The Sacramento Kings entered Thursday’s matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans on a three-game winning streak (2 of those wins against the Pelicans), half a game back of the Dallas Mavericks for the 8th spot in the Western Conference, and with a chance to go into the All-Star break on a high note following a wild few weeks of change. New Orleans came into the game having lost 10 straight, sitting at just 12 wins on the season, and no Zion Williamson. The Kings, even though this was a second night of a back to back on the road, should have controlled this game, but instead never gained a comfortable lead and failed to put the Pelicans away in overtime due to late-game execution issues.
In the first half, the Kings displayed nice ball movement with 22 assists. There were a few flashes of Domantas Sabonis running the offense out of the high post, which was nice to see even if short lived. In the second quarter, the Kings went on a 15-0 run, but despite this, the Kings never pulled away by a large margin. Zach LaVine had a nice half with 16 points, while Sabonis tallied a double-double. CJ McCollum had a quiet first half (6 points), but his buzzer beater at the end of the second quarter was a sign of things to come. The King led 65-60 at the break.
The Kings inability to gain separation in the second quarter caught up with them in the third as McCollum caught fire and the Pelicans went on a 10-2 run. The Kings briefly regained the lead behind LaVine’s fourth and fifth threes of the night, but McCollum’s hot shooting was too much. He hit another buzzer beating floater to give New Orleans a 98-95 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The PA announcer belted “DEFENSE” throughout the game to the hundreds of Pelicans fans in the stands (OK it wasn’t that bad, but it was pretty sparse). The fans didn’t respond all that much and the shot clock continuously malfunctioned. Meanwhile, the Kings entered the fourth quarter in close battle. They would end up getting down by 8 and then climb back in it. The Kings led 122-121 in the final minute. The Pelicans decided to play the foul game while up 3 and 10 seconds left. The Kings were forced to hit free throws several times.
With 8.1 seconds left, the Pelicans were up 127-124.
Then, in a huge sequence, Sabonis, who absolutely dominated the boards in this game, missed his second free throw, but Monk came crashing in and grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled, sending him back to the line. He hit both to tie the game at 127-127, forcing overtime after McCollum finally missed a point-blank floater at the buzzer.
In overtime, the Pelicans outscored the Kings 13-6 as McCollum kept the pressure on with his scoring. The Kings could not execute on offense or defense, and New Orleans finished the game on a 7-0 run and a LaVine turnover with 53 seconds left sealed the loss for Sacramento.
Bad defense, ISO offense down the stretch, not enough Keon Ellis, and DeRozan with no crunch time magic. Both the Mavs and Warriors won. Sigh.
The Good
- Sabonis rebounding and low fouls: 28 rebounds, including 13 offensive rebounds. This on top of 22 points and 5 assists. Just as great as the rebounds were, the fact he only had 1 foul in 43 minutes might have been just as good. Getting close to or fouling out has been a big problem for Sabonis recently. Even though it was a loss, it was nice the team didn’t have to worry about going into overtime without him.
- Zach LaVine scoring: He broke out from three finally as a King, hitting five threes (5-12) finishing with 32 points to go along with 10 assists and 3 steals.
- Malik Monk: Monk made the play of the game for the Kings, collecting Sabonis’ second free throw miss at the end of the fourth, getting fouled and making the two free throws to send the game into overtime. He finished with 24 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds.
- Ball movement: This was more prevalent in the first half, but it was encouraging to see. The team finished with 38 assists (15 turnovers).
- Offensive rebounding: The Kings won offensive rebounding 21-7. It helps when Sabonis gets 13.
- CJ McCollum: He loves lighting up the Kings. He finished with 43 points on 16-25 from the field and 7-12 from three. Someone might want to guard that guy.
Skipping Right To The Ugly
- Doug Christie: Speaking of McCollum. Keon Ellis scored 27 points Wednesday on 10-14 from the field, on top of his defense. Keon Ellis played 23 minutes Thursday in an overtime game in which no one could slow down McCollum.
- Final moments of overtime: After tying the game at 133 with 2:04 left in overtime, the Kings allowed McCollum to hit two more shots (see the previous bullet), failed to grab three defensive rebounds, and turned the ball over.
- Defense: (See two bullets ago.) Jordan Hawkins off the bench finished with 16 for the Pelicans. Karlo Matkovic, who averages 3.5 points on the season, finished with 13. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who averages 5.8 points per game, finished with 16 points off the bench.
- Free Throws: The Kings shot 21 free throws. The Pelicans had 34. That is defending via fouling.
Up Next
The Kings return from the All Star break on Feb. 21 against the Golden State Warriors in Sacramento at 7 p.m.
Watching DDR high on his own sauce shooting 4 bricks in a row to end the game was painful to watch.
That was peak Kangz. Even more frustrating was that is was the same damn play over and over again. The other 4 dudes just cleared out to the other side of the floor and let DDR work for 15 seconds of the shot clock.
And on the other end, Monk/DDR/Lavine just kept letting CJ get whatever he wanted. If Keon played 30+ minutes this game, the Kings win. Not a doubt in my mind.
I agree. The Kings are now 7-1 in 2025 when Keon gets 30 or more minutes.
Either the coaching staff that fucking dumb or there is some sinister mandate from ownership to remain an irrelevant .500 ball club. Maybe both?
I’d tell you the franchise can’t be this stupid but this is the same team that had its coach start Kevin Heurter over Ellis at the start of the season despite the evidence from last season that Ellis was a impact player. It’s also the same team whose GM made comments in the offseason indicating Ellis is more of a bench player than a starter.
Incompetence and being blind to reality is a running theme.
I just wonder what DC drew on the broad after the timeout…..
It’s just cannot be DeMar ISO. I mean, DeMar need to recognise if he get double-teamed, he need to pass the ball and not taking those heavily-contested shot…..
With Lavine shooting well, DC need to draw some play to free him up….at least Lavine can take the basketball to the rim….
This loss is on DC and DeMar, and early turnovers………..
It doesn’t matter what the Kings coach draws up because the coach is soft – as are most past Kings coaches sans Michael Malone – so players have learned to do whatever they want without any consequences. This is why the Kangz are the way they are. Zero discipline and fringe all-stars can do whatever they want and not have to stick to the game plan.
Just my opinion:
This was faulty coaching. This was an undermanned undersized Pelicans team. What is one of the “new Kings” advantages? They have two (2) starting levels Bigs. Why aren’t they using this.
Also – once again – Sac looks outhustled.
And… Malik Monk point guard is just not my cup of tea. He’s trying, I’ll give you that, but his decision making is underwhelming. The turnovers (also by Domas) are just so careless.
If you believe in those win probability thingies, the Kings had an 80% win probability with 2:24 left in the 4th. Up 122-118.
6 bricks in a row by my count
It’s incredibly disappointing to see this franchise waste Sabonis’ career year. This guy gets better year after year and works his ass off every game.
Unfortunately he won’t get his the credit he deserves because the team sucks. This front office has completely let him down.
not an All-Star. ’nuff said.
Wasting prime Sabonis, neglecting Keegan’s development, and dismissing Keon’s impact all while favoring 3 ISO players’ tendencies to reach .500 basketball is downright criminal at this point. At this point it wouldn’t surprise me on bit if the traded Keegan and Keon for Jordan Poole this summer.
Kuzma. It has to be Kyle Kuzma
You are right. I stand corrected.
Clearly it’s Kuzma !
All the frustrations in one sentence. I’ll add short-sighted draft decisions.
Carter is the opposite of short sighted draft decision, monte clearly thought/thinks he will be bpa.
short sighted is drafting for need, carter was clearly not a need
Kelel Ware says hi. Position of need, 3 years younger. Sometimes the obvious choice is the correct one.
I don’t disagree, but to call carter a short sighted pick is just wrong
McNair has a habit of drafting the most “NBA ready” player on the board. I think it’s because of the pervasive thinking that they’re just a move or two away from being a top contender. They’ve been operating like this for over a decade, and this is what I mean by short-sighted. They’re building for this year, not the future, because every year is “the year” and their draft choices, usually upperclassmen with less upside, always reflect that.
Will Carter end up being better than everyone drafted below him? Maybe. Doesn’t look like it, but who knows? But that wasn’t my point. I never said that specifically about Carter. You interstingly picked the guy that we have the least data on to make your argument.
Let’s play “This Organization in Movie Quotes!” The object is to describe the Sacramento Kings using a singular movie quote. I’ll start:
“The call is coming from inside the house.”
“Stupid is as stupid does.”
“Forget it, Jake. It’s Sactown”
This one is so apt it hurts.
“Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.”
Going against the grain a bit, DDR literally won the game on Thursday, which we all seem to have forgotten. He was the wrong signing, I don’t think he fits this team and I would have freed him to go somewhere and actually win at the deadline, but the guy did just win a game, so it’s not unreasonable to go back to him, even if it isn’t fun to watch him NOT win a game the second time around.
I agree that Keon should have played more minutes in this one, in spite of missing shots. Keon is a good, disruptive defender, and all of the evidence so far is that he’s an elite three point shooter when set. This is a GREAT set of skills to have on your team.
We should also talk about what Keon isn’t. We see his three point percentage and deflections and assume he should be playing 36 minutes per game. The problem is that his handle isn’t great, he’s not great at creating his own offense or creating for others and his decision making with the ball isn’t top tier. These are all skills that don’t show up in a box score.
Should Keon play 36 minutes per game? On some teams…maybe, if you have an elite play making point guard? On this team, you have to hide Keon on offense to some degree to get the defense and spot shooting, and that’s not always possible. So you play him situationally, because he’s limited, which is what both Kings coaches have done.
Part of this is me, where I’m sensitive to this idea that there must always be a simple solution to every problem that experts in the field have failed to see but that a dude in a recliner DEFINITELY knows to be true. The truth is that the more you know about almost any topic, the more you realize how complex it is. That being said, we’re fans and a big part of the experience to discussing and speculating.
Was last night a situation where Keon should have gotten more minutes? On the second night of a back-to-back, with (all of the very, very many) other offense-first shooting guards on the team playing 40+ minutes? Yes. He should have played more minutes.
Should Keon play 36 minutes every night? I think he’s too limited, but this roster is also a talent-constrained mess of duplicate players, so who knows? As usual, this all goes back to (bad) roster construction and at best lateral trade for Fox, etc. and so on.
Last night while Kayte was rambling superlatively about how great Keon is and what an exceptional job the Kings had done finding this diamond, should-be-all-defensive-team, 2 way godsend of a find for the FO, I was recalling the many times he’s lost the handle mid dribble or was supposed to be in a particular spot and the ball is passed there and he’s not in it. Or the times last week when he was just floating, lost, on the defensive end while the back door cut burned him.
He’s good, and I like him. But he’s not Jrue Holiday or Gary Payton. Folks get way too up and way too down on shit. He’s a nice piece to have and this team has a lot of things to figure out.
Agreed. I will add that Keon is still young from an NBA minutes perspective, and I think that his game still has a lot of upside. I don’t envision him as ever being able to handle true PG duties, but I can see him improving his handle, as well as his overall bbiq. A lot of his current success is based on reflex and instinct, which is kind of impressive. My guess is that he will become a helluva player (Caruso level, perhaps) for the next team he plays for.
100% agreed. Keon is never going to be Tyrese Haliburton on offense, but I expect some improvement in his handle and decision making with the ball. Keon is a really valuable player as-is, even with limitations in some areas.
I’d settle or the second coming of Doug Christie.
Took 8 yrs for Doug to become the guy who landed in Sacramento. Nobody here is that patient.
He was pretty darn solid in Toronto, but didn’t get the reputation of an elite defender until Sac.
I agree DDR can be clutch and will win some games. But you don’t have to go to him every possession down the stretch.
I feel there is no creativity in the coaches circle and there’s a prevalent thought of “just give the ball to DeMar” kind of like it was “just give the ball to Fox and get out of the way”.
All that to say, I would much rather see the team run some plays featuring player and ball movement – and take whatever outcome that brings: as opposed to watching one player attempt to create on most possessions down the stretch.
Along these lines, Pels ran a great play with CJ curling around the center screen on the strong side and streaking to the 3 point line which he knocked down twice while being WIDE open. Maybe try something similar with LaVine, Keegan or Keon?
Is it the coach? To an extent. Doug gives them license to “just play ball.”
That said, the players are out there making the decisions, which means no one on the floor at the time seems to think its a bad idea to keep giving it to him in the flow of the game. Even after his 5th brick and you can see he looks tired as shit. If Doug is gonna give them license like that, he needs to direct attention to spreading the ball around as part of the “just play ball” game plan. They did have 38 assists last night, so its not like its the DDR ground and pound show. It doesn’t help DDR that they just stand there watching, to a man. Some cutting, back door screen action to free up a cutter would really help DDR not have to heave a prayer at the end of every ISO, don’t forget. Some practice days better help this process along.
38 assists that just stopped the final 4 minutes and ot because it was straight demar pound the ball for the entire playclock and then throw up a low percentage brick.
also, cutters don’t matter once demar gets into his dribbling, i watched multiple guys wide open in his vision and he still just fadeaway chucks
“cutters don’t matter once demar gets into his dribbling”, I do get that you’re saying DBo gets tunnel vision but I saw as many possessions you just described as possessions where he needed to pass out of the ISO and there wasn’t one person to throw it to.
Nobody triea to cut or get free anynore because they know once DD gets the ball, its not leaving his hands.
I killed your father…
I appreciate you saying this.
You are correct, DDR did win the game the other day, but there were many of us upset with how the Kings played. It was an ugly win with the same ISO plays that they just lost with. Sometime you are going to hit those shots, and sometimes you are not, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s ugly basketball. It’s also just not a good long term strategy to have a 35 year old mid-range iso maestro be what the offense resorts to. The team is just dog paddling at .500 with no real future
It seems like the players and coaches talk a lot about defensive intensity and playmaker as the keys to many of the wins this season. Getting turnovers and transition buckets.
Imagine what a damn good 3&D PF would do for this team throughout the game? They wouldn’t need to rely on closing out so many close games with ISO DeMar (and Fox before).
Build a better defensive team, with good 3pt shooters, and an offensive system that rewards those that cut and move without the ball so that the good passing Center can find them for easy buckets.
It really doesn’t seem like a difficult thing to accomplish.
From you lips to God’s ears, amigo.
It really is mind boggling to see what they’ve become. I just went back and watched the final few minutes of the 4th and was disgusted how they used Sabonis. The Kings have the second best passing and facilitating big man in world, and they parked him at the dunker’s spot to watch DDR go ISO. The dunker’s spot! Sabonis isn’t even a lob threat and you are treating him like a traditional big man readying/hoping for a DDR miss so he can be in position for an offensive rebound. It’s like they are purposely trying to fail so they can stumble into success.
100% agree that it’s an awful nonsense strategy that acquiring LaVine triples down on.
I disagree about lavine, i think he is a much more capable player of being in a flow system
He’s on his 11th year and he’s had one winning season. If they get there this season it won’t be by much. Yes, LaVine is less of an ISO player than DDR, but low bar is low.
Maybe demar only appeared to win the game the other night because his shitty defense allowed the pels to be close, also because he is the only one apparently allowed to shoot in the fourth quarter/ot
Watched the first half then had to catch a flight. What happened in the second half? Sounds like McKingsKiller went off and Deebo took too many ISO shots?
Coming back from break we get to meet a Warriors team coming off a win, while we return with our tails between our legs. Not looking great will be interesting to see how Deebo and Lavine approach this opportunity to provide some leadership which is desperately lacking on this team.
Not good but not end of the world. We just lost our star player and fired our coach. Not winning a championship anytime soon. See this year as a chance to start building some chemistry and lean into next season (assuming someone like Deebo doesn’t pull a Kevin Durant and demand out)
This LaVine and DDR experiment does not bode well for Keon and Keegan’s development. I believe Keegan would be playing much better as a 3. HB played a lot of 4 when he was here which was Keegan’s best year.
In kangz fashion, these two will leave Sacramento and become everything we want. We know how good IT and to some extent pre injury cousins became after they left. But also…Hedo and Gerald Wallace
Question: I know we all have varied emotions on the trades, but does anyone honestly believe that we are going to enter the 2025-2026 season with this same basic team? I mean obviously there will be small changes, and if we somehow managed to squeak out a first round playoff win, I could totally see Vivek calling it a huge win and bringing everyone back. But just looking at the way this team is currently constructed, I can’t imagine this is how we want to playout Domas’s prime years.
“…does anyone honestly believe that we are going to enter the 2025-2026 season with this same basic team?”
I mean, I wouldn’t challenge Monte directly like that. Just saying…
My expectation is that the team will keep Monk, Lavine, DDR, Keegan, Sabonis as the starting 5 because they want to see a full season of the new guys working with Doug (if retained, and I think he will be retained) and the staff.
I think they trade demar for a box of rocks
If McNair (or Wilcox) are the GM, then yes I think they come back with mostly the same team. LaVine makes $50 million and is all but untradeable to everyone in the NBA except one team, and you can’t trade with yourself.
Maybe DDR gets shipped out for a lateral talent, or in the MOST Monte/Vivek/Kangz “Let’s collect every offense-first guard in the NBA” move ever, with a bunch of picks and salary filler for Trae Young.
I think (hope) DDR gets moved this summer or at some point next season. There will be a team that values his offensive tools and desires his contract. Here’s hoping the Lakers are that gullible team. Let DDR go home and run with Luka and LBJ for a one year. Lakers fans would love it.
My inner fatalist says that Domas quietly asks out this summer.
God, I hope not. I think he really likes it here, especially with his investment into a winery, but you never know.
Golden State it is!
The worst part is I wouldn’t blame him one bit for wanting out of this. Imagine the love he’d get for a big franchise.
The scary thing though is I remember reports pre extension LA may be a place for him because his wife is from there I think? They do need a big man now for their other free gift they just got.
I’ve said it before about Fox, the players and fans don’t deserve the ineptitude of the organization. Why would anyone want to waste their time here if they care about winning?
hope that doesn’t happen. To keep Domas, I think the Kings should stay competitive, win more games than lose. In the offseason, when it comes to roster decisions, I would place a high priority on keeping Domas and finding players that fit with him, but that’s for the offseason.
He’s not an All-Star, maybe they can get someone to take his contract and the 2027 first rounder and get back, I dunno, a couple more second rounders? Sort of a Richaun Holmes type deal.
Had they won, I’d have given these guys at least Saturday and Sunday off. Not now. They need to get their asses in the gym tomorrow and figure out how to work together as a team on both sides of the ball. The turnovers are atrocious. The game plan needs some adjustments. The pace is lacking. We do get a shit ton of rebounds and that’s good. Our half court offense is pretty bad right now, tho. No cutting during ISOs, passes have to go through really tight windows. The pick and rolls are soft and teams are hardly switching them so what’s the point. And that’s our 2 plays, ladies and gentlemen. We have to hope for defense and transition because we put ourselves in shit positions offensively. Hard to win that way.
Hope Doug gives these guys some things to think about and some time to work on them during the break.
Let’s go…take a nap. I hate All-Star weekend.
Now that the All-Star break is upon us, we have begun to incorporate new players in the mix, and know where the roster stands: how does everyone feel about this team for the rest of this year?
I’d prefer them to either click or down right suck, but I think we are going to get something in the middle. Meh.
I feel the team dropping to below 500, missing the playoffs/in, and keeping the 1st round draft pick from ATL. Let this new crop of players with less than 50 games together (DeRozan, LaVine, LaRavia, Fultz, Valanciunas, Carter, etc.) all have a chance to gel after spending some time practicing together and swapping a few redundant pieces out (players) in the offseason.
How I want to feel
How I expect to feel
A team having a clutch player to go to consistently is normal and a good practice.
Keon starting or playing 40 plus minutes does not change the trajectory of this franchise.
Keon is a role player with some very good aspects of his game and some true
weaknesses at the NBA level. He is a great pick up in free agency for basically no money but not the solution.
A coach anchored in the lore of the only five or six successful years in the history of
the organization is a sign of dysfunction not a solution. Forcing head coaches and general managers to employ relics of the past is not a plan for success.
Just some random thoughts on the season. If you had told me there would be losses to bad teams, losing streaks, the coach is fired, and the face of the franchise traded away…It would be hard for me to remain positive about the season. This is not a “team” that plays for one another but, rather, a collection of scorers who play for themselves. They do not play good individual or team defense. If this is a negative viewpoint, I get it. But positive or negative viewpoints by fans aren’t affecting wins/losses and this organization hasn’t earned that kind of blind faith by fans.
Lastly, the coaching critique seems somewhat unfair to DC. I fully agree that he is under the microscope for rotations and who is on the floor at critical times as well as the game planning. However, I don’t get the angst about play calling. There is no way to change offensive/defensive schemes mid-season. The schemes are set in the offseason and training camps. There is not sufficient practice time during the season to implement new plays and nothing will change until the offseason. Besides, my understanding of the offense is that the players are calling the plays on the fly in-game. Free-flow offense at its worst.
Why is the critique unfair to DC?
Coaches draw up new plays out of timeouts all the time. It’s one of the main reasons to hoold a clipboard. I don’t expect Doug to install a complete new system and change the identity of the team overnight. But I do expect him to tell his guys not to run the same play 4 times and to make sure that the ball keeps moving. And to draw up dome plays to keep defenses guessing.
The Simple:
Play to your strengths, play off the opponents weaknesses, and when those change or are no longer effective – adapt.
This game seemed very, dare I say, Mike Brown-ish.
Should’ve included plays out of timeouts as part of the other criticisms that are perfectly fine to scrutinize. My apologies. But, can’t call a timeout every time down the court and the whole point of this offense is for the players to adjust on the fly. They don’t look over to the coach for the plays during the game action.
I think there will be some major changes
off-season. Kings have the Number 1 most difficult schedule, post all star break. 19 of 24 games against playoff teams.
This team will get exposed against the top of the league. They will be below .500 come end of March.
I don’t see this team winning more than 38 games.
38 games? So you’re saying there is a chance! (Insert Jim Carrey gif)
Playing devil’s advocate again. For as much heat DDR gets for heavy iso plays, we tend to forget that he is our only closer. In close games where you need to target a player to iso against, DDR is second to none. His FTs are automatic too. If we trade him away, it better be for another closer, otherwise, we will have to deal with Lavine’s poor shot clock management, Monk’s errant drive and kick, or Domas getting triple teamed/take foula down low.
Counterpoint…if DDR was a better defender, the games wouldn’t be as close?
I don’t like the ISO late game stuff. Teams play like 43 minutes of their standard offense, only to abandon that in the last few minutes. Keep moving the ball amd play your offense.
If Demar was a better defender, he would not be in a Kings uniform for sure. But this is what we have, and IMO, he “defends” better in a set defense system, like when he was under Pop in SA. Sadly, Doug is no Pop. And besides, if winning games was only due to DDR’s poor defense ( its not), then its on the defensive coordinator to “hide” him on defense.
The problem is that they have 3 starters that need to be hidden on defense…
Yup, and now the Fakers have the same problem too, with LD LB, and AR. If we move DDR to the 6rh man, and have KE start, that would be a better lineup. A DDR, Kelle/Carter, LaRavia, Lyles/Jones, Val 2nd unit doesnt sound bad either.
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