Update: 8:40 pm
The Sacramento Kings lost 107-101 Tuesday in Oklahoma City to the Thunder. Yes, the Thunder had several injuries, but overall it was possibly the best team effort of the season, but let’s be honest the bar isn’t that high. The Kings led most of the game, but led things slip down the stretch. They were only down 3 with 36 seconds left before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a three that sealed the win for the champs, who had more answers down the stretch.
Russell Westbrook got the start and finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. He was 4-8 from three. Good for Russ. Domantas Sabonis was more involved overall than we have seen recently, finishing with 10 points, 18 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Zach LaVine finished with 23 points. Keon Ellis had a sold performance off the bench with 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block in 27 minutes.
The Kings won rebounds 46-44 and shot 21 free throws compared to the Thunder’s 10 free throws (a big difference compared to the previous game against the Los Angeles Lakers). The Thunder won points in the paint though 52-34.
From Earlier Preview:
The Sacramento Kings are on the road in Oklahoma City tonight to face the defending champion, 4-0 Thunder. And if the Kings don’t improve several facets of their game considerably, this could get ugly.
Who: Sacramento Kings (1-2) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (4-0)
Where: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
When: 5:00 PT / 8:00 PM ET
Watch: NBCSCA, League Pass
I feel like we’ve spent more energy than usual discussing both the Kings’ and their opponents’ injury report, and while that isn’t a very fun topic, it remains necessary. The Thunder are entering this game on the second night of a back-to-back, and will be without Chet Holmgren (back), Jalen Williams (wrist), Isaiah Joe (knee), Thomas Sorber (ACL), Nikola Topic (illness), and Kenrich Williams (knee). Sacramento will still be without Nique Clifford (hamstring) and Keegan Murray (thumb).
Despite the Thunder missing several key rotation players, they’re still the favorites, and for good reason. The Kings just let Austin Reeves shoot 22 free throws against them in a disappointing loss to the Lakers without Luka Doncic or LeBron James. How are they going to handle Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s reigning MVP, and notorious free throw merchant?
For those wondering, the NBA single-game record for free throws made is 28, held by Adrian Dantley and Wilt Chamberlain. Could SGA challenge that record tonight? With how frequently the Kings are fouling, and how prolific SGA is at getting to the line, absolutely.
Prediction: Kings 112, Thunder 109.
The Thunder are champs for good reason—
Young stars and defense that’s pleasin’.
If our FO could just
Make the moves that they must
To get Vivek to stop all his sleazin’!
+1 Not expecting a shocking outcome vs the Thunder!
Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Isaiah Joe all sitting this one out. We’ve become a scheduled rest stop. On the highway of the NBA, we are an off ramp with a toilet.
Your Sacrarestup Kings!
If we only play blatantly tanking teams or teams missing 2 all-stars we might have a shot at .500 ball this season!
We ARE the toilet!
I pointed out yesterday on Twitter, the Thunder sat an entire lineup that could have also beaten us:
Nikola Topic
Isaiah Joe
Jalen Williams
Kenrich Williams
Chet Holmgren
Sub: Thomas Sorber
The Thunder have two teams better than our old, expensive roster.
There are massive red flares being fired into the sky signaling we need to rebuild.
…This could get very ugly…
Count on it.
Thunder are on the second night of a back to back, missing two of their top 3 players, and Vegas still has them as 10 point favorites.
The entire world can see how poorly this team is constructed except for the people who constructed it.
They have to know that the roster sucks, right? Right? RIGHT???
The Athletic had us at 16 in their preseason power rankings. Dropped to 23 this week. So they didn’t know.
NBA.com had us at 26 down to 27 now. They know.
I doubt Vivek or Perry know and if they did know going into camp, fuck them!
There are 3 possible realities:
1) They know, but just don’t care
2) They care, but just don’t know
3) They don’t know and also don’t care
The 4th possibility of that they know and they care just can’t possibly be a reality.
Of the 3 possible realities, I just don’t know which is worse.
I think it’s three !
Pretty sure it’s not they, it’s just Vivek and my money is on reality #3 because his attention is on all the money he’s raking in from the team. It just seems so unlikely that professional front office NBA leaders such as our current and immediate past GMs who have had some level of success in previous positions are so clueless about the personnel needs of the roster that they can’t see the what’s required while media types and talking heads around the country can. It’s gotta be Vivek railroading decisions to suit his fantasy (and his bottom line). So lame.
OT: Alex Len going overseas.
Should see if he can save a couple spots for Saric and Eubanks
And so continues the trend of players having their last NBA contract with the Kings. Next will be Saric, and possibly Eubanks.
and Westbrook.
And…….Westbrook is starting. Only took until game 4 for Doug to fold.
Keep in mind, Russ opted out of his contract in Denver this summer because they informed him he would not be a part of their rotation. A contender told him he would not get minutes, despite being on a vet minimum deal.
The Kings are now starting him. This franchise is so far from relevance.
It’s in OKC, so Vivek told him to start Russ for news cycle.
But WAS it a disappointing loss to the Lakers?
a.) it was so unsurprising that I genuinely didn’t even care about losing to the team I hate the most.
b.) I am hoping (and expecting) that this team implodes so catastrophically that they are forced into an actual goddamn rebuild.
c.) this is the earliest I’ve been rooting for a tank since the Jason Thompson years. Bring on our next MBIII or other similarly awful lottery pick.
d.) it’s a good thing I love this city because our sports-adjacent franchise doesn’t provide an ounce of joy. Even Clifford is out, geez.
SGA could play with his right hand tied to his back, score 50 pts, and the Kings would lose by 30.
Westbrook 3/3 from deep, why not?
Schroeder and Lavine love throwing those shitty little passes into crowds of 3 defenders
Keon’s been phenomenal defensively, dude’s already been singlehandedly responsible for like 5 stops
And then he gets one ticky tack foul and gets taken out instantly. I swear to god, it feels like Christie is giving him the shortest leash possible despite all logic.
Domas doesn’t look like he can even jump for a rebound. No vert right now. Also, he is still just setting screens. Great use of $40m player. I hope he asks for a trade, he deserves better than what the Kings are doing with him.
She’s never going to stop talking over plays is she?
OKC can just turn it on. Let’s go stealth tank
I really don’t like Mark Daigneault’s face.
Sure, pull Keon in crunch time. Has DC been watching the same game?
Or is he injured? I can’t see him on the bench
Competitive tank? Starting 5 Vivek approved
Sabonis’s one job is to get rebounds and he fucks it up with a chance to tie or go up. Also, once again, where the hell is Keon Ellis? Genuinely a tanking masterclass.
YES! Another win for the good guys.
Kangz…
Outscored 4-17 over the final 6 minutes.
That’s ok because we have a much more
matureexperienced Clutch Player of the Year now.Clutching so hard can make some people choke!
I made a point tonight to watch how the Kings used Domas. The trend has been pretty clear that the offense is running through him less and less. The dude’s assist rates have dropped though the floor, and it’s not because his teammates are missing shots, it’s because he’s not being given the opportunity to help his teammates.
The DHO to shooters is gone, the pick and roll is a mess, and high post offense is fugazi. I counted few times where Dennis attempted a PnR with Sabonis and he just hit it all wrong which put Domas in bad position for either a foul or a broken play. It’s amateur hour out there. Dennis is isn’t rubbing shoulders with Domas. The two are not clicking.
We finally had good players that wanted to be here, and we fucked it up.
Domas is going to be requesting that trade veeeeeeery soon.
There was a great possession in the first quarter, where Sabonis came up for the ball, got the ball, did a DHO with Schröder – hoping to get to a numerical advantage after said DHO – but ended up playing against more defenders because of how poorly it was executed and because Westbrook’s defender in the corner simply sagged off and clogged up the paint.
Wish I could snip the clip.
Next up: Doug Christie will get fired unceremoniously pretty soon. Management will also have someone in mind for the coaching job and hire them off the bat.
That’s how Vivek operates. No accountability for top down decisions, just endlessly throwing coaches under the bus.
That’s why Woodson was added to the staff.
“Associate” coach, right?
Are we already in moral victory season?
The Kings were never going to win this game despite OKC coasting, but I did see some fun things. Devin Carter will never be my cup of tea, but I do appreciate his ability to create chaos. The zone defense with him and Ellis at the top was fun.
78 games left.
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