I think it’s safe to say that nothing matters anymore. The Sacramento Kings have officially clinched their 16th losing season in a row, they are four games out of the 10th seed, and all hopes of post-season play have at least thrice been killed by now. The fun part about nothing mattering anymore is that we can confidently answer any hypothetical questions, such as, “will the Kings take advantage of the Knicks tonight being on the second night of a back to back?” or “will this be the night that Alec Burks scores 50?” with “who the hell cares?” The weight of hope and expectation can no longer drag our spirits. We can simply just be. So as the Kings took on the Knicks tonight, I took a few deep breaths, exhaled the stress, and embraced the zen. Let’s see how they did:
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings lose, 131-115
Sacramento Kings: 115 pts, 48.8% fg, 34.4% 3 pt, 72.2% ft, 23 ast, 40 reb, 11 to
New York Knicks: 131 pts, 51.1% fg, 42.9% 3 pt, 82.6% ft, 19 ast, 47 reb, 8 to
This team really doesn’t care about my zen. After leading by as much as 20 points from an electric first half performance, the Kings turned all the way down and let the Knicks trample right over them for a 36-point swing and comeback. It was the same old story, a tale of two halves, one as old as time itself. In the span of 48 minutes, the Sacramento Kings took us through all three major stages of a bad relationship – see below for details.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good
- The Honeymoon Phase: Everything was rainbows and butterflies. At the first horn, the Kings were firing on all cylinders on both ends of the floor and it seemed as if they could do no wrong. Domantas Sabonis got a hot start, logging 11 quick points and punishing the Knicks’ centers with foul trouble. Harrison Barnes found his way to the free throw line a handful of times, and De’Aaron Fox created and controlled a high-energy pace that kept the ball moving for the Kings as he racked up five assists in the first half. On the defensive end, the Kings were highly active, anticipating passing lanes, forcing the Knicks into tough shots, and cleaning up the defensive glass. They held the Knicks to just 17 points in the first quarter, with Julius Randle and RJ Barrett being the only two Knicks able to put the ball in their basket. The Kings ended the first half with a 15-point lead after a dominant and confident performance. They made us feel safe, secure, and as if they were willing to do all the little things.
The Bad
- Trouble in Paradise: Things were going great, and then suddenly, they stopped doing the little things. It started with a 7-0 run by the Knicks to open up the third quarter. The Kings came out with their usual third quarter lethargy and the Knicks quickly took advantage. The hope at this point is that this would serve as a wake-up call, and the Kings would revert back to making the extra efforts to get things back on track towards the honeymoon phase. But, like every failed relationship, they instead fell into complacency and didn’t make the proper adjustments to right the ship. After five minutes of play, the Kings’ 15-point lead was reduced to just six points and Alvin Gentry was forced to take a timeout.
The Ugly
- The Heartbreak: And finally, not only did they stop doing the little things, they stopped doing everything all together. The defense became nonexistent, as the Knicks outscored the Kings 44-24 in the third quarter and nailed 7 3-pointers. The defensive intensity, rotation, and discipline we saw in the honeymoon phase was long gone. On the other end of the floor, De’Aaron Fox did what he could individually to keep his team in it, but as a team, the offense became flat and lacked the ball movement and force that they imposed in the first half. Once the Knicks got the momentum in their favor, they never looked back. The fourth quarter was essentially the Julius Randle show, as he finished with a career-high 46 points on eight made 3-pointers. RJ Barrett (29 points) and Immanuel Quickley (27 points) shored up the rest of the Knicks’ offensive production. Like most breakups, emotions ran high and Domantas Sabonis was ejected in the fourth quarter after contesting a foul call. The Kings completed tonight’s heartbreak by becoming complacent, refusing to correct, and letting what started as a good thing end in complete and utter disaster.
The King of Kings
De’Aaron Fox led the Kings tonight with 24 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. He had some incredible finishes at the rim throughout the game and reached some top speeds that I’m not sure have been recorded before on an NBA court.
Operation: M.C.N.A.I.R Watch
Tonight’s chosen charity is My Sister’s House which serves underserved women and children impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Donate here and be sure to notify Will via Twitter (@WillofThaPeople) or e-mail ([email protected]) so he can keep track of donation totals.
Up Next
Wednesday, March 9th vs. Denver Nuggets – 7:00 P.M.
Knicks on a back to back and Ave 105 per game manages to put up 83 in the second half ! Kings were playing tough, aggressive defense because the genius broadcast incessant talking heads said so !
LOL. We’re everybody’s bitch.
Deja vu.
Kings sucked, but I LOVED that Knicks 2nd half defense.
Tanks a lot, Knicks!
Same old story, someone from the opposing team scores a season or career high against us. We suck.
Barnes continuing to be the only consistent Kings 3 point shooter and only takes 4 3-point shots…🤦♂️
When a team is very bad for a very long time one should look for common elements throughout that time. We were slightly above 500 when we acquired Barnes for basically nothing. We finished the season 9 and 19 with him and have never seen 500 again. There’s probably a good reason why we couldn’t move Barnes the last two years and why we obtained him for nothing. He’s a quality person no doubt but fools gold as a player.
Sorry, but this narrative is just stupid. Blaming the acquisition of Barnes for finishing 9-19 in 2019 is even stupider. Barnes is a very good player. He’s 3rd best on this team and would likely start on the other 29 teams while being their 3rd to 4th best player. Blaming him for the Kings failures for the past few seasons is beyond the pale.
I presented a set of facts and if other teams thought as highly of him as you do they could have traded for him which they didn’t do. In May, he will be 30 years old and he’s not getting any better for sure. His salary alone presents an opportunity cost.
Barnes was a starter on a World Champ seems Kings have no one else that did that ! Grasping for straws are not facts !
Facts are these. He hasn’t played on a winning team in 7 years. There’s no evidence that he’s improved the Kings when you look at their win loss record. At a minimum you could conclude that he didn’t make the team any better after they had achieved a 500 record. If you want the Kings to keep losing then keep advocating for the same players.
I don’t think anyone is arguing that Barnes is a keeper, but laying blame on him for the Kings woes is asinine.
I’m laying the blame on the players who have been rostered throughout this long streak of ineptitude.
No, you specifically blamed Barnes, including laying he 9-19 finish in 2019 at his feet.
Absolutely yes in part I blame Barnes. He’s been a common element throughout this period of losing. Am I suppose to praise him after he was added to a 500 team and then the team subsequently loses 19 out of 28 games and then gets progressively worse. At a minimum one could conclude he hasn’t contributed to winning.
Barnes was specifically brought in at the deadline during the 2018-2019 season, for one reason only.
And that was to push .500 Kings over the finish line and into the playoffs.
How did that season work out?
Nothing on HB as a person, this is more of a Vlade colossal blunder.
Colossal blunder??
The Kings gave up suit wearing Z-Bo and Justin Jackson! The Kings were rolling out a chest wound at SF that season splitting minutes between Shumpert and JJ. It was simple talent acquisition while giving up absolutely nothing.
Let’s see if I can follow your logic. You don’t think he’s a keeper but you believe he’s would be the third best player on almost all NBA teams. So you think he’s a really good player, but he’s not a keeper on a very bad team, Got it!
I feel like I’m talking to a child. 3rd to 4th best players on teams are moved like deck chairs in the league. Here’s an exercise for you. Look at every NBA team and tell me which ones have their 3rd to 4th best player as a keeper. I’d wager the number is less than 3. The team is either a legit championship contender or the player has never been traded, like on a rookie deal.
Good ahead, find those players. I’ll wait.
The prosecution rests its case. Barnes has not improved the teams performance. Nuff said.
Your argument is that the 3rd best player on the team hasn’t improved the team, in terms of wins, over that last 3 years on a team that hasn’t won in 16 years, and is in fact to blame for the recent failures.
Like I said…asinine
Then the very same can be said for Fox. if other teams thought as highly of him as you do they could have traded for him which they didn’t do. He’s another year older, and he’s not getting any better for sure. His salary alone presents an opportunity cost.
See how that logic works?
I would also move Fox and yes it’s true. If the Kings could have moved him they would have. Unfortunately we had to give up Haliburton for Sabonis but what have preferred to move Fox instead. Keep posting, your making the case against Barnes even better every time you do you just don’t realize it.
You have no case ! Good enough to start on a World Champ but the reason for Kings losing ! Asinine
First of all he wasn’t the third or fourth best player on that team and the Warriors won two subsequent championships without him and if they thought he was critical to their success like Curry, Thompson and Green they would have kept him. Also that was 7 years ago and every team since then has been far below 500. You want to keep losing, keep the guys who have been losing.
LOL, serious context is needed here. It wasn’t that the Warriors didn’t want to keep him. It’s that didn’t want to pay him what Dallas would and they had their targets set on Durant. They replaced Barnes with Durant.
You keep making my case better and it seems you don’t know you’re doing it. Yes, my point we (along with Dallas) were the suckers who overpaid for Barnes not the Warriors. Once again, there’s nothing in the Kings record subsequent to the acquisition of Barnes that indicates he improved the teams performance. See the problem with you and management, they fall in love with their players and think they are better than they are. I was in the minority about resigning Holmes. I could see another overpayment coming and lo and behold it happened yet again. We overpaid for Barnes and we overpaid for Holmes and we overpaid for a plethora of free agents like Hill and Dedmon (both signings I opposed). Simply put, Barnes has underperformed his contract and there’s been no evidence of improvement subsequent to his arrival and that’s based on factual data not touchy-feely opinion.
I like HB, he seems like a good guy, but he’s an average to good player at best, at this stage of his career.
And Barnes likely being a starter on the other 29 teams is extremely doubtful and unfounded, IMO.
I actually went down that rabbit hole of what team he might come off the bench on. The only one I could really find is PHX as they may prefer Crowder over him at the 4 for defensive reasons. Maybe G.S. behind Wiggins or Toronto behind OG? I feel he’s start at the other contenders like the Bucks, Boston, Nets, Utah, Nuggets. He’d even still start for Dallas.
There were more reasons for the 9 and 19 finish. Shumpert was a confident leader and good defender. The league adjusted to their fast break scheme. Bjelica came back down to earth after shooting 80% from 3. But I do think Fox and Barnes are not natural floor leaders, and that might be confusing if people expect it from them at all times. Remember those videos with Shumpert and Fox? And the “scores”? And how Cauley-Stein said the whole vibe was gone after the trade (which included Justin Jackson). Something as simple as starting Mitchell might help, because he’s a guy that Fox and Barnes can get behind. He may not be as vocal or have the charisma of a Draymond Green but I think he’s a confident leader (and obviously a good defender).
I agree Shumpert was playing out of his ass but there’s nothing to indicate Barnes improved the teams performance since he arrived.
Actually, Shumpert shot poorly. I just think he had a type of Yoenis Cespedes effect before the A’s traded him. DiVincenzo might be like him as a player, so that’s a possibility also, to start Divincenzo.
Id rather see DD on the court than Holiday but both are probably irrelevant.
you never know. Divincenzo is a cocky SOB (Jerry Reynolds had a better expression for him, forget what it was).
Pray tell, what would the record be if we kept JJ and Zach?
Next six games look like pretty surefire losses, with the potential for some serious blowouts. Will this team even get 30 wins?
I keep seeing a lot of comments that the team is so much better since the trade deadline. The problem with that opinion is that it’s not showing up in the record. We basically traded one pretty good player for another pretty good player and really haven’t moved the needle yet.
The incessant jovial banter from the courtside commentators is too much to bear. Its not funny anymore. Please tone down the hype and show some respect to your audience by acknowledging the failure of the Kings.
Chalkboard meet nail. That’s the Sac TV commentator listening experience.
https://twitter.com/SeanCunningham/status/1501080995210022912?s=20&t=UrLLA0BbuuNf0w_otp7OMw
Seriously, this org does not need a reset or a clean slate, they need a complete purge.
Let Vivek buy Chelsea and take Matina and Dumars with him to the UK. Fire all the coaches, including Rico “stack losses” Hines and Doug (D?) Christie. Trade all the players except Sabonis and DiVicenzo (I might keep Davion after a thorough exorcism).
I totally agree….
No one should be staying…………..
Just press the “RESTART” button………….
Gates, Musk, or Bezos could buy the team and Matina ain’t going anywhere.
I think Gentry probably will change the starting lineup.
He should start DDV instead of Holiday….
and Metu should see some minutes……..
Fox, Mitchell
DDV, Jackson
Barnes, Holiday
Lyles, Metu
Sabonis, Jones
p.s. Sabonis should take more than 15 shots per game !
What exactly is the point of letting Holiday shoot this team out of a game? Again? He is not a core piece going forward. What part of him are you afraid of breaking by putting him on the bench?
Are we sure that Metu is so obviously part of the problem that he can’t get off the bench when the rest of the team has stopped caring?
Love HB, but it was empty calories tonight. By all means feel free to shoot the three when the game is already over.
Fox is a coach killer. No idea on a given night what his engagement level will be on either end of the court. If you can’t understand that…it’s not worth discussing basketball with you.
Can one of you statheads give me the delta between the Kings record and the average win percentage of the other max players in the league? I mean if you are a max guy shouldn’t you be able to lead your team to a decent record?
Lyles can shoot the three, so absolutely get him off the court.
Davion…the rookie wall is real.
Coach Gentry keep insisting that a team that has a legit post player and can’t defend push the ball. If you have a legit post player and can’t defend YOU SHOULD PLAY AT A SLOWER PACE!
I think Jones always brings it. I like that
If a personal problem is preventing you from playing I think you should stay home.
Do the Kings have any developmental talent in Stockton worth looking at? If they don’t that’s a problem…if they don’t know it’s time to start looking that’s a bigger problem.
I mean why is Holiday playing. If you want to win DD is the best option. If you want to prepare for the future Mitchell is the best option. There’s no justification for giving Holiday this much burn. Yeah he’s signed for another year but that’s just dead weight IMO.
If wanted to prepare for the future, then play Queta for 30+ mins.
I don’t really think any instruction from McNair to the coach, then McNair said it’s about time to tank…then the rotation should change.
Yes I’d be giving Queta a look.
Help Wanted: Anyone who can hit an open 3. That’s it. We’ll pay you like $10M a year. Call Monte.
A bad offensive team burned us for 83 points in the second half.
The Mavs also scored well over their season avergae even though they were without Luka. The Pels hung 125 points on us.
I think the “we are bad because we lost our best 3-point shooters” complaint is burrying the lede somewhat.
And that is after dumping one of our worst defenders in the process (the worst defender is still here, though).
This is why I think they need a coach who will hold guys accountable and make D a priority. Maybe make minutes connected to the effort. And focus on the D end.
I suppose McNair and Co believe/hope with a rim protector the whole thing might work? That deficiencies of said worst defender can be made up for….
Look at Fox’s “defense” and the reaction by Sabonis …
https://twitter.com/nyknicks/status/1501043825791451140?s=20&t=O2Oa50JTPIkDbHnwEXh9DA
Yikes.
Playground basketball in elementary school
Ridiculous. I saw that live. There is no excuse for lack of effort and Fox has been effortless his entire career.
Such a big/bad gamble to have a cornerstone who won’t play D and won’t work on his shooting/cant shoot.
Fox needs a coach like Papp or someone who will sir his ass for lack of effort.
Nash was a poor defender and Steph ain’t great but Steph tries and both shoot lights out.
Again, a very small needle to thread—-fir this team to be any good w Fox.
Ole’
There you go, another new coach. That will be the 12th change. Are you kidding me.
Are you under the impression that Gentry isn’t going to be replaced at the end of the year?
His career trajectory is starting to overlap with Monta Ellis
Your worried about someone shooting a three when the team just gave up 131 points to the Knicks at home.
Fun fact: About 20% of the ocean floor has been explored, and about half of that is by the Kings alone!
…what?! Watched the first half then had to go to work and I’m now seeing the result…what the hell happened?
It’s my fault… I was commenting in the game thread thingy.
I know, it’s crazy. I had trouble with my TV connection, and didn’t watch anything after the first period.
First game I missed, figured it was in the bag, until I checked the score this morning. WTH!!
I’m so glad I watched… that was just incredible…. Not
Klay incredible but still just amazing all the same.
Tankers… “we aren’t tanking hard enough”… tankers when being blown out by garbage teams… “we suck! blow it up so we can tank harder.”
But, you see, we aren’t tanking the proper way. We are tanking with players we want on the roster next season. And that’s no bueno because it’s all horrible and nothing good can come of it. Because they are only losers and nothing else.
Are we tanking or just bad? Sabonis played the least of the Kings top three last night at just under 37 minutes.
Right now, bad. This mix isn’t working. The real change will happen this summer, if it happens at all. I’m optimistic we will get that change, but until then, we will likely see more of the same.
We are on the same page. I have to think the front office sees what we see and senses the urgency. I’m optimistic they’ll at least take a swing this offseason. Waiting another year is too long given the Sabonis contract.
I suspect a new head coach is nearly as important. Remember that DRtg that was among the worst in NBA history last season? That number was at 116.5. Since Gentry took over, for the last 50 games, that number is at 115.9. And pre Sabonis trade, that number was 115.8. Since Domas has arrived on the shores of the Evil Cowtown, that number is at 116.1. Overall that number is at 114.5.
Alvin Gentry isn’t the main issue, but I fail to see how he’s a part of the long term solution at this point.
Let’s see it was my understanding management chose the win now lane.
Fire up the tank, folks!!
I don’t believe it we choked again. No wait a minute maybe we are really tanking and nobody on the Kings is letting US know. That’s it. It has to be. I personally think Monty should fire Gentry now. I don’t care how much it costs us. Let me tell you why. I just don.t understand where he is coming from. He plays Holiday 28 minutes last night . Holiday goes 1 for 8 from the three point line. Last week in two games he was 3 for 19. How he is 4 for27. How may points do the Kings lose because of that. DDV plays 27 minutes last night and hits 3 for 6. 50%. Not bad and he is a better defensive player. If Gentry starts Holiday on Wednesday I’m done watching the Kings this year. Another thing. Have you noticed that at the beginning of the game and during timeouts Gentry talks and nobody is looking him in the eye. When Malone coached the other night when he talked everyone looked him in the eye and listened. When I coached I demanded when I was coaching everyone had to look into my eyes. It was a respect thng and I knew they were listening. I watched some of our players talking to each other while Gentry was coaching. Little things like thatt makes me believe they are done respecting him. I would like to say more but I’m done.
I don’t believe an interim coach has been fired in the same season he replaced the head coach. I could be wrong, but I don’t think it has ever happened.
Ty Corbin?
But that said, Gentry won’t get fired. There’s no purpose. I’d just be shocked if he came back at this point.
Ahhhh. you are right. Leave it to the Kings to have that distinction. That was pretty unique. Karl was hired as head coach over the all-star break. I wonder if that had ever happened before?
No but that’s only happened once because of those unique circumstances.
Fox has big game, Kings get crushed. Next.
They will continue to blow leads and get crushed because other teams have figured out the Kings can’t shoot—-don’t have shooters thanks to building around 2 non shooters. So, in clutch-when Kings have to go 1// court they are done. And Kong’s still can’t stop anyone.
Lack of shooters and D-rim
protectors all have to be obtained. Will they?
One of the advantages of living in EST is that I only saw the first half. I was interested to see how that particular nine man rotation would do in a game but Gentry did not seem to share that sentiment.
I heard Sabonis was checking his bank account to see if he had enough savings to sit out next season to hopefully force the Kings to trade him.
Not true ! Stop with this foolishness !
The Kings are improving their efficiency.
They broke Sabonis in under 20 games!
This team is not a coach and a training camp away. That’s such a tired narrative and we’re going to have to listen to it all offseason. This is an under .500 team that needs real work.
Coach, training camp, roster improvements away from being a 45 win team.
The Kings are just two years away from being two years away.
Ah, this bullshit again.
Yes.
Yes. They need shooters, defenders, rim protector and a different O similar to Denver. New coach.
On top of all that, they are going to need Davion or Fox to improve their 3 ball.
The list is long, which is why this playin delusion is so idiotic. They have to get as high a pick as possible and need to develop Davion etc. . .
Fox needs to be better in particular. Mitchell can only likely help so much. I would like to see Davion start for the rest of the season, though.
Perhaps Vivek will bring his ideas to the EPL, and less ideas to the NBA. Go Kings!
10 on 11 soccer. You know you want it, Chelsea!
I hope if he buys the team, he’ll hire Mourinho as coach. It will be epic!
Can’t wait to see the conversation where someone tries to explain offsides to him.
“Offside? You mean Whiteside, I hired him y’know…”
“That guy with the gloves, WTF; move him up to score goals, easy”
At this point no one can convince me the Kings aren’t simply a long running performance art installation on the despair of existence.
The Kings are part of the reality system, running their scripts. They have no control over losing. There hasn’t been a glitch in the Matrix for 16 years :))
Over simplistic viewpoint… but isnt the third quarter woes an issue that could be solved by coaching? Not necessarily blaming gentry but someone needs to take charge and be heard. I realize players have a responsibility as professionals, but if the coaching and leadership (players and coaches) in the locker room were solid the players would be held more accountable. I had not heard of issues of poor leadership by players which would be undermining the coaching.
My disappointment is tempered by the hopes of a higher draft pick and some organizational changes.
And to the announcers…. have you been given orders to mention the play in standings every game? The play in should not be the ultimate goal or even a first step. Build for the future. The play in is no more than a “participation ribbon”.
The last two coaches haven’t been able to solve it. Check with me in December, with whatever coach they hire, especially if the offseason doesn’t bring significant additional talent.
To me, it’s a below average team playing like a below average team. If it changes, it will be because of a talent infusion, not from the coaching carousel.
I think their woes are based on an inability to score in the half court because they can’t shoot. D just clogs paint. And they can’t defend.
So, when the game matters and it gets to 1/2 court the Kings are finito. A diff O would help and coach but they are fucked without shooters and with their PG refusing to put out D effort.
I agree with both of you. An infusion of talent is needed, just worried that gentry wont know how to use it.
Fox’s defense is shit. He allows too many blowbys and his man frequently has a career night. Also the Kings obviously got the broken Holliday brother and should stop playing him. RJ Barrett, who normally averages 19 points a game, went off for 29 against a weak backcourt defense.
I hate this team as much as anyone, but I am much more optimistic than most. The current issues are much more fixable than it was 2 months ago:
Sounds great in Fantasy land. Excuses, acquiring high value players with no Assets. Very little money. Barnes is not a core piece. He will
be 31 next season. A new coach will help a little. But. This team is still seriously talent deficient. What excuse do the Pels have. McCollum must be 10x better than Sabonis. That team is making waves.
I look at a healthy Western Conference next year: Suns, Pels, Grizz, DuBs, Clips, Denver,Wolves, Jazz and Dallas are unequivocally more talented, better coached, high level Front office and have first dibs on any decent free agent or
trade opportunity that presents itself in the Summer. Yes, I do think this team still needs to explore trade for Fox. He’s the Western Conference’s version of Bradley Beal.
As someone who follows the Wizards closely, the Beal comparison is a very good one.
One player is a better passer, the other a more prolific scorer, but both bad defenders and they need the ball in their hands. Neither seem to be conductive to winning basketball.
I’m starting to thing the Sabonis trade was a bad idea. We should’ve just kept Hali and traded everybody else for whatever we could. This team badly needs a full rebuild, I don’t think Fox and Barnes are gonna help make this team a winner and need a change of scenery.
Badge Legend