It’s game night in the Bay Area as the Sacramento Kings, winners in three of their last four games, square off against a Golden State Warriors squad who hasn’t won a game in their last five tries. Surviving their previous contest against a young, superstretched Orlando squad, the Kings are now facing off against one of the older starting units in the league. Can De’Aaron Fox continue the best start of a season in his NBA career? How will Keegan Murray respond to the worst game of his rookie campaign? How far into attempting to find humor in the Green-Poole situation do I lose access to the non-denominational afterlife? Let’s not push it far enough to find out, but let’s do talk about some Kings basketball!
When: Monday, November 7th, 2022, 7:00 PM PT
Where: Chase Center, San Francisco, CA
TV: NBC Sports California
Radio: Sactown Sports 1140
For Your Consideration
Only Human: I missed all but the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against the Magic and as such, I missed all of Keegan Murray’s minutes. Mike Brown’s decision not to play Keegan in the final frame of the game is his to make – they won in overtime on an improbable buzzer beater from Fox so hey, a W is a W… I am, however, curious to see tonight’s allotment of play time for young Keegan. After playing a team high 39 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies in the fourth game this season, poor Keegan has basically lost 4 minutes of playing time a game coming into tonight. Dialing back from 39 minutes for your rookie is only natural, but when you start getting into 24 minutes a game against the worst team in the East, the muscles in the very corner of just one of my eyebrows begin to lift. Yes, the Kings are claiming they’re in a playoff hunt this season, so, hey, the coaching staff is going to do what they have to do to win. Yes, Keegan has struggled of late too, shooting 32% from the field and just 25% from deep in his last three games. But those triggering thoughts from Kangz of old tell me that confidence and playing time for young players can be a feedback loop that ends in disaster. Kid starts off a game slow, he gets yanked early, he tries to make up for it and overdoes it, gets yanked late. Starts off the next game trying to make up for last game and winds up getting yanked early… on and on it goes.
Now do I expect that for a kid as calm and collected as Keegan seems to be? No. Would I expect that from a coaching staff that has only ever given Keegan the utmost praise? Probably not. But, the kid was the 4th pick in the draft, was an above average starter in those first four games of his career and is by far and away the best option the Kings have at his position. Not a single minute or so could be found in the 4th/OT for the kid to cut his teeth in a pressure situation?
This is by no means a THING – probably won’t ever, but definitely not yet. We’re heading into Sacramento’s ninth game of the season and there’s still a lot in flux obviously with playing time, rotations etc. It’s just a curiosity, something of interest that I’ll pay a little extra attention to tonight and then forget it was ever even a worry.
Prediction
Mike Brown plays The Keeganator 42 minutes, he shoots 15-17 from the field and someone screenshots and crops this preview somewhere that makes me look like a hater and posts it to Twitter. 4 likes, 2 retweets – half of those are from their burner.
Kings: 118 (+50 good vibes points), Warriors: 112 (+250 abyss stares back damage)
Fox, please put Curry to sleep
The Dubs have seemed mortal of late—
With their subs playing less than first rate.
So let’s strike while they’re down—
A big win for Coach Brown—
Seeing Dubs fans upset would be great!
Battle of the Benches favors neither team. Both have had underperformed once they head away from the starters. GSW has been using their youth at this early juncture to season up Kuminga, Moody, Wiseman and Williams. The Kings, who have a veteran bench – Monk, Holmes, Lyles, Davis, I will leave Mitchell out, though he is older than the Warriors young’uns is a second year player and have fewer excuses – though they have a new coach.
The Warriors are 3rd in points scored, the Kings 12th. The Kings are 25 in points allowed, the Warriors 30th. The points differential is Kings at 21 (2.0) and the Warriors at 22 (though gapped to 4.0).
Should be a great day in the NBA with all teams playing. Gimme some game day rhymes in this thread and I am good to go.
Bottom line about Murray not playing late in Orlando? He sucked, got twenty-four minutes to move the needle, failed to do so, and was subbed out. Sacramento doesn’t win that game had Brown forced him into the lineup to build his confidence.
KM is going to be fine, he’s just off his game a bit at the moment. As solid as his fundamentals are, he may get back on the path at any time.
I think tonight could be good time to get a pulse on this team. If the Kings are for real and truly aspire to be a playoff team, a win against a struggling Warriors team could go a long way. The Warriors are reeling and the defense looks to be in trouble. Let’s hope the Kings take advantage and hand them their 6th straight loss.
There once was a team down I-80,
their success on our nerves was quite gratey.
They got Curry and Klay,
we got endless lotteray.
And worse we get Kyle and Kayte.
Golden State means the whole state, now that’s dumb.
Filled with tech bros and their beards, total scum.
Is it SF where they stay?
Or is it still the East Bay?
Aw hell, nobody knows where they’re from.
Sorry Rob I like Kyle and Katie. Kyle with his one liners makes the game enjoyable and Katie knows more basketball in her little finger than you in your whole body.
What I know is beside the point, as I do not broadcast the games. I find Kayte (not Katie) to be fine when paired with Jones, but she does not possess the ability to carry Draper – I’m not sure that anyone can. As a duo, they bring nothing to the broadcast other than the music that I listen to once I have hit the mute button. But if they make the game more enjoyable for you, that’s great for you. Enjoy!
I love that they are rooting for the Kings, and that they are nice people.
But I enjoy the games much more when I listen to the opposing broadcasts, in general.
(Though a few opposing teams have really annoying broadcasters, for sure)
They do. Thanks.
And yet Rob is tied with Kayte in NBA career minutes.
You know who else knows more basketball in his little finger than I have in my whole body? Vlade Divac and the entire front office of that era. But I still would have drafted Luka Doncic. /Shrugs
I would have used a different finger to describe that Front Office, but I respect your good manners.
“Yes, it was all his fault! I didn’t do anything whatsoever!”
Post of The Year nominee.
If I squint my eyes it says Vlade Divak has his little finger in my whole body.
He is a big dude.
Well, the selection of Bagley was not completely unlike a proctological exam, so…
That’s not saying much. Kayte knows more about drafts and trading than Divac. I would have drafted Doncic and what do I know.
I think Kayte brings a ton of insight to the broadcasts, and frankly, don’t believe for a minute that she’d collect so much vitriol if she was a man.
If you’re upset about the occasional “what fans don’t understand is,” I’d wager that you’re the exact target audience for that information.
And bring back the downvoting, I miss seeing exactly how many snowflakes we’ve got in here.
The fact that Kayte is a woman is actually a mark in her favor for me. I just think that she and Draper make a shitty pairing.
That said, the “what fans don’t understand” thing is an incredibly insipid thing to say, given that fans come in varying levels of knowledge and understanding. The folks that are really good at their jobs don’t need to explain why they are better at it – their performance tells the tale. If Kayte dropped that line of thinking, everyone would be the better for it, in my opinion.
If she changed it to “what some fans don’t understand,” would that be all right?
I don’t understand the bit about folks that are really good at their jobs don’t need to explain why they are better at it, though. I’ve heard her say, or allude to the fact that she played in the WNBA, but if she’s prefacing explanations with that, I’ve missed most of them.
And in this day and age, people who are really good at their jobs (a.k.a. “Coastal Elites”) really do need to explain why they’re better at it, from time to time. The country has lost over a million people to Covid, a good portion of them graduates of Google University.
This is an excellent site, among the best in the NBA, in my opinion, but a lot of what transpires here is inside baseball, and often as not, the various takes are unrepresentative of huge swaths if the fanbase. I don’t know how the average viewer feels about Kayte, but I’d think that if there were a lot of people who feel that she is condescending, that would show up in the continuous research that all outlets do about their on-air talent.
As far as her grade for being unable to carry whomever she sits next to, it’s not really her responsibility. I’m not a big fan of Draper or Jones, but that’s who’s here, and I can theorize with great confidence that Kayte has no say in who that person is.
Elanor Roosevelt said that no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. And maybe that isn’t the issue for some, but I stand by the assertion that no small percentage of people taking issue with KC’s style are doing so mainly because of gender.
I expect no one to admit to that. I sure as hell wouldn’t.
Jerry Reynolds never had to prove their superior knowledge by saying “what fans don’t understand is…” Neither did Vin Scully. Or John Madden. Or John Miller. Or Bill King. And so on and so on and so on. I think that when Kayte plays the “what fans don’t understand” card, it is more about her insecurities than those that are turned off by it. But to be clear, I’m not trying to speak for everyone or infer that I know more than anyone else. It is a simple opinion from a simple person. Feel free to agree or disagree with it, but I don’t think that my opinion is going to change much on this one.
Also. It. Was. A. Simple. Fucking. Limerick.
I wish that folks got this worked up over anti-semitism. You see, what gentiles don’t understand is…
Yeah, but it felt like a kick in the genitiles
Right in the matzo balls. When will the persecution end?!?
I concur with one thing Andy said: I am in the group that finds Kayte’s comments almost always helpful. HOWEVER, I am also one of the least informed people who comments on the list. I am very impressed with many of the observations here, and they are helping me to understand NBA-level basketball better.
So my question to Rob and others who agree with him is this: don’t you recognize that you understand basketball much better than most fans? So, you’re right that the offending phrase is clumsy and much that she says may not be useful to you, but I believe that you should cut her some slack so that she—like you and many others here—can help the many more casual fans like me.
I know more than some fans, less than others. And as I noted, she is better with Jones. And as I also noted, it was a simple limerick.
In fact, if you research my past comments, you will find that I have credited Kayte with having great knowledge of the game, and that when she sticks to the x’s and o’s she can be outstanding.
Look, the best teachers are the ones that give you the lesson without you even realizing it. The ultimate assist – making those around you better while you stand in the wings and watch their ascension. If Kayte could get better at that, I think that she would appeal to a broader segment of the fan base. But maybe I’m wrong.
And they get free car waxing and fence painting in the process!
Change…
“What fans don’t understand is Fox has been working on that three point shot for five consecutive off-seasons, so his improvement shouldn’t surprise anyone.”
To…
“Fox has been working on that three point shot for five consecutive off-seasons so his improvement shouldn’t surprise anyone.”
Unless of course you have an ego problem and in that case, carry on, it might not be fixable without pain. It’s referred to as, “lost in a world of being right.”
Andy, if you have a significant other, start all your interactions with “You don’t understand”, and see how it goes.
I’ll go one more: “Fox has been working on that three point shot for five consecutive off-seasons. He deserves a ton of credit for the work that he has put in.” There. You have not called any fan’s intelligence into question, and you have left the focus where it squarely belongs – on Fox.
It speaks to someone’s core perspective, how they see the world. This kind of change is painful and takes time.
We’re all, every one of us, “lost in a world of being right”, but you have to work hard to edit that space between your brain and your mouth.
Marty and especially this last comment of yours are exactly right. I was cutting her slack, but ideally she should do as you propose.
Yea and I’m not a hater, but I have preferences and I follow them. I listen to the away broadcast when I ***cough*** stream legally, and if that’s not available I listen to Gary and Jason whom I enjoy very much.
I couldn’t agree more. The Kayte and Drapes pairing is not good, and we have had a LOT of that pairing this season. What is the story with Jones? He has had what one game so far this season?
Nonsense, some of the best sports broadcasters are women.
I can’t stand listening to Kate Scott with the Sixers or Kayte with the Kings. The one thing they have in common is they’re terrible, YMMV.
As someone who has listened to sports broadcasts for 45 years, dreamed of being the play-by-play announcer for one of the Big 3 sports when I grew up, and worshipped at the alter of Bill King, Lon Simmons, and Vin Scully, Kayte only has one area to clean up to really be a quality color commentator, which is…
…not every single second of airtime has to be filled with verbose verbiage. In certain moments, what is happening on the court CAN speak with the power of a thousand words.
It’s a common problem for broadcasters in their early years in the industry, They are constantly told to fear and eliminate “dead air” at all costs and in response, they go overboard. Listen to some minor league baseball games, or some lower-tier college football games, and you’ll notice this clearly.
If Kayte chooses to do this for the long term, she’ll get better at it. She’s clearly intelligent, and obviously a competitor. Unlike Grant, who repeatedly made it clear he had nothing to learn from anyone, I do think Kayte wants to be good at this, and wants to improve.
And as long as that continues to be the case, she will improve. In time. It can just be tough to watch (listen) to that growth process at times. 😉
Totally agree, Nodaclu. Well said.
I agree and disagree with this. I think Grant gets a bad rap here, and I get why. But I think he was excellent at his craft. I don’t think you hear a fraction of the vitriol without the radio show.
That said, I think Kayte would be better for a different organization that clearly doesn’t put pressure on broadcasters to not say the obvious. It seems pretty clear they want cheerleaders rather than people to call the game in fair and thoughtful manner. I wish the latter were stressed more often than the former, but it is what it is. I wouldn’t bet against Draper, Jones and Christensen disagreeing with that either.
It could be worse. Listen to Detroit’s broadcasts sometimes. George Blaha is just horrible, I don’t get why he’s so beloved. But he is, and different strokes for different folks and all that. I still think Blaha sucks, have thought that for a long time. OTOH, I also thought Eric Reid, the Miami Heat long time TV broadcaster, and I hated him. Until I didn’t.
Tastes vary. And while I don’t think Kayte is bad, I don’t think the environment she’s working in is conducive to good broadcasts either. Especially because she’s new at it still. Hopefully she’s better, and hopefully doing games for a team that’s winning games helps loosen things up a bit. It would be a pleasant change of pace for this fan, at least.
You bring up a valid point. My assessment of Grant was, at best, oversimplified, and at worst, lazy.
Just my opinion of course, but I do think Grant was actually very, very good for quite some time. But around the time DMC arrived, something changed.
I don’t know if he got too comfortable, started to believe his own press clippings, got drunk on the power he gained at KHTK once he ran Don Geronimo out of town, Jerry retiring and being replaced by Doug, or maybe it had something to do with becoming Jim Rome’s vacation host and getting some national run, but somewhere in there, morphed from confident and borderline cocky, to becoming simply insufferable.
His last two seasons, I switched to the radio call and truly enjoyed getting to listen to one of the most underrated NBA broadcasters of all time, every game. I’ll truly miss G-man when he finally hangs ‘em up.
You’re right about the radio show, too. But the reality is, he *did* do the radio show, and it definitely colored people’s opinion about him. He knew it, and almost seemed to relish it, which also colors opinions.
Also…..pwning myself. 😂
Kayte and Jones is a much better pairing. Too bad Jones has called maybe one game all season.
To the City by the Bay,
Our intrepid Kings go to play,
Can our rookie find his stroke?
Will Green punch another bloke?
Fox, hot with swagger,
from his long range dagger,
Has a full head of steam.
Lemme see that laser beam!
I was personally satisfied with Keegan getting pulled. He was playing badly and the team was doing badly when he was on the court! Coach Brown knows he needs to win games against the Magics of the NBA, and he’s not going to blow a win for the sake of some kid’s confidence.
If Keegan is a professional NBA player (which I strongly believe he is), he will acknowledge that it was the right move for the team and grow from this. Meanwhile, Kings got a W that we wouldn’t have gotten if Walton was still steering the ship. And it’s not like he’s singling Murray out – everyone on this team besides Fox, Sabonis, and Huerter have gotten benched at various points this season for not performing. That’s simply good coaching and gives the Kings the best chance to win night-in, night-out.
I’ve overall loved what I’ve seen from Brown. Early TO’s to fix things before they get out of control, playing the hot hands, drilling on practical in-game situations, holding players accountable, etc. This is how you become a better team in the NBA. It is a level of competence out of a head coach we have not seen since Joerger.
I don’t think Murray’s early sidelining was indicative of any long-term perception of his value, but rather a very practical decision based on how the game was going. If the message to the players is that you must perform on both sides of the ball in order to play, then Brown has been walking the walk.
Totally agree with everything you’ve said here. The one area where I think some people having been giving Mike Brown a bit of side-eye, has been his early usage of his foul challenge. But even that, to me, is a sign of a coach who has the bigger picture in mind. With all of the losing, for so long, this group needs to feel like the coach has their back at all times. And early in the season, what better way to do that than to step up early and protect your guys. I expect that, as the season goes on, you’re going to see those challenges come later and later in games. Winning matters, but it’s hard to win if players don’t buy into their coach. That’s what is happening now.
Build the foundation with the long-term in mind. If you do, the wins will come. Worked in San Antonio for…oh…30 years or so.
It’s psychological, subconscious coaching – something else Popovich is a master of. Just like Brown’s post-game comments after the Miami game about “the name on the front of the jersey” affecting calls. Don’t think that kind of stuff doesn’t sink into the subconscious if you’re the league, and the refs. It absolutely does. That was a brilliant, subtle move – well worth any quiet fine he might have received.
And as decent-to-good as Joerger was, he did have a rep of being too intense – of getting results, but wearing out his welcome quickly. Brown brings the same level of accountability, without the red-ass approach and personality, and this team will be better for it.
Completely unrelated, but would “Elon Gate” be a good Twitter handle? Asking for a friend.
It musk be.
“what fans don’t understand is…”
How does she effing know that fans “don’t understand?”
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