In a story as old as this season, the Sacramento Kings stayed competitive for the first half of the contest on Wednesday evening, before surrendering huge runs to the Los Angeles Clippers in the third and fourth quarters on their way to a 115-96 defeat, their ninth loss in 11 games. Kawhi Leonard treated each individual Kings player as his personal Ben McLemore, recording 6 steals, along with 32 points, and 5 assists on the night, while Paul George added 19 points, 7 boards, and 12 dimes of his own. De’Aaron Fox was the main man for the Kings, putting up a line of 25 points and 7 assists, with no other Sacramento player recording more than 14 points.
Game Summary
As has been the case for the last few contests, the Kings came out with a sense of purpose on the defensive end of the floor. For the first time in 12 quarters, Sacramento held their opponent to under 30 points in the first twelve minutes, an especially important feat considering the Clippers rank as the seventh-best offense in the NBA. Buddy Hield knocked down both of his long-balls on his way to eight points, while Kahwi Leonard was the man for Los Angeles, pouring in 10 points on seven attempts.
After dropping four assists in the first quarter to help his teammates get comfortable, De’Aaron Fox once again demonstrated his ability to shoulder the offensive burden for the Kings in the second quarter. He regularly brushed by world-class defenders such as Patrick Beverley and Kawhi Leonard for a cool 14 points on 6/7 shooting from the floor. Luke Walton also experimented with some interesting lineups in the period, at one point running a group of Cory Joseph, Glen Robinson III, Justin James, Marvin Bagley, and Chimezie Metu, and that crew actually played surprisingly well. Unfortunately, the Kings streak of holding opponents to 30 points in a quarter was snapped at one, as they surrendered 36 points in the period to the Clippers, including an 8-0 run just before the end of the half, granting Los Angeles a 61-56 heading into the locker room.
The third quarter went exactly as you would expect. The Kings started the period with two turnovers and a blocked shot, and things only devolved from there. Los Angeles went on multiple double-digit runs, the Kings showed absolutely zero fight, Luke Walton ran bonkers lineups with zero offense, and Sacramento found themselves down 20 at the end of three, losing the quarter 34-19.
Basketball was played in the fourth quarter. None of it really mattered.
Game Notes:
- Nemanja Bjelica once again did not play for the Kings; however, Luke Walton referenced a vague “personal matter” that may be preventing Bjelica from playing.
- Tyrese Haliburton had a bit of a rough outing, scoring 11 points and grabbing 3 boards, but the rookie also committed three turnovers and missed 7 of his 11 shot attempts.
- De’Aaron Fox (8) and Glen Robinson III (2) were the only Kings players to take free throws in non-garbage time minutes.
First!
Pick I hope. Keep the tank going. Start trading to insure this tank doesn’t veer back on track and win 2 games in a row.
Definitely on track. Unfortunately the new forum wasn’t ð¤£ð¤®
What do we do here win? Not much of that going on.
We’re all winners here
Yeah, that’s some StR shit. ð
Never registered on STR shit. I don’t know the IT lingo just like gif shit either but I like the comments and everyone’s input and takes.
if it ain’t broke don’t fox it
Waiting for that Fox imprint game.
Fox has looked better offensively over the past 2 games. Tonight. He was hot and cold. His usual performance. Scored 17 in the first half. 2 in the third, 6 in the fourth. I have yet to see him take over games against Elite competition. That’s the difference between being a good player and a perennial All Star.
I was watching the Cavs-Nets earlier. Man, has Sexton really taken a big leap in his game. His 3pt shot is just flowing. The kid has the total package going on right now. Mid-Range, Long, and to the rack.
That is what I call a statement game.
Fox also had 6 turnovers ! Scoring very well but Free Throw pct and turnover rate just not very good !
The poor free throw % is annoying. For someone whose game is predicated on getting to the basket, you would think he’d have a decent routine at the FT line. 67% on the season after tonight. Often times, it just looks like he doesn’t take free throws seriously. Every shot looks different.
I don’t think Fox is the problem. Fox is becoming a dog which is exposing the rest of our team as soft. I have no problem with what Fox is doing because no one else is stepping up. Others show signs, but not consistently. I said this in another post, I think Fox realizes no one can stop him from scoring. No one can stay in front of him.
He’s drawing contact well in the paint. His mid-range is getting better. I’ll even go as far as to say, if he keeps shooting 3s with confidence (which takes hours in the gym), then I see him around maybe between .36 & .38 from 3. Which isn’t bad considering the kid has realized no one can stop him. Translate his offense over to defense and we have the dog we need.
Everyone else needs to get nasty with this game or continue to sit on the bench or get traded for a player that will go out and fight nightly.
Did…did you watch the last game? I know they lost but you can hardly argue Fox didn’t take that game over.
THe Pelicans are considered Elite? DId you read my passage? To repeat. Elite.
Some people can’t handle the truth. LOL.
But even then, the Kings were playing reactive basketball.
get down big, come back
just like all last spring starters go down for the bench to save
ain’t no one setting the tone of the game for the team
yeah, the imprint not there
its there with Trae, Morant, Sexton, et al.
Fox infuses no personality in the team
this is beyond scoring, as he out scores Morant but has half the personality/energy/accountability
is this something that will come with maturation? Let’s wait and see
a team wouldn’t wilt/die on a season with a natural leader though
Killer Instinct. Those players aforementioned have it. I don’t see in Fox’s BB DNA.
I’m not saying Fox gives the team personality, but it say Morant, Trae, and Sexton do is kinda ridiculous. Literally none of them have had a single winning season all young talented guards trying to find their way in the NBA
You couldn’t tank with any of those players
you can with Fox
enough said
The Cavs were tied for 2nd worst in the NBA last season with 19 wins. Which matched their win total from Sexton’s first season when they also tied for 2nd worst record in the NBA.
The Hawks were one game better than the Cavs last season with 20 wins.
Clearly you can tank just fine with either of them.
2021 called. They are much younger and developing
Could it be that they are just more talented basketball players?
Sexland
I think he needs a bit of help. I mean even Jordan had Pippen. Kawhi has George and Bev.
Hali I am not concerned about, however without Buddy firing, Hali figuring things out and Cojo as back up, Fox can only do so much right now.
I am liking that Fox is trying to take on the responsibility. They are going to build around him, so for me, wins matter not. Effort and development of Fox, Bags (even for asset management), Hali etc is key. If they can grow from this rough-road, and Kings can build around them, they will be better off for it in the longer run.
Well put.
He needs more than a bit of help. In fact, he needs to BE the help for someone else. If we want to use past winners/star as an equivalent, it’s probably closer to say he needs his Garnett, Pierce, and even Allen. He isn’t the Kawhi/Jordan in these scenarios. He’s the guys that are there to help the Kawhi/Jordan. So the question is how the Kings will acquire that higher level talent? And does Fox need to be part of the package to make it happen.
I agree.
Just to clarify the way I was reading the comments I responded to, were that others were hopeful that Fox would dominate games at the current (since he is our number 1 currently).
Going forward however, yes, I would love for Fox to be our number 2 (or 3). It is difficult for Fox to be a main facilitator and still be clutch like the Ice-cold rookie Fox hitting game-winning mid range jumpers or put backs etc.
This is where Hali and Fox can potentially be very beneficial. Fox playing off-ball, would mean he can get to where he wants and execute, rather than trying to set that up (which he is decent at, not great at this point – nor is his shooting adequate enough for a consistent back-up).
How we get that additional talent is the million dollar question. My assumption is that Fox with a Max, that won’t be soon (if he was traded). I am hoping for draft gems over next few drafts, and some savvy role players that fit upcoming roster.
kings to every other team, look under your seats guys, YOU GET A STATEMENT GAME, YOU GET A STATEMENT GAME, Y’ALL GET STATEMENT GAMESSSSS!!!!!!!!
That new Kings Landing game-time chat thread thing is rough. I’m sorry to criticize because I genuinely love TKH, but it’s going to kill game-time discussions and it’s very clunky and not user friendly. Why fix it if it isn’t broken? Why not keep it simple? It was working great before!
Appreciate the feedback. We wanted to try it out, but if most people prefer game threads as a normal post, we can always go back.
Please.
I think a lot of us are used to the old format from a site that shall not be named and the way this site began. No harm no foul.
Game threads are an abomination. Torture them all, I say.
I like it if you treat threads as a stream of consciousness coupled with the occasional schoolyard diss
Combine preview and game thread?
look at the guy in the blue mask in the title photo.That says it all.
I’ve found my train. Who is with me?
I have a ticket. Can I bring a friend? Daniels, Jack?
Cran and Gray Goose on the caboose.
The last 15 years…
Monte better be, or he’s not doing his job
im assuming Barnes is still here because he couldn’t find any takers
no vets
Only lost by 19 while ending the 120+ streak… Progress with a capital P, baby!
But seriously, let’s commence the trades. Go ahead McNair, show us what you can do.
Oh, THAT Harrison Barnes.
I was lead to believe he earned his contract based on the first 13 games of the season.
Free question for the invite-only zoom calls: Hey Harrison! It’s good to see you. So you got off to a pretty hot start this season, but you’ve slowed down these last few games. What’s up with that?
I think Jerry answered that perfectly on the last podcast. Harrison is a unselfish player that needs other unselfish players around him to succeed. It wasn’t the points, his assists is what made him worth the contract for me. That’s what he lacked in his game and I thought he finally figured it out. But last few games the player movement stopped and it’s the same buddy curl, fox drive over and over with Barnes, Bagley and Holmes taking bail out or forced shots. I would like to see Luke pull Barnes early and put him back in with Hali. That second team needs a go to scorer and I think that’ll take some attention of Hali too.
Or maybe Barnes is just who he’s always been. A solid fringe starter that isn’t going to win or lose you a lot of games. He isn’t an impact player. He’s a reliable player that you’re happy to have on the roster as long as you aren’t overpaying for him while you looks for ways to upgrade from him.
That’s probably true as well. I like the guy and wish him nothing but success.
I like him personally as well and also wish him all the personal success in the world.
I also wish the Kings success, and I don’t think tying up 18ish% of your salary cap over the next 3 years to overpay a guy like Barnes is a good way to achieve that success.
Did anyone else feel like the Clippers never even turned it on? Felt like they began and ended the game on cruise control. *sigh* Must be nice.
Having three All-Defensive players on your roster has a way of making it look easy.
Kings are the game on the good team’s schedules circled “load management”.
Periodic reminder that these youngins are better at what they do than 99.9999% of the world will ever be at their respective professions. The team may suck compared to their opponent, but it’s still good to have some perspective on this sort of thing.
P.s. fuck Vivek’s hubristic ass. He’s older than me so I can talk shit.
Can we send El Ron to go and kick his ass, because his young ass may need some kicking by his elders.
I’m not an ass kicking kind of guy. I’m an ass, but kicking is hard as the knees aren’t what they use to be. No need to anyway. I just go talk to him for 15 minutes, after that most people just usually want to die. I’ll promise him a weekly visit and that should get it corrected quickly.
Lol
I’ll go with you. My knees are fine.
This perspective, while true, does vert little to comfort me.
What I really want to know is if they tried hard on defense.
God dammit, I finally predict that the opposing team will score over X amount of points in the predictions (after it happened the previous two games) and of course they don’t score that many!
You should know better. Only thing this team is consistent with is being inconsistent lol
Haha! I just noticed the photoshopped Bernie meme in the article photo!
I love it
I assumed it was real until I saw his foot on Fox’s shoulder lol
Ha! This should be an ongoing thing, little Easter eggs in the pics to keep us entertained since the team fails at it! ðð»
Firing Walton may be a start, but it going to take one heck of a coach to reverse a culture where losing has been accepted for so long.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought Joeger was starting to turn in that direction. Malone too. Fire Walton absolutely, though I’m afraid Vivek is still lurking and fucking things up.
Why is Walton limiting Haliburton minutes? Should be at least 30 a game. Develop talent, not to mention, Hali seems to give the team its best chance to win.
This is good
Hopefully they just need better player that fit well together
Any thoughts on who should be the next Kings coach? Definitely not Gentry but at this point it feels like anyone can be better than Luke Walton.
Previous loss 38 points.
Tonight loss 19 points.
Thats a 50% improvement.
Not Carl? Fake Carl
I really felt like this was a bottom 5 NBA roster before the season and I’m glad to know that my perception of our talent base in relation to the rest of the league isn’t too far off. Plus even if our talent is actually a little better than that, Walton is so bad it doesn’t matter.
The good news is next years draft is good, Haliburton is good and we’ll have a new coach next season. The next step is to move Buddy and anyone else they can get any value for but I’m actually optimistic that McNair knows what he’s doing. And this is sort of an aside but Bogi was awful for the Hawks before he got hurt. I still don’t really regret not matching his deal. Haliburton has been significantly better this year.
Yes, next year’s draft is good. But there will be at least 4 other teams who will get roughly equal talent in that draft, so although it may lead to internal improvement, you’d have to wonder how much improvement relative to the rest of the league it will provide.
Sorry for the fatalist mood.
Well the good news is that I think Haliburton is going to provide a pretty big talent infusion compared to the majority of the top picks in this year’s draft and we got him at 12 so that feels like a huge win to me. There will definitely be other talented players but somehow other teams gets young players and then they improve and their teams get better. I reject the idea that the same can’t happen IF our front office is competent now, which I tend to believe it actually is. Proof is in the pudding as always but I’m actually kind of optimistic about our future.
Just tank baby
I’d love to see Len in that second unit. I also love watching Metu get minutes but it’s kind of unfair to have him or Marvin matched up with the likes of Ibaka, Zubac, Adams. It’ll be nice to see Metu play with a real center.
Agreed. Len is a Kings legend. We need the legend back. Plus he starts a fight upon immediately entering the game.
Haha yea, I’d take any toughness we can get. See if we can sign Papa G’s head nod.
It’s pretty telling that our solution to the team’s lack of toughness is to try to acquire a guy who hasn’t been able to lock down a role on some of the worst teams in the league due primarily to his lack of toughness.
the Only team I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the season is the nets! They have the highest ceiling of any team in the nba plus they’re box office
I am once again asking for cash considerations and a first round draft pick in the 7-12 range.
This news just in: WE SUCK!
The Kings could play without any coaches and likely get the same results.
Feels like Elite teams play down to the Kings level and then just kind of ratchet up when they need too.
yawn. I’ve seen enough. I think only three things can get me to watch another game this year: a new coach, starting Haliburton or a newly acquired player. You all can enjoy your tank gifs, not me.
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