For a team ranked in the twenty-sixth in the league in defense, the Sacramento Kings sure know how to turn up the pressure when times get a bit desperate. After knocking down a franchise-record twelve three-pointers in the first quarter, and after securing a double-digit lead in the first half, the Kings allowed the Grizzlies back into the game in the second half, mostly through careless turnovers, but a locked-in defensive effort and massive contributions from the bench saved a win for the hometown Kings. Trey Lyles led the way for Sacramento with 24 points and Domantas Sabonis recorded yet another triple-double, while Desmond Bane carried the load for the undermanned Grizzlies, putting up 21 points.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
THE GOOD
Closing out the win: With 8:41 remaining in the third quarter, Desmond Bane hit a driving layup to give the Grizzlies a two-point lead after a mini-Sacramento collapse. From that point on, the Kings outscored Memphis 62-27, including holding the Grizzlies to 10 fourth quarter points and a field goal drought of over seven minutes. That’s how you handle your business at home.
Bench production: In the two games prior to tonight’s blowout of the Grizzlies, Sacramento’s bench shot 14 of 44 from the field and 4 of 22 from deep, forcing the starters to carry the entire offensive load. That was not the case tonight. Trey Lyles put up 24 points and 6 boards, Malik Monk flirted with a triple-double (13 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists), and the reserves accounted for 57 points, a far cry from the 20 points they managed in the loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.
Murray mania: Keegan Murray once again stepped up big for the Kings, and he seems to be finding his groove as a power forward in the league. The rookie snagged another nine boards tonight, and over his last three games, he’s averaged 20.7 points and 9 boards per game.
Holmes sweet Holmes: Richaun Holmes has had a bit of a rough go since the Domantas Sabonis trade, and for the most part, his performances have been wildly underwhelming, but over the last few games, he’s once again started to show the spark that earned him his starter spot just a few seasons ago. Even on a night in which his counting stats weren’t exactly spectacular, seeing Holmes work hard on the boards and knock down a couple of shots was highly encouraging for a team still trying to find a solution at backup center.
THE BAD
Kevin Huerter: It’s hard to be picky after a 33-point blowout that saw the Kings shut down the Grizzlies in the fourth quarter, but Huerter had a performance to forget. He finished the night with just 5 points on seven field goal attempts, and Huerter uncharacteristically missed several easy shots around the rim.
THE UGLY
Turnovers: The Kings are not a particularly disciplined team with the ball. Although they’re about average in the league in turnovers per game, they tend to go through several minute spurts in which they just throw the rock away in live-ball situations, and Monday evening saw several of those hiccups. Domantas Sabonis recorded eight turnovers, De’Aaron Fox added six of his own, and seven of the nine non-garbage time minute players posted at least one turnover. Against a short-handed Memphis Grizzlies team, the Kings were able to power their way past a nine turnover deficit, but they’ll need to continue cleaning things up as the season progresses if they hope to make some unexpected noise in the postseason. And yes, we should start planning for the postseason.
The King of Kings
Trey Lyles: 24 points in 25 minutes on 11 field goal attempts will get it done just about every time.
Up Next
Wednesday, January 25th vs. Toronto Raptors – 7:00 P.M. (PT)
My favorite beam meme so far.
Yeah, this is all sorts of awesome. All hail the purple Johnson!
That fourth quarter was an absolute god damned avalanche.
I’ve never seen a Grizzlies team look completely confused on defense for such a long stretch.
Avalanches?
Frontier Psychiatry!
You can start the thin dance thread from here.
I’m still stunned and I was there.
You picked a good one.
God damn?
He looks like Mr. Poopy Butthole, but believe me, that is not Mr. Poopy Butthole.
I believe you.
Not to deny the Kings’ stepped-up intensity on both ends. Still, Memphis had a bit of the SEGABABA blues. We can’t expect that that same intensity would lead to a 10-point 4th quarter against rested Grizzly team.
Memphis can file that under Tough Shit.
Sac handed Memphis the blues!
&ct=g
Dance!
With no Ja and no Adams, Memphis lacked the bear necessities!
That guy is such a tool.
Ugh…..TOO CRINGE.
Vivek, that’s Foxx, not Fox!
Can they please start playing defense like they did in the 4th quarter? Asking for a fanbase.
PLAY OF THE DAY !!!!!!!
That really was the nail in the Grizz coffin. It was still a close game with a lot of time left.
Thanks HKKF
Damn that was a brilliant read by Lyles. He’s pretty fast too
The last bit, where Lyles went after the ball and knocked it away from the Memphis player, right before he took off? Cathartic. Just an emphatic NO. Something of a defining moment.
That play put a hex on the Grizz. They only scored 4 more points after that in 9 and a half minutes!
Team has those frustrating lapses from game to game but you can always clearly see how much the players really respond to being challenged by Mike Brown. After letting the shorthanded Grizzlies erase a 16 point deficit and grab a quick 2 point lead in the 3rd, it’s like they flipped a switch and said they werent’ gonna have a repeat of Saturday. Just completely blitzed Memphis the final 15 or so minutes on both ends of the floor.
I don’t see how there’s even a conversation for who is the runaway COY right now.
Joe Mazzulla was. For alot of people he still is. Jacque Vaughn is getting alot of love there. Mark Dagineault is getting there as well.
Fact is, I think for alot of national ppl right now Mike Brown isn’t even in the conversation RN.
“Mike Brown? What ever happened to that guy?”
He must be still with the duds since everything is all about them. He left there? where did he go?
He was beamed to basketball heaven.
Which is crazy to me, considering Udoka didn’t even finish in the top 3 voting last year.
It is crazy. It’s funny how minds change in a single postseason BTB.
Gotta look at the whole nba landscspe but Brown is def in the conversation
I agree. From a culture standpoint, the team is so aligned and positive. They root for each other, they share the rock, and they don’t get too high or too low. Plus they are fun and their strengths are maximized.
From a player development standpoint, you can really see player improvement. Not just Keegan, who has responded to the rebounding challenge and whose team defense continues to improve, but also guys like Metu have shown significant improvement over the first half of the season. He’s putting guys in positions to succeed and they are responding.
He’s got to be one of the best press conferences in the league on a nightly basis too. It makes the team fun.
From a wins and losses standpoint, there is no denying it. They have far exceeded expectations this year. It took 75 games last year to get the same number of wins.
I’m not sure what else a coach is supposed to do.
Monte deserves mention as a potential GM of the year as well. When’s his contract up and should we extend him? I’m not sure if anyone has asked these questions.
Grizzlies in the 2nd quarter vs Grizzlies in the 4th.
When Sabonis finally sat down in the fourth, I thought his double-double streak was over, and then hear that he had a triple-double. He was having a tough time with Jackson, as one does, and I didn’t think he got ten boards. I definitely didn’t think he had eleven assists.
Reminds me of those games where Webber would have a quiet twenty & nine. I guess when you’re that good, some of the less-spectacular plays don’t always register.
I like Jackson a lot.. Great young player.
But doesn’t have an elite second jump.
where did he go in the draft? Too high for the Kings I am certain.
The Bagley draft. He went 4th, after Doncic.
The sheer volume of vastly better choices than Bagley in that draft is just saddening.
I just looked over the whole draft. In a re-do, he definitely falls out of the lottery and maybe even falls to the 2nd round.
What I noticed about this game is that the Kings punished Memphis for using Brooks on Fox. Especially when Fox guarded Bane alot of possessions on the other end.
Domas’ flaws and brilliance were on display all game. That shows up in what you mentioned.
Trey Lyles was the player of the game.
The last 15 minutes were almost nothing like Ive ever experienced at a game. It was wonderful.
So glad you were able to see this game live. I have a question you may be able to answer. To wit: When was the last time the Sacramento Kings were able to hold an opponent to just 10 points in the 4th quarter?
No earthly clue BJ. The 90s would be a butt pulled guess but there could be a surprising answer. Like that game in late Dec 2009 in Chicago when they completed that comeback.
But yeah, no idea.
We can harken back (<- yeah, I like that, to harken, and always back, never forward) to when the 14-10 Kings played the 16-10 Cavaliers in The Land on December 9 2022. The Kings only held the Cavs to 15 points, not 10, in the caboose quarter but recall, they closed them out on a 19-0 run.
You can unharken now.
That 19-0 run deserves a deeper dive than it’s gotten given how much of Cleveland’s mistakes were actually forced by Sac. Garland and Mobley in particular had a really bad 5 minutes.
It happens, is all I’m saying.
Kings gave up 4 points in the last 9:59. That’s gotta be some kind of record.
Don’t be mad Tennessee In-n-Out is coming your way
When the Grizzlies went up two in the third I was getting 76ers flashbacks. Before you knew it, the game was out of reach. So much fun to be there.
Shout-Out to the Grizzly Bear Blues… Especially their writers
Golden State 193 Million
LA Clippers 192 Million
LA Lakers 171 Million
Sacramento Kings….. Priceless
Even though I knew the result before I started watching, I still had trouble believing the Kings would actually hold the Grizzlies to 10 points in the fourth quarter (and 39 in the half). Good stuff!
I almost decided to stay up late to watch the rebroadcast. Fun is fun.
I watched the rebroadcast this morning on League Pass. They cut out all the commercials but leave in everything else, so it’s a nice watch.
If it was still possible to tune out the outside world, that seems like it would be the best way to go. It’s just impossible to not know the score.
Especially if you have a view of the Sacramento downtown skyline! (not me)
Light the Beam? Spoiler alert!
I fear that we may trade Keegan to improve our perceived chances of winning now. In view of his improved play , age, potential and team control would you trade him straight up for O.G. Anunoby if the offer was in the table ??
Hell to the fuck no.
Put another way, I’ll keep it simple: Monte McNair would literally have to become retarded to do a deal that dumb.
Welcome to the forum…..
I personally don’t know enough about OG but what I’ve picked up on these boards is he’s often injured. Being too lazy to fact check, I’m gonna say no to straight up. Keegan has been reliable all season and looks to be finding himself as the game slows down a bit.
I can imagine a trade if Monte gets more assets though
OG was available in the draft but Kings who had I think 3 picks- took Justin Jackson instead. I was in the crowd and many of us were softly chanting OG, OG !
Contrary to what people think about Vlade’s time as GM, it wasn’t that he made bad trades that often. It was that he missed on so many guys in the draft year after year.
That 2016 Vlade had 3 bites at the 1st round apple and came away with jack squat. Not good.
Missed on drafting Domas, too.
I like O.G but no way I’m trading him for Keegan.
O.G is the better player right now especially defensively but I don’t think that would be much of a gap in a couple of years given Keegan’s development. He’s been a joy to watch so far.
At the first of the year I wanted to trade Barnes and some other assets for OG. Not now.
my pal Trader Jack. Glad you held your horses and let Monte do the job.
If you do that then this year is lost!
No , no and no.
Past is not prologue.
A year ago, we had too many guards and a small center. Murray is a SF, realistically, and we don’t have anything like a surplus there.
Unless we’re getting back someone pretty great at the position.
No. By the time Keegan is 25, I fully expect him to be a much better player than OG is now. He’s already better than OG was at 22, and OG had a couple of years in the NBA under his belt, then.
Man I cannot keep up with the schedule this year but seeing a 33 point win on the screen at the gym this morning was freaking awesome. It’s so nice being a fan of an actual good team. It’s so weird not having to have fake hope
I think that the hope has always been real, if not realistic.
Just wanted to give a big shout out to the KH staff and pur community here. Single handedly kept me as a die hard kings fan over the years with all of the great content. Thank you all!
I two, East.
Do you stay up to watch the home games? This year it’s somewhat easier the next morning.
I loved and agree with coach Brown when he said our offense is really good but if we can play defense like from the middle of the third to the fourth quarter we could run teams out of the gym.
BIG WIN! Having Trey and Keeg step upconsistently makes a huge difference. Fox and Donas have also been consistent, All Star calibur, #3 in the West deserves both to make team.
[Harrison Barnes, per usual, remains unperturbed and stoic]
At a press conference after one of the wins where Barnes played well, I wanted a reporter to ask, “You guys won the game. You scored 24. Can you give us a smile?”
Not quite as gross as when said to a woman, but still.
Ouch. That’s a cold and prickly from Andy.
Sorry to offend the authoritarian thought police.
When the banging on the door starts, I’ll be sure to tell my wife, “It’s OK, honey. It’s just the Brown Shirts.”
I didn’t ask you to completely tell on yourself, but truly, a job well done.
This team has its shortcomings, but where it is compared to even my wildest expectations is absolutely mind numbing. The team is basically where I hoped it would be at this time NEXT year, and only in the best case scenario.
When they are clicking, it is the most beautiful display of offensive basketball since the Adelman Kings, which was the most beautiful basketball since the showtime Lakers. I have difficulty comprehending just how much fun this team can be to watch right now.
Extend Monte!
your comment is interesting- that phenomenon of thinking this “will happen next year but happens a year ahead of schedule” happens frequently.
Look at OKC too.
Extend Monte!
Trey Freakin’ Lyles. Woohoo! I think it’s safe to say the Kings won that 4 team trade. Is there any player amongst that group having a bigger impact than Lyles? To recap the trade:
Kings: DDV (now on Warriors), Lyles, Jackson (out of the league)
Pistons: Bagley (forever injured)
Clippers: Hood, Ojeleye (both out of the league)
Bucks: Ibaka
With Lyles now cemented as an important part of the rotation, I wonder what Monte’s long term plans are for the UFA. I do believe the Kings have his early-bird rights, but that may not be enough to retain him this summer. He has rekindled his career here and is very likely to get a significant pay raise this summer. For reference he is making just $2.6M this year.
This summer, but especially next year, are going to be expensive if roster continuity is to be maintained. I don’t want to lose either, but you definitely can’t lose both Lyles and Barnes.
At least the Kings have Barnes’ full bird rights. They can pay him whatever they agree upon, but it would be nice to extend him before the summer. Lyles on the other hand, is going to be hard to retain. The Kings can only pay him so much with early bird rights. He can make more in free agency. if he wants more $6M per year, the Kings may have to use their MLE.
I hope Harrison accepts an offer continuing his current pay structure, $17M/$16M/$15M for a total of 3/$48M or something like that. He may have earned pay raise for due to his hot shooting this year.
Also, Josh Jackson (still 25) signed with the Stockton Kings today. Never really been a fan of his, but it’s news I guess.
Speaking of news, any updates on that cryptic tweet from Daryl Morey about a trade with the Kings?
They do have EBRs….. but….. you do this every time Adam. EBRs are worth a bit more than the MLE. It’s not a question of whether Lyles gets a raise, it’s whether there are enough teams out there offering him one. I doubt there are.
The Kings don’t have much cap room either way. Is Lyles worth more or less than Monk? That’s my question.
I’m not even thinking next summer yet. I want to see how this season plays out. Then start really thinking about July. Lyles contract status is not one Im worried about either way.
Rank the following:
Trading for Domantas Sabonis, firing Luke Walton, hiring Mike Brown, drafting Keegan Murray, trading for Kevin Heurter, signing Malik Monk, re-signing Trey Lyles.
Signing Delladova is the obvious #1, so I left that off the list.
It’s looking like the hire may have had the biggest impact. On the other hand, the firing was a strong indicator that McNair was finally running the show.
There are no wrong answers here.
Firing Luke WaltonThat’s all I wanted to say.
Trading For Domas 1)
Drafting Keegan 2)
Trading for Kevin 3)
Signing Malik 4)
Hiring Mike Brown 5)
Picking up Trey Lyles team option 6)
Firing Luke Walton 7)
But I’m of the opinion that Mike Brown isn’t that much smarter than Luke Walton or vice versa. Mike Brown is just simply the right voice at the right time. That’s the way coaching goes, quite often, I’ve found.
I’d argue that Mike Brown is #1. He came in with a clear idea of the mounds of fertilizer that have to be moved to cause a seismic shift in “the culture” of being in Sacramento and of being with Team Ranadive (Vivek/Matina/Aneel) and he not only verbalized that on day one, he followed that up with Jordi Fernandez at Summer League, and reaching out to Domas and Fox – including with Luke Loucks all but sleeping outside the honeymoon suite (major props to De’Aaron and Recee). I mean, we saw Domas and Fox “let’s do lunch” with Keegan before he was drafted. (Maybe that’s Monte and Wes though).
He (Coach Brown) was a man of action, not just of words.
Is he on par with Michael Malone and Dave Joerger who faced full frontal Vivek? Well, all have different personalities, but I compare Mike Brown to those two, not Luke Walton. Just my opinion.
Next 7 of 8 games are against teams with losing records. I would not be surprised if this team makes a run for the #2 seed.
You couldn’t ask for better odds on a long road trip. Win the games you’re supposed to win, and as many of the others as you can.
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