons almost over :)!” and the front page of our community has an article titled “Just six more of these games left”. Sixteen years of the Kings feeding us from the mayo jar they left out in the sun and this season has been uniquely putrid, with heartbreak for playoff-hopefuls and tankers alike. Never have I seen more collective agreement on just being tired of this season, this team, this situation.
That isn’t a bad thing! Fans aren’t doing anything wrong and should absolutely never be shamed for such a thing with this franchise, but it’s nice that while we can almost never agree on a damn thing, we can all collectively come together to be relieved that THIS season is giving us it’s final gasps of cockamamie storylines. Will Davion be a starter this season? Do we have the pieces for a third big time player? Can the Kings cling to those 6th best lottery odds? History doesn’t repeat, but it does echo and we’re hearing the reverberations from years past rattling our eardrums yet again. And in response? We’re mostly shrugging, giving a thumbs up and counting down the games without much fan freak-out.
Yes we’re all at different levels of apathetic but I know for most, it’s more of a low-power mode that a total system shutdown. IF the Kings can maneuver through the draft, free agency, coaching hires and the cavalcade of trades bound to be offered their way all without embarassing themselves, there’s a good deal of us not caring much about these next two weeks that will be back and happy to see what happens next. Until then, it’s more than past time for us to take a rest from this team.
So all that being said, tonight’s game means very little either way for me. I’m watching for Sengun, if he plays, and to see if Jae’Sean Tate might be worth dropping big money on next year and of course, the battle between Davion Mitchell and Jalen Green. Off-Night vs. Green Light should be a fun matchup for years to come and with no reason for either of the two men to hold back, I can hope for an all out slug fest. That’s it though. Maybe some more Neemias Queta minutes? Maybe another surprise Jerry visit? This should be a fun game to watch while making dinner in the background as you wait for the water to boil and Green to get a dunk on SportsCenter.
Happy April Fools Day, a great excuse to do something stupid like recycle a preview and see how many people got to this point before realizing it! Or, root for a team that’s been out of relevancy for nearly two decades! Levels upon levels of tomfoolery here.
Prediction
Neemias Queta gets 10 points and 5 blocks in 22 minutes of play. Kevin Porter Jr. does something that shows his enormous potential and then immediately does something else that shows why the league is so weary of his long-term effectiveness.
Kings: 122, Rockets: 117
A couple new 15 minute film breakdowns of Dyson Daniels are up. If anyone is thinking there are only 5 players in this draft …
Does anyone think it’s a 5 player draft? I can see a 3-4 player draft since there’s a pretty common consensus top tier. But I can’t come up with 5 that would make a clear separation.
That said, yeah, the Spinella video is pretty good. Daniels is definitely getting some helium. I personally would probably put him into a third tier with guys like Davis and Mathurin. And of those guys, I’d probably take him first. I’m just a sucker for high IQ, wing-sized facilitators. Something to keep in mind is that he made major mechanical adjustments to his shot this year. So he’s still working to get used to and lock in those adjustments. I wouldn’t be surprised to see his shooting (which needs A LOT of improvement right now) take a bit of a leap in the next couple years.
My current tiers, which are a moving target and 100% arse pulled:
1 – Holmgren and Smith
2 – Banchero and Ivey
3 – Griffin and Murray
4 – Davis, Mathurin, Daniels, Sharpe (1000% arse pulled)
5 – Eason, Duren, Sochan, Agbaji
I presume the second Eason is Tony?
I’d probably go (in no particular order within tiers):
Holmgren/Smith/Banchero
Ivey/Griffin/Murray/Sharpe/Jovic
Then a pretty thick tier that runs about 9-10 deep.
Removed tier 4 Eason.
I really need to start waiting until people are past the edit window to make my flip comments.
This seems to be a ‘lack of consensus’ draft if you believe Kevin O’Connor. He was arguing Banchero could be the top guy depending on who you talk to.
I have no idea mind you. But some drafts, as I’ve learned, aren’t as clearcut as others.
I’m beginning to wonder if it might be better to remain at 7 than jump into the top 4.
Ringer bumped Banchero from three to one this week, and I’m not sure that they’re wrong.
It’s interesting because the top 3 are all bigs with clearly delineated strengths. So I can imagine the order depending hugely on the particular FO focus.
What would be the rationale for it being better to remain at 7 than jump to 4?
I don’t think it’s all that hard to make an argument for any of Chet, Banchero, or Smith at #1. There’s a lack of consensus at the very top, but not, as far as I’ve seen, in terms of the tiers. The vast, vast majority have those three + Ivey as the top tier.
That it’s easier to take a riskier prospect at 7 than 1-4? Cheaper, too, if money is of any concern.
All things being equal, you’d rather jump into the top 4. I wasn’t arguing that. But there’s alot of examples where just being good at identifying talent is always more important.
And, fair or not, it never amounts to ‘all things being equal’ either.
Fair enough. The good/bad news is we have then same decision-makers whether we draft 1-4 or at 7. If they’re good at identifying talent, we want them choosing from the largest possible pool of talent.
Higher’s always better – more options and the pick has more trade value. But to your point, there is a lot of depth (or width) in the top ten, depending on how you feel about the talent pool.
My favorite game is always the “If you’re looking for _______, I like [lower projected pick] as much or better than [high projected pick] and you can get him much later.”
For example:
If you’re looking for a versatile SG, I like Branham as much or more than I like Davis, and you can get him much later.
It’s almost as fun as “[high projected pick] isn’t even the best prospect on his team. [lower projected teammate] is!”
For example:
Mathurin isn’t even the best prospect on his team. Koloko or Terry is!
What are your thoughts on Jovic’s defense?
He certainly needs work, but I’m not too concerned about it. You aren’t ever going to want him isolated against guards on the perimeter, but I think some improvements in technique will help. I think he’s a that will end up being a defender like guys like Ingles. A guy that isn’t a very good 1v1 defender, but is smart, savvy, and big enough to contribute positively to a good, well-coached defense.
I was checking out his videos online recently. There’s a lot to like, offensively. Someone even included a clip from when he was 14. Do you think when he fills out, his defense might be like Bjelica’s.
I don’t think he’s a top 10 pick, and he could very well drop to below #20. As of today, he has no business being picked at #7, IMO.
Oh, I certainly don’t think anyone WILL draft him that high. I expect him to go somewhere in the late-teens/early-20s. I just think there’s a good chance he goes much higher in the theoretical re-draft a couple seasons later.
Great point . One of those guys that is picked in the 20’s and three years later we fans can’t understand how he was not taken in the top 5 . Happens about every draft . Giannis, Kawhi, Butler, Siakim, Jokic , Lavigne and many others .
I have Eason so much higher. Defense is much more important to me right now. There is room on my wagon if anyone wants to join.
In order…
1 – Smith, Holmgren
2 – Banchero, Murray, Ivey
3 – EASON, Griffin, Sharpe
Eason is a really interesting project, but I think he’s definitely a project. He’s the kind of guy, IMO, that’s a really interesting pick in the mid-1st for a team without glaring needs or that has multiple 1sts.
A team like OKC or PDX makes alot of sense using that criteria.
I keep waiting for teams like OKC and HOU to actually use their assets/cap space to make a real leap, but they just seem to sit on the picks.
I’ll be really interested to see what PDX does this off-season.
I think Presti might go all in on a trade. He has alot of cap space, and the picks might not be as valuable to other teams as we might think.
I figure he would have last season too. We’ll see. As last season, he’s in a position where he could theoretically add 2-3 high level/max-ish players via FA and trades. Personally, I don’t tend to go for the multi-year tank. I think when a bad team is in a position to try to make a big leap, they should.
I think Presti is at the point he is going to get diminishing returns on that hoard of picks he has accumulated. I can’t believe he didn’t keep the 16 pick and get Sengun, who seems like he would fit well with SGA, Giddey, Dort, and if Bazley and Mann keep developing.
I wonder which established stars or stars-to-be are really on his radar.
when I tuned into an LSU game, I thought he moved like a 4, not a SF. When I read his draft profile, Paul Reed came to mind.
Paul Reed isn’t a horrible comp. Though they’re definitely different players. Reed has a good 1-2 inches in height and 5 inches in wingspan on Eason. Eason is a more fluid lateral athlete and has a bit more ability to keep up with wings.
Ultimately, Eason is a high-level functional athlete with a surprising bag of dribble moves for his position. But he struggles significantly with decision-making on both ends. I also have questions about his hands and shot, but neither will matter if he doesn’t make MUCH better decisions.
For Kings fans it might be seen that way. I’m not sure about the tiers but most on this site would be pleased with four PF’s (holmgren, smith, banchero, Murray). Then there might be another top 10 player each fan might be excited about, most likely Sharpe despite not playing this year. Others might put Ivey up there, although I’m not sold on him. So I’m looking for other guys who could fill out a personal list of top 6 or top 7.
I’m not as high on Ivey as others either. In general, I like to see more passing/facilitating chops out of guards. I’m also not a huge believer in his outside shot despite his hitting a decent percentage this year. I think it’s going to take a decent amount of mechanical adjustment before it becomes a weapon in the NBA.
Yeah, I see him as a legit scoring 2 guard, but not an elite passer or shooter. Maybe a poor man’s Donovan Mitchell or a prime Eric Gordon. I also have concerns about his defense.
If Sacramento does draft a guard because he’s the clear BPA, it’s likely to be a shooting guard, without consideration as to him needing to be a superior passer/facilitator.
We’ve got point guards, big men who do a nice job setting the table in Sabonis & Jones, and the largest need, especially if BPA is a guard, will be shooting, and passable defense.
Some of the comments read like we shouldn’t take a guard unless he can function at the point, even though this would be the third one in a row taken in the first round. I disagree that any guard taken would need to have a lead-guard skill set, per se.
As ever, I may have misunderstood, so I’ll apologize in advance for that.
We have people who defend point guards, but I’m not sure any one of those is an elite facilitator. Part of the problem with the team is thinking that Fox is a true point guard and that we can get away with not having another ball handler on the floor with him. There are so many mistakes that compound after that flawed assumption.
A player’s ability to pass/facilitate plays a big role in whether or not they are the “BPA.” I should also say that I think the concept of “BPA” is often thrown out in these conversations in the falsely dichotomous “BPA vs fit” debates, but BPA is rarely clear in reality beyond the very top few picks. And it’s rare even then. AND one could easily argue that whether a player does, in fact, turn out to be the best player available is heavily dependent on the context they are drafted into.
Next, I don’t think any team can ever have too many passers. Regardless, the Kings have one excellent facilitating big man and, well, that’s where their positional facilitation advantages end. Neither Fox nor Mitchell are above average facilitators relative to NBA PGs. You could reasonably suggest they are above average secondary facilitators, assuming the reason of the personnel enables them to play that role. Regardless, to return to the first line of this paragraph, you can never have too many.
Of course, I’d not argue that you want players who can move the ball around, particularly with guards. I was trying to say that if you can get a floor-spreader with decent-to-good defense, those are more important in the context of the current roster than necessarily being a high-level distributor. This, of course, is merely an opinion, so, it’s subject to ridicule.
If Klay Thompson were in the draft, yes you draft him and search for a point forward later. However I’m not sure that an elite 3&D 2-guard is in this draft. There’s a bit of flexibility when drafting a 3&D forward because if he’s not elite like Mikhail Bridges (a clear STR favorite at this time a few years ago), a good one is still extremely valuable, assuming there’s playmaking elsewhere which is easier if the shooting guards have actual guard skills. However a 3&D 2-guard who is only average at shooting and average at defense? See Justin Holiday. A big risk if he does not turn out to be elite and maybe unplayable.
My assumption was that it was a sixty-player draft, but for the indeterminate number people here (so I’ve read) who think it’s a five-player draft, I just want you to know that the Kings will get to pick at least one player, even if they don’t jump into the top three.
Look at me, I’m NBA Mel Kuiper over here.
I’m going to be that guy – it’s a 58 player draft, as both Miami and Milwaukee are forfeiting 2nd round picks due to tampering.
Yeah, I meant to say 58. It was a typo.
58 is way better, anyway.
Finish up this pair with the Rockets,
Second game coming up on our dockets.
Houston could fool us—
Blitz Off-night to rule us—
And add ping pong balls to our pockets!
It will be ok
Chris Rockets and Capt. James Worst.
Is it Mayo, tho?
But why?
I figured it out when I saw the Jill Adge mention. And the 6 games made it patently obvious. But I had to reread it because, like the game on Wednesday, I’m not sure I paid much attention to the preview.
Slick move by TKH trying to pretend this happens just for April Fools Day!
I think Will just mailed it in and used April Fool’s Day as an excuse for recycling a previous preview.
To be fair, I’d totally mail it in also.
It’s apropos that these two teams “compete” on April 1st.
Or Labor Day, since a lot of each team’s employees are taking the day off.
Even if the Kings slide down a few spots, there’s still a history of gems to be found picking lower. Look at a guy like Saddiq Bey on the Pistons, who was picked 19th overall in 2020, and finished 3rd in rookie of the year voting. He’s currently averaging 16.3 in his second season.
Of course I would like the Kings to get as high a pick as possible, but sometimes you just never know if a sure thing will turn out the way you expect.
The Bee wrote an editorial on the Holmes allegations.
Kings’ mishandling of Richaun Holmes allegations shows NBA still downplays domestic abuse
Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article259987640.html#storylink=cpy
—
There probably isn’t much to be gained from a discussion on Holmes, since no one knows anything, but off the top of my head, over the last six years these Kings players and coaches have been accused of either domestic violence, violence against women or sexual assault:
I don’t have info on other teams but this seems pretty terrible. I have come to expect nothing from this team on this issue, and I’m still disappointed.
As this story slowly comes to light I’m beginning to wonder if it wasn’t Holmes who asked for time away from the team for “personal reason” or if the Kings quietly asked him to stay away from the team until the dust settles.
IF, and that is a big if, the Kings continued to let him play knowing full well of the accusations and those accusations became true and the team’s knowledge of it came to light, it would be a very, very ugly stain on the franchise. The fact that they have not been transparent on this issue leads me to think the Kings have put Holmes on “administrative leave,” so to speak, but only veiled it as “personal reasons.”
Either way, the Bee articles are making the Kings look pretty bad in all this.
Sadly, few are surprised at how badly the Kings handled this even as most believe a person should be innocent until proven guilty with the possible exception of the Sac Bee .
Yeah, Holmes being guilty or not is a separate issue from the Kings trying to sweep this under the rug. The fact that it took a Bee reporter to break the story makes me think the Kings were trying to make it go away as discretely as possible.
Honestly, I would have given them a lot more credit if they had just came out from the get go and said something like they don’t tolerate assault or domestic abuse to get ahead of the story, instead they didn’t do jack shit until the story broke.
It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to know that these kinds of stories always leak/break, so trying to ignore it is disgusting.
Badge Legend