Are you hitting the panic button already? Or are you still burning that incense, doing deep breathing exercises, and manifesting good vibes with the understanding that a Sacramento Kings season wouldn’t truly be a Sacramento Kings season without some ebbs and flows? I’m doing the latter for now – although, I understand if some of your fingers are getting a little twitchy and yearning to reach for that big, red button. After an exciting win in Portland and two losses at home to Utah & Golden State, the Kings looked to build some momentum to start their four-game road trip against the reigning Western Conference champions in the Phoenix Suns. Let’s see how they did:
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings win, 110-107
Sacramento Kings: 110 pts, 44.2% fg, 39.5% 3pt, 73.3% ft, 28 ast, 11 to
Phoenix Suns: 107 pts, 45.2% fg, 27.3% 3pt, 70.8% ft, 23 ast, 11 to
I believe this team is determined to get me into an early grave. This game felt like a Charles Dickens’ novel – A Tale of Two Halves, if you will. It was ugly, it was redemptive, and, as every Kings game is, it was dramatic. It all came down to a heroic Harrison Barnes’ buzzer-beater to send the Kings off riding into the Phoenix setting sun and I just may have to stop my recap career right here if I want to live past 30 years old.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good:
- Second Half: I’ve got a special section saved down below to talk about the first half, but let’s start with some good vibes here first. After a horrific 24 minutes, the Kings came out in the third quarter showing a concerted effort on defense and it immediately paid off. The Kings began the second half on an 8-0 run and got the Suns on their heels. They maintained this defensive intensity and allowed the Suns to score just 15 points in the third quarter. The Suns came back during crunch time, scoring 31 points in the fourth quarter, but the Kings were able to stave them off enough by draining 11 of their 21 3-point attempts in the final two quarters. Buddy Hield contributed seven of those for the night, and the majority of his makes in the second half came from open, set looks. Actually playing defense in the second half allowed for more transition opportunities for the Kings and Buddy made sure to cash in on them by draining uncontested 3-point looks.
The Bad:
- PnR Defense: The Kings allowed Deandre Ayton to collect some good evidence to take to Robert Sarver in the argument for his bag. Ayton finished with 21 points on 9-12 from the field and also grabbed a disturbing 21 rebounds. Ayton is incredible, no doubt, but the Kings also made it pretty easy on him, especially in the first half, where Ayton got 16 points and 11 rebounds. All it took was a simple pick and roll scheme for Ayton to find himself flying at the rim for an easy flush. The Kings failed to execute any strategic rotation, hedging, or drop coverage to combat the Suns’ high ball screens, and Ayton was able to cash in on all of it.
- Half Court Offense: While the Kings were saved by their incredible second-half shooting, the offense overall was still hard to digest. Early on, the Kings showed a lack of movement off the ball and a heavy reliance on one on one action. Rarely did they seem to get shots they wanted, and rather were mostly settling for contested shots they could find late in the shot clock. There were no discernible plays being run, and no one seemed to know what anyone else was trying to do. The Kings found more comfort in the second half as more transition play gave them the faster pace they like to play in. However, we saw the same mistakes happen in the final four minutes as the Kings’ crumble commenced. With a seven-point lead at the 2:00 mark, the Kings failed to get any good looks in the half-court set, instead of making careless turnovers and letting the Suns tie the game with 34 seconds left. Thankfully, Harrison Barnes came through at literally the last second and lifted the Kings to victory, but I can’t help but think it wouldn’t have been necessary had the Kings shown more intention and focus in their half-court offense.
The Ugly:
- First Half: So, remember how we all complained about the Kings playing so well in the first half of games but falling off in the second half? Well, I think they heard and dropped an Uno reverse card on us tonight. The Kings definitively responded by showing that they can indeed ALSO play horribly in the first half. Immediately from the jump, the defensive effort was lazy, rotations were nonexistent, and the shot selection was horrific. The Kings shot 4-17 from deep, secured only three offensive boards, and committed six very ugly turnovers in the first half. Everything looked disjointed and it felt like the setting of a long night for Sacramento. Luckily for the Kings, the Suns weren’t able to capitalize too much on their poor play and the Kings were able to stick around and trail by only eight points going into the half. Ultimately, things got better, but I would definitely prefer to never have to watch that kind of Kings basketball again.
The King of Kings
In such an ugly game, it’s hard to believe that there were two standouts to choose from on this Kings team. While Buddy Hield kept the Kings alive with his 26 points and seven made 3-pointers, buzzer-beaters don’t happen every day. So we must cherish the ones we get and bestow tonight’s crown for the King of Kings to Harrison Barnes. Thank you, Harrison, for saving us all from a very sad night.
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1453577759934926858?s=20
Up Next
Friday, October 29th @ New Orleans Pelicans – 5:00 P.M. (PT)
Fox was a closer last year. Now he’s in a weird Twilight Zone funk. It doesn’t seem like just a cold streak. There’s something going on.
Swipa, if your teammates are playing better late in the 4th, you don’t need to be a closer. It’s a team game
That’s the problem with some Kings fans and a small town media contingent trying to anoint him as something he is not: a star.
Glad we got the win. Now, Fox for Simmons. Get it done, Monte.
No time to waste.
what a terrible idea
He’s pressing hard to become that guy. Only problem is he’s not “that guy”.
in the last two minutes when Booker was taking over, really wanted Mitchell out there. Thought Fox would have been the guy to go to the bench tonight. Buddy and Hali earned their time to be on the floor.
Are you over simplificationing things?
I feel your takes are the cold streak… Is this true?
His problem is that he hasn’t called Chris Mullin for advice on how to practice his shooting.
Can we celebrate the fact that fox is playing terribly and this kings team is still 2-2. Fox will figure things out at some point. He is not going to be shooting 15% from 3 for the season. We can argue all we want on if fox is worth a max contract, if he should be traded, or if he is good enough to be an all star, but the fact is that he has played horribly and we are 2-2 v some tough competition to start the season. We will have plenty of time to be sad/frustrated/angry this season, now is not that time.
Reasonable takes unwelcome…have to come in hotter than that ????
Suns fans thought they’d be dancing down the street!
And from every angle; HB!
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1453597243664076804?s=20
Happy for HB!!! A win is a win.
Watch Fox here. He barely cares.
You still gonna love the bench reaction, like Metu, TT and Len.
Love how excited Tyrese and Mitchell are.
sad but true
He just looks tired. A bit stunned perhaps too?
From a different angle you can see Fox is obviously pleased with HB’s game winner. He may have been avoiding any unnecessary contact to his shoulder by not participating in the team “pileup” celebration.
Yeah he doesn’t run and jump into a pile but he immediately reacts and keeps moving toward the group the whole time. Celebrates with Tyrese after Rese breaks away from the big group. I don’t see an issue here, personally.
Rah-rah comes in all forms and levels. Seems petty to analyze something like that. I remember playing HS football and being dumbfounded at the actions some of my teammates would display after something positive happened. Not for me.
Anyway…..
Ignore all the flashing red lights at your own peril
Dude, you’re just looking something for now.
So it’s come to this now? “Look how Fox reacts, he wasn’t happy enough”
comments like this make me leave this website for the night and hate social media’s encouraged“hot takes” with a passion.
terrible comment SexyNapear, Goodnight everyone. Leaving here disappointed when I should be leaving happy.
Oh is this the winning Kings dance thread?
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fflipanim.com%2Fanim%3DwPMhpDvL&psig=AOvVaw1t1PrAkgaLlTr9EZas1Jih&ust=1635486945467000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCPiYvua17PMCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAm
Harrisun be like…. Naw son.
The Fox fan rage is hilarious. Will be fun to look back on at game 20.
30 million doesn’t buy what it used to ! Game 20 will still prove that !
Been to the grocery store lately? Neither does a Benjamin Franklin.
They don’t have to be works of art…for god sakes, DANCE people!
# NBA Standings… Fun for a while or? Mavericks are garbage btw
Was Bagley at the game? I didn’t see him …
I think I caught him at the end of the bench in his warmups a few times I made a point to look for him, but also didn’t seen him in any of the timeout huddles.
Probably trying to avoid pictures of him and Ayton together. Not so proud of his standing in his draft class anymore….
He was on the bench wearing a warmup with the hood up and also wearing a mask. Easy to miss.
Just curious why we care.
Buddy Hell and Harrisun Barnes helps send the Suns to the dirt….. Sequenced
Any Kings win is good.
The eternal whining of SexyNapear is bad.
Oh, wait until you see me whining when they’re 4-15 in a month. This is just a warmup.
You’re already insufferable.
At least it’s about basketball, at least as far as I remember. I’m not sure why we’ve gotten into this thing where we need to police how other people fan.
This goes both ways Spackler.
Wait, so pointing out flaws and red flags is suddenly insufferable. This was the naive thinking of Kings fans in the ’90s
I was a kid in the 90s. I know how reflexively defensive this fanbase is. It used to tilt towards positivity, now it’s negativity.
I was mostly being silly calling you insufferable. The constant drumbeat of negativity is annoying, but that’s essentially this fanbase in the aggregate atm. You aren’t any different in that regard.
I think we’re all hoping the team finally gives us something to be optimistic about.
I think that is mostly the case, yes.
You would think that, but then the team wins on a 3 at the buzzer over a team in last year’s Finals and you realize some people will always be negative no matter what happens.
Harrison Barnes is a stud! Tough schedule to open with, but I was front and center at the first two home games and was encouraged. These dudes want to win and just played the top 3 teams in the west (and n my opinion). They need to stay strong in the 2nd half but heck they are playing some ball.
2-0 on the road. 0-2 at home.
Almost gave it away, but I’ll take it.
If you had said to me before the first game that we’d be 2-2 after playing the Blazers, Jazz, Warriors and Suns, I would’ve definitely taken it. But still I feel a bit disappointed, because I feel like we should’ve done better…is that progress???
It’s hope that this team can make progress and ultimately be the playoff team we prefer.
Totally agree on 2-2. We tried to give this one away, but I’ll take it as well. That could easily be a 0-4 stretch. Two games against the Pelicans coming up, who seem very beatable with Zion out.
Just gotta watch out for valuncunius’ dirty play.
When isn’t this true? He won’t be doing that shit to Len or Thompson, I can guarantee it.
He was doing that to KAT all game two-three days ago. I’m good with hard tough play but Valuncunius toes that borderline of dirty play that I don’t like.
KAT is more of a paper tiger than a physical specimen, IMO, so that doesn’t surprise me. So that makes him a target of the Valanciunas’ of the world.
That said, that is not Len or Thompson. Len especially.
We’ll definitely see tomorrow. Go kings.
We shall. It’ll be an important element to the Kings winning, as well. This group is more physical than last year, that is evident. Mitchell, Len and Thompson are a big part of that.
I think Fox may be injured. He looked like he hurt his shoulder first or second game, didn’t he have an injury there in the past? May explain what’s going on with him
I think it was Nurkic Game 1, who came down with a 10 feet elbow to Fox’s shoulder. I get that he is playing through pain, but do it within limits to not hurt the team
Shhhh. You are not allowed to bring up anything negative.
Except Luke Walton. Be negative about that guy all you want.
Random notes: Davion showed a nice ability to pass from under the basket. There were a couple examples, but the one that stood out was going around Ayton who wanted to block a shot, curling to the other side, and throwing a left handed pass to Buddy. Plays like that seem to be the way short point guards excel in the nba. Buddy Hield is like college football, alternating between turnovers and touchdowns. It’s a hilarious roller coaster. 4th quarter heebie jeebies. Another rough stretch there where the team looked tentative, unsure what to do. Fox dribbling the clock down at the top of the key with 2 or 3 minutes left in the game does not seem efficient. Oh yeah, Alex Len played really well out there. Seems like he should be above TT as the Holmes backup (and possibly playing next to Holmes in some situations). If the Warriors played D with Bogut and Speights the Kings can play D with a big guy like Len.
What a finish. Thank you Barnes for saving us there.
Amazing 3rd quarter to watch, heart racing 4th.
At least now we know we can play better in the 2nd half ????
Let’s see how we do against a short handed team we ‘should’ win against on Friday.
I am happy the Kings won. Barnes and Hield bailed them out offensively.
I am not happy with Fox’s effort and seems to (maybe) have a growing attitude problem. Look at the game winner video, he doesn’t seem to care much.
Also, look at this lowlight from the ‘fastest guy in the league’. Horrible! I literally started swearing out loud when I saw this. My wife gave me the side eye because I almost never do that watching a game on TV.
https://sports.yahoo.com/mikal-bridges-dunk-vs-sacramento-044300997.html
He almost cost them the game. There was a noticeable drop in the team’s play when he came back in up by 12 with 4-5 mins left. Barnes bailed them out.
Something is up with Fox. I am hoping it’s an undisclosed injury, if it’s not there are some serious issues.
Anyone wonders why players or coaches roll their eyes at fans, let me present Exhibit #1.
GTFO with this projected nonsense. He’s played like crap. He would probably be first to say that. Playing like crap does not equate to poor effort/caring or having an “attitude”.
Not only is De’Aaron Fox not playing well, he’s playing like ass averaging a tick under 19 PPG, 7 APG, a tick under 4 RPG and 1.5 SPG. Yes he’s averaging close to 4.5 TO, but the season is a week old!
There’s reason to believe on this team. Or not. Mileage may vary, and all that, but man there’s a small shred of hope (at least) with this group.
His True Shooting is 43%. He could average 50ppg and he’d still be hurting his team with that kind of efficiency. Add in the sub-2:1 ast:to ratio and it has been an abysmal start for Fox.
You can dismiss it as small sample size but implying that he has played well just because his counting stats are reasonable is silly. His net rating is -27 even though he’s playing in the same starting lineup with Barnes (+26) and Holmes (+45).
I’m so glad you know what I think. Thanks for telling me.
This does not look right. Where are you getting this?
NBA site has something different.
https://www.nba.com/stats/team/1610612758/players-traditional/?sort=PLUS_MINUS&dir=1&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&PerMode=Totals
I was referring to net rating, rather than raw +/- and going off of basketball-reference (screenshot attached)
Well NBA site also has net rating
https://go.nba.com/r9fn
And there should be some correlation between net rating and plus/minus. I don’t think Baskball-reference has the proper calculation for ORTG and DRTG. If you scroll down to the “Play-by-Play” section (in the same site where you get the ORTG and DRTG), you will see +/- Per 100 Poss. That might be more helpful than using ORTG and DRTG from Basketball reference.
Hmm, yeah they’re clearly using different sets of numbers, so it makes sense to trust the NBA numbers more than BB-Ref.
So that was good effort on the dunk by Bridges?
I said maybe an attitude problem. It could be that or something else. My point is something is up with him, he does not look like the same player.
Maybe he is playing hurt or the added weight is hurting him rather than helping. That is my hope, that it is something correctable.
For the team, I am happy that they are at 2-2 considering the opponents and they have not played great.
So he didn’t get back on a play and that leads to conclusion of attitude issue. That’s the evidence we are rolling with? Alrighty.
I said maybe an attitude. Maybe means possibly or possibly not. It’s not impossible that he has something going on. Not hustling can be because of an attitude but not necessarily. I point that play out because it was the most egregious but for sure not the only one.
And it was the play that started the run by Phoenix to almost lose the game. It swung the momentum.
Maybe he’s hurt, I don’t know, but he is not playing the same whatever it is.
It’s a fan site where people give their opinion about the play, the players etc.
What fans don’t know, is that Wizssox sees players and coaches roll their eyes at fans, despite that said fans happen to be their market and are ultimately the ones who pay for their royal salaries.
GTFO with this projected nonsense.
I mean I wish I could say it differently, but it’s just a ridiculous take when you start talking about Fox and an attitude problem based on the evidence over 4+ Years.
If one doesn’t think it’s ridiculous then no logical argument can be made to convince, so then there really isn’t much to say. I was foolish to try.
Fan away!
Oh, but you very easily could have said it differently.
Well the words I normally would have used to describe it probably would have got me flagged so…
Negativity only or GTFO!!!!
Positive Dave has arisen
That’s heresy. Off with your head!
If only there was a dislike button.
i don’t think it’s a lack of effort. Fox is trying and most players are not happy when they play terribly. So what is it? We’re all speculating here. So am I, but from the games, there is a noticeable difference between his second preseason games and now. In that game he made shots from everywhere, he played with a new pace and style which was calm and under control. Then he speeds up, plays aggressive defense, fast breaks, and he’s missing. So I’d speculate that he practiced shooting in the offseason in a way that does not simulate game conditions.
Well? A win is a win, so we got that going for us!
if you would have told me after these 4 games, Fox was playing as poorly as he has and the team as a whole would be struggling with consistency and playing nowhere near its peak, I would have expected 0-4, maybe 1-3 at best. They need to figure somethings out and get Fox right for the long haul but given how they have played overall I’ll take the 2-2.
When they went to timeout in the 4th while Buddy was on fire I jokingly told my wife, “watch, Luke Walton is going to pull Buddy.”
Then he went and did just that. I’m torn on winning games right now because he needs to go. Ride the hot hand dummy!
Buddy also made his patented last two minutes of the fourth knucklehead turnover that almost cost the Kings the game. Overall, he was a plus because he shot so well, but he had 4 or 5 absolutely boneheaded turnovers in that game.
Seems like the Fox/Hali pairing isnt working to start the game. Ham/Cunningham made the point that both are playmakers and that could make things uncomfortable when playing together. I would love to see a lineup with Fox/Mitchell starting and Hali/Buddy coming off the bench to see is that works.
Starting lineup is, +17 per 100 in 30 minutes. Small sample, but if it ain’t broke…
FWIW
Fox and Hali = +1.3 per 100 in 90 minutes
Fox and Mitchell = -16 per 100 in 60 mins
All I could see, and all I could hear, was Bjelica saying “Fuck it, we deserved this win”
Kings won 2 on road against “better” teams and lost 2 at home.
The first half against Suns was the absolute worst half of the season. But Suns only had 8 point lead- Ayton owned the paint.
Something happened in 3rd quarter/
Fluke has used a tight rotation Len contributed. Harkless has had some decent moments on D but not a real quality starter. TD has disappeared.
I love Davion but……. on offense, he dribbles and dribbles and goes north south and not east west. Probes in with the dribble, does not like what he sees and retreats. Then not much time left on clock. fluke gives him too much control and influence on offense. For now, use him as a stopper and found money on offense. but not as a fascillitator .
I would start Buddy and Fox and use Hali as PG as a substitute. Give Buddy the quick hook.
Is Fox pouting about the attention given to a rookie? He needs to go east-west fast. The fastest guy in the NBA should act like that.
Half full/empty: 2 and 2 with such lousy close outs and spoor play is encouraging- get up to potential and win some games vs. 2 and 2 is just plain luck and the performance sucks but got lucky.
Yeah, I’m not sure I can handle a whole season of Buddy ball. There doesn’t appear to be any structure on offense. Buddy loves that. He can just run around and try to get open and then chuck it toward the net. He won last night’s game with his shooting, but we all know he will lose more for us than help win.
All this Fox hate but no mentions of the TDGL, which has been by far the funniest early season story line to me
What’s tdgl an acronym for?
Terence Davis Gonna Launch!
LOL
Terrance Davis Green Light but this works too LOL
I had them at 2-4 at the end of October, so it’s all gravy through Halloween!
If you’re at Thriller levels now, what would you get to if the Kings are 3-3, or dare I dream and say 4-2?
I’m going to have to see three months of solid play before I move off of my 35-47 prediction. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 15+ times…
Well, yeah. And, well, you can’t get fooled again.
The above comment is Dubya-approved.
Really hope Fox can get out of this funk. It was clear we were better when he was sitting this game. Sometimes that happens. But he hasn’t looked good the last few games either. His body is certainly adjusting to the additional weight, he’s probably lost a bit of explosiveness, and his upper body muscle memory is certainly trying to adjust. Still hopeful that he’ll figure it out.
Kings could be 0-4 or 4-0, but are 2-2 against 4 Western conference teams that were all much better then them last year. I’ll take that. Fox will be back to his usual self, maybe even better before long. Kings show flashes of playing D, just need to be consistent with it. Mid 4th quarter to finish is nerve wracking. They need to run plays, move the ball, trust the hot hand. Glad we still have Buddy, but gotta take the ball out of his hands unless he’s shooting or rebounding. He’s such a better shooter when he gets his feet set. I’m feeling good about the team. They are tougher, have a much improved bench, and have dealt with the Bagley issue as well as they can. Success to me is either 42 wins or the play in. I think we’d all be happy with either at this point.
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