For the second consecutive night, the Sacramento Kings caught a break and played a team missing their top-3 NBA player, and for the second consecutive night, the Kings failed to take advantage of the opportunity, dropping their third game in a row. Sacramento was torched by the duo of Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez, who combined for 59 points on 25/36 (69.4%) shooting from the floor, with both players scoring a season-high against the Kings. Terence Davis was the best player for Luke Walton, pouring in 27 points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, but Sacramento’s late run wasn’t quite enough against the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks.
Quick Stats
Sacramento Kings: 128 points, 49.5% FG, 43.6% 3P, 40 rebounds, 31 assists, 12 turnovers, 11 fast break points
Milwaukee Bucks: 129 points, 53.8% FG, 35.5% 3P, 47 rebounds, 31 assists, 13 fast break points
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good:
- Terence Davis, have yourself a game: As lackluster as Monte McNair’s trade deadline was for some, his bench additions have shown out every night since their acquisition, and tonight was Terence Davis’ turn. The third-year wing caught fire in the second quarter, scoring eight consecutive points, and he never slowed down from there. Davis balled out again in the fourth, leading the team with 17 points, and ended with a total of 27, including a career-high seven three-pointers made. He was also a key contributor on the defensive end, locking down multiple players at key moments, including two blocked shots. The Kings very well may have found themselves a player in Terence Davis.
- In-game adjustments: Sacramento seemed to fall out of the game midway through the fourth quarter, going down 118 – 105 with just over five minutes remaining, but Luke Walton made a key adjustment that allowed the Kings to fight their way back. Although Brook Lopez was a force in the paint all night, Sacramento went ultra-small toward the end of the gam, playing Harrison Barnes at the center spot. That move forced Lopez, one of the league’s better rim protectors, out of the paint on the defensive end of the floor, which opened up driving lanes for De’Aaron Fox and the rest of the team’s guards. The Kings subsequently went on an 11-0 run to pull within two points, although their valiant charge fell just short in the end.
The Bad:
- Starting wings: Coming into the game, most would have predicted that with Giannis Antetokounmpo out, Khris Middelton would lead the way for the Milwaukee Bucks, but the All-Star forward couldn’t find his shot, scoring 16 points on 4/16 shooting from the field. For the Kings, Harrison Barnes struggled after a big night against the Los Angeles Lakers, adding just 9 points on 9 shots from Sacramento. Both teams found loads of offense elsewhere.
The Ugly:
- Interior Defense: Although Richaun Holmes is good at many things, handling big, big men has never been his strength, and taking on Brook Lopez, one of the thiccest thicc bois in the league, was far too much for Holmes tonight. Lopez, who averages 11 points and 5 rebounds on the year, dumped in 26 points on 85% shooting from the floor, and the Kings simply had no answer for his bulk. As a team, the Kings were outscored by 12 points in the paint, although they trailed by 20 in that category at the half.
- Playoff standings: After winning five games in a row to make a charge up the Western Conference standings, the Kings have dropped their last three, all completely winnable games. They’re now 1.5 games out of 10th and 3 games out of 9th, and more concerningly, have just a half-game lead on the 12th place New Orleans Pelicans. Sacramento will get a bit of a break with the Timberwolves and Pistons coming up, but they can’t afford to slack off against much less-talented teams. Now is not the time to screw around for a team hoping against all hope to make the play-in tournament.
The King of Kings
There’s no doubt that Terence Davis deserves the spotlight here. He scored 27 points in just 23 minutes on the floor, and it was his play that kept the Kings in the game as long as they held on. Tyrese Haliburton deserves a shout-out as well, as he tied a career-high 11 assists, to go along with 12 points and 6 rebounds on the night.
Up Next
Monday, April 5th vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – 4:00 P.M. (PT)
I know this story
The Bucks without their MVP, on a Segababa, with Middleton shooting 25% from the floor and despite a unexpected contribution from a bench player, the Kings still shit the bed.
I try to get behind this play-in run but would anyone really view it as an achievement, especially with the way we’re playing?
Hard to see this season and think we have turned a corner and believe that all of a sudden FA’s will be flocking to us. Maybe those that hate playing D…
The play in is a joke.
The Kings making the playoffs is a joke.
Great commentary! Very constructive. So glad your here to continue Grant’s tradition of blathering.
No. I swear the PIT is a scam to keep teams from tanking. It is trying to make some relevance for the middling purgatory teams, like the Kings.
Someone needs to photoshop Adam Silver as the witch, the apple as the 10th seed and Vivek as Snow White.
But if we win, we could become eventual champions. Then we go from Snowhite to Cinderella.
I don’t think it’s working as an anti-tank measure:
https://twitter.com/sportingnews/status/1378568652543438852
That’s because the GMs/owners of those teams know how to do a proper rebuild instead of treading water in hopes of making it to the finish line, like the Kings have done for the past 14 years
Especially in this year’s draft. Massive lost opportunity, and strategic mistake, in my opinion. Especially if the same players who would have been moved at the deadline are instead moved in the offseason. You got a worse draft pick for what, exactly?
Yup, I’ve got this sickly feeling that teams like Orlando, Detroit, and OKC are going to leapfrog the Kings in a season or two while the Kings remain middling. They are stuck in a cycle. I’m not sure what is worse, the perpetual 7th to 8th seed in the playoffs or the late lottery place holders. Kings seem to have their sights set of being either.
A 5 game win streak and an outside shot at the participation trophy
High end Free Agents and their agents are running from the Kings. They already know about the owner. That’s enough for them to stay far away. If and When this team ever gets to a point of playing good ball. Consistently. Stars gravitate towards other stars and winning. Don’t hold your breath.
Side note: shout-out to Mirann for a much better recap format. I’m typically terrible at writing them and her organization has helped me to become much more honed-in on what mattered.
I know, right? I’m going to use the same format for all of my writings.
Where in Mexico?
Guanajuato!
Your execution = *chef’s kiss*
You have to appreciate the heart and effort Holmes gives night in and night out. Having said that, how much should a team like the Kings pay for an average to below average post player. The numbers I’m hearing are starting to get in the area of borderline ridiculous. What franchise is going to pay up for an undersized big who can’t score from the perimeter. The absolute max the Kings should offer is 3 years at $30 mil with the third year being a team option. Keep in mind all of these post players and when you lay it out, I doubt there will be a big demand for Holmes’ service.
Dramatically Better
Rudy Gobert
Joking
Embiid
Vucevic
KAT
Better
Steven Adams
Brook Lopez
Valanciucis
Nurcic
Adebayo
Capela
Ayton
Myles Turner
Debatable
Gasol
Christian Wood
Harrell
Zubac
Jarrett Allen
Isaiah Stewart
Depends how you classify
Anthony Davis
Al Horford
Collins
Porzinges
Yea but that push shot is money lol
Totally agree. Holmes is great, but has obvious limitations that won’t improve. Guarding massive bigs, shot creation, and outside shooting will always be issues with him playing the 5. He’s a really good switchable 5 on D that is a solid PnR partner for Haliburton or Fox. That has value at 3 year 30M max. Pretty much the MLE. I hope he stays for something around that number which is double his current contract and nothing to sneeze at.
10 is my sweet spot. I’d push it up to 11, but only on the condition he spends that extra 3 over 3 years on a sweet house for mom.
Agree with everything but Christian wood should be in the better tier maybe even drastically better.
Davis hitting them shots like they’re his girlfriend!
Woohoo?
What makes me angrier is that the team clearly doesn’t care. They’ve been value buyers of players with domestic violence issues through the Divac era to today.
The majority of the fans apparently don’t care either and the media – including TKH – has not made much (or anything) of it, as far as I can tell.
And I think a lot will be forgiven by many if this team “manages” to reach the play-in. It’s sad, really.
Hell, Duke still has a lacrosse team.
I wouldn’t get in the business of moral judgments because that’s very complicated and is laced with hypocrisy. Take it from a woman, people believe what fits their agenda, the hypocrisy is the greatest in politics but sports are a close second. Davis is a dog but Kobe is a saint. Think about it.
Here’s what I don’t get:
Why doesn’t anyone ask about this?
The Kings constantly, constantly talk about culture, changing the culture, instilling a winning culture, plus all of their other political stuff. It seems like such an obvious gimme. Why hasn’t anyone asked Monte or Luke, “So, you’ve brought in guys who you believe help build the culture you want here, how do the serious allegations against him fit into that culture?”
Whether they try to plead ignorance or try to spin it, there’s no way to answer without showing a tremendous amount of apathy and that, really, they don’t care what happens as long as it helps them score more points on the floor.
I believe McNair addressed it in what seemed to me to be a perfunctory way, saying the (presumably legal) investigation is over, so it was effectively fine.
No thoughts on his side of the discussion, just blindly believe all women, amiright?
Surprised the TD presser wasn’t covered on this site, actually I’m not really as it was him kind of defending himself/explaining the situation…
I’m not saying he did/didn’t do anything, but the virtue signaling is strong here
yeah none of us know the facts but too often people like to buy the perception and make it their reality. Again, people also like to believe what fits their agenda and the hypocrisy becomes maddening. Watch the Duke lacrosse 30 for 30 and watch how the pack mentality follows a rush to judgement without any concern for the facts. This is not to exonerate Davis or anyone else but the facts and due process matter.
Dropping buckets like he’s the DA dropping charges.
This shit’s in 3-D now.
Remember, one team was without their MVP caliber player and the other was without Giannis.
The Bad – Buddy
The Badder – Hield
The Baddest – Buddy Hield
The Good – trade him,
so frustrating to watch,
PLAY of the DAY……………
We got rid of Bagley’s dumb play after he injured…but we still need to see those dump play by Buddy Hield…………
We would have won the game, if his BBIQ became average……
Jalen Suggs had the play of the day.
Maybe the kings suddenly have yet another change of mind and wanted to tank to get him
Davis has to be making Buddy expendable right? Come onnnnnn. Make it happen in the offseason McNair!
Did I hear you say Luke Walton made an adjustment during the game?! That in itself deserves an entire article!
Kayte reminded me in the post-game, for those of you saying that there was no giannis, just remember, that’s 30 shots that the rest of the team wouldn’t have taken tonight. Yep. She said that.
Folks, we’re being played for idiots by Vivek, Monte, Doug, kayte, and James.
Shillers gonna shill.
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After the lakers game she dropped a even without Lebron and AD, the Lakers are a really good team!… they were 2-4 without those guys coming into Friday
2-5 actually, with one of the losses coming against the Kings…
I don’t know why people don’t like Kyle. I feel like he literally squirms whenever he detects the shilling, and he’s brought up some pretty sharp big-picture points several times when nobody else will. It’s refreshing, or at least needed.
Kyle has his moments, but most of the time he just sets up kayte to shill in the postgame.
I don’t think you can contain that, she just goes on and on and on an……
Agreed Marty. She made the all female broadcast far less enticing, in part because she just droned on and on. I thought the most interesting moment of the entire broadcast where she mentioned she didn’t have to worry about getting her steps in because she was chasing a 2 1/2 year old around all the time. Which doesn’t do much for me as a Sacramento Kings fan listening for interesting tidbits about the game.
I’m at the point where I just ignore her and try to tune her out when she’s talking. I’m nearly at the same point with Doug, too.
Kayte just loves to hear herself and thinks everyone is impressed with her bball acumen ! Most are not !
Kayte was a great player, a fierce competitor, great teammate, and always one of the smartest players on the court. All that and a great person off the court. Her role requires her to be a positive voice for the Kings and she does a great job balancing sharing her perspective and performing her role. Doug Christie has to perform a similar balancing act but I think Kayte does a much better job. She has a great basketball mind no doubt about it.
Kayte’s a shill, but let’s not forget that even without Giannis, the Bucks have a better roster. This is a team that is widely acknowledged to not have a realistic shot at the play-in. Without Giannis, the Bucks still make a mid-seed.
Right, which is why monte should have blown this roster up at the trade deadline. Bad enough to miss the playoffs, and too good to get a decent draft pick is no way to go.
I don’t disagree. However, if there was a wholesale gutting where we traded Barnes and Buddy for Love and Horford, or other equally shit deals in order to would you be applauding Monte for blowing up the roster? I certainly wouldn’t. We have no way of knowing what deals were out there, but I can’t imagine they were things like Barnes to Boston for a top 3 protected and a Tatum. Or anything that would improve our situation in the long run.
My only critique on what McNair actually got back in return on the trades he did make is that these new players actually seem to try hard and have some fight in them, unlike most of the rest of the roster. That’s definitely what we need more of if we were hoping to land a #1 pick over the next year or two.
What a complete failure… I expected so many more comments and gifs from both the game thread and this thr…………….
Buddy and Fox clearly visible… at the bottom.
At least it’s on the right side of the graph. (Well, barely beyond the axis for Buddy).
https://twitter.com/NBA_Math/status/1378727810701930498?s=20
Tyrese great on offense, but bottom 4 on defense…
I sense a trend here.
https://twitter.com/NBA_Math/status/1378725217481060355?s=20
Why did I think ‘Rese was a better defender than ‘Melo?
On the one hand I think defensive stats have a bit more static than offensive stats, and are a bit more influenced by team D.
On the other hand, although Tyrese may look like a good defender when compared to the rest of the Kings, he still has ways to go.
Why is it a huge surprise this team isn’t all that good defensively?
His man blows by him quite often. He would do better with a rim protector like Whiteside.
Actually, the whole team does better with a guy like Whiteside or Len, or ideally Adams.
Bad habits are contagious.
I really like these infographics. Three things really jump out to me:
The Harden point makes me question the basis of the metric, to be honest.
I think there are a couple things at work there:
These high volume great offensive players make business decisions on defense. Watch during crunch time, when Harden has to play defense he’s a very capable defender. Doncic is a better defender than perceived. The overall defensive numbers don’t mean much with these guys.
Hey Good or Bad guy! Is it a good thing that our relatively unknown new addition just came in and out-played everyone on our entire roster?
This is bad
Brook Lopez, one of the thiccest thicc bois in the league
This was good!
Before the trade deadline I thought: This team has a decent starting unit, but needs a better bench.
Now: This team has a decent bench, but the starters need some help.
Really happy to see Terence Davis having a day like that. He might be a keeper. Mile high salute.
How about a punch in the face instead?
Take it easy dude.
SJW hard at work
I had two revelations after last night:
> The Kings are pseudo tanking whether the pro-tank crowd wants to recognize or not.
> Terrence Davis is Dononvan Mitchells basketball twin. Glorious!
When Davis was 8 points on 3-8 FGs in his first game, modest output to be sure, I said that guy has star potential, just like after his debut, I said SloMoe can’t play. We are seeing both projections play out before our eyes, for better and worse.
SloMoe scored two easy layups which will “earn” him another 2-3 weeks of 20 MPG in the eyes of Fluke, so get used to the twig and matador D, ugly mechanics, and general invisibility on the floor.
Fluke put in Harkless in the game to put the clamps on Middleton, but it was not until Davis was switched onto him we gave him some actual trouble.
Say what you will about Davis shooting, easy for him once he found his rhythm, but his defense was just as impactful and masterful and what enabled the game to become close as Buddy continues his mindless and disconcerting regression.
We cannot win with this version of Buddy, and how much credit do you give a guy for his late game merits when he was largely responsible for digging our hole in the first place? Buddy Yield, the Marvin Bagley of SGs!
For those not keeping score, Buddy has choked away any remote of real chance we’ve had the last 3 years to try to make a run at the playoffs. He saves his worst when we get a sniff of the post-season. He puts on a bravado he is the fearless player who has the utmost confidence ready to shoot that next shot no matter how many he has missed. I think this hides insecurity that manifests in a lot of mental lapses. The negative thoughts get in the way of making smart and alert decisions and lead to unecessary unforced errors.
Is there a psychiatrist in the house? Get him (her) on the case stat!
A player of his experience should not be gifting away the ball so much, throwing low percentage passes so generously, biting on bad pump fakes so often, if he was not stuck in his head, not haunted or burdened by “inferiority syndrome”. His psyche may not be broke, but it is bruised black and blue. There may be a delusional sense of self too, the delusion he is Kobe and Curry, destined through divinity and prayer and work ethic, that conflicts with reality, causing the angst that manifests in his chronic issues.
I want to like Buddy the Player, but he makes it near impossible.
The significance and relevance of Davis is not just adding to our core a player of his caliber, who in my estimation has as much raw talent as Haliburton, but it presents serious threat to Buddy and his guaranteed minutes. Davis is going to make mistakes.
When Donovan first burst onto the scene, he made a lot of screwups too. See his first 20 games. You need a coach to nurture this growth and I do not think we have the right one, though he did allow Davis to play the whole 4th, a promising sign.
Davis and Donovan have similar physical and athletic attributes and playing style. It will be interesting when we play the Jazz , I think we will see they are a mirror image!
Hello to my long lost twin!
Donovan has a devastating crossover he uses to paralyze defenders. Davis does not have that that I have seen. Both are feisty and daring defenders with great balance and low center of gravity. Both attack the paint with abandon. Donovan has more explosiveness…Davis is not far behind. Donovan has tighter handles, though Davis is not far behind.
Davis is not going to be as good but when he is a legit comp, that is a player to be excited about especially in context of the misadventures of Buddy.
I was going to talk about the pseudo tanking but I will save that for another time!
OT: Cousins going to LA again.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1378810623958654984
Happy for him. He’s probably a nice guy underneath all the BS. He’ll be under control with all the Vets in LA.
Sure, nice guy outside of threatening to kill his ex.
Is that the new guy, cuz or both?
Donte is glad to be alive too!
ask the reporter about how nice DC is
Bullies do not often change and why else would he be available for a 10 day ?
He played well in Houston before getting cut. They didn’t want to risk any more wins. Everybody else is gone there.
O/U on games before season-ending injury is at 7.5
Deck Chairs. That’s all Folks. 32-34 wins. Maybe a sweep playin, maybe not. A 10-14 pick pretty much guarantee. Mediocrity is the norm. It’s always no man’s land. Nothing ever changes or shocks. Coaching, Culture, Ownership, Poor Drafting, Poor Roster Construction. Another off season hoping for some crazy free agency fantasy that never happens. We got lucky in the draft this season. Don’t expect the same gold next time around. Losing against the Lakers is par for the course. This team never changes. I fully expect the Kings to roll out 80 percent of this roster next season. Nobody wants Buddy, Bagley or Barnes Bloated contract. It would be nice if Holmes comes back at a bargain. Other teams with alot more cash might be looking his way. Monte has his work cut out for him. If he fails, other teams will no it’s not his fault, look at the owner. If he turns this mess around he’ll be a miracle worker. Nothing less.
Yup.
I think we can easily land the 7th pick. We’re only 3 games back.
I’ll say it again…we’ve had two 7-1 stretches this season, that’s 14 wins over those two 8-game stints. We’ve won 22 games this season. You take away those two stints and their record is 8-26. That’s the hallmark of a dog shit team. Frankly, I’m shocked that this loss was as close as it was. I was expecting 15 points, or 30 had Giannis played.
What would it say if we took away our 9-game losing streak and we had a 22- 19 record?
Actually, close to impossible. During those win streaks, Kings were beating alot of bad teams and good teams without their key starters and role players. So, it’s more likely if those teams were healthy, that the Kings would have lost most of those games. That Includes; Clips, Lakers, Denver, etc. Kings have very few quality wins against really good healthy opponents all season. I can think of NY, Atl, and the Suns at the beginning of the season. They are 9-21 against teams .500 and above.
Yeah, the Kings have had one of the healthier teams.
One could even argue that for the Kings, their injuries have been addition by substraction.
Yep, the subs have gotten some traction.
It does seem like we’ve had one of the healthier teams, though I haven’t looked at how other teams have fared when facing teams that are missing front line players.
So why is it any more possible to tell how the Kings would have done during their losing streak if Holmes hadn’t missed three of those games and Fox hadn’t missed one? I’m not saying they would have won any of those four; I just don’t agree with totally dismissing games that the Kings won.
I’d say, watching the games this year, we’re much closer to the 9-game losing team than we are to the 7-1 over 8 game team. We’ve held opponents to under 110 only 11 times this season. That’s not the hallmark of a mediocre or above team.
my theory is that this team is just a “it’s a game of runs” type of team. People usually refer to that as something that happens in-game, but I feel like it’s a good description for how this team goes hot and cold throughout the season.
If I can make a suggestion, can we come up with a standard Monday morning article to post? I’m really not trying to work hard on Mondays, so it would be nice to have something to argue about online instead.
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