The Kings entered tonight with their white board set back to “0 days” since winning a basketball game. What looked like a promising stretch for a winning streak was quickly squandered when the Kings failed to take care of Houston on Sunday. Tonight they started back at ground zero and looking up the mountain. The first step was a home battle against the Detroit Pistons. With how things have been going lately, it was both equal parts likely that the Kings would easily complete this first step without breaking a sweat or they would roll their ankle, rupture their Achilles, and tumble two steps backwards past ground zero. Let’s see how they did:
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings lose, 133-131
Sacramento Kings: 131 pts, 52.4% fg, 44.4% 3 pt, 70.5% ft, 22 ast, 35 reb, 7 to
Detroit Pistons: 133 pts, 50.5% fg, 41.7% 3 pt, 86.7% ft, 27 ast, 41 reb, 9 to
The ankle was rolled, the Achilles was destroyed, and I’m pretty sure they landed in a pile of mud on their way down. In a game that felt impossible to lose, the Kings found a way to get it done in embarrassing fashion. And if I’m being honest, they deserved to lose. Despite a career night from a role player and five other players scoring in double digits, the Kings still managed to struggle against and lose to the second worst team in the NBA. For the millionth time, the Kings learned the hard way that their offense can not generate enough to mask or make up for their horrible defense.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good
- Living at the Line: The Pistons are not a good defensive team. The Kings were able to get into the paint at will and terrorize the Pistons in their abundance of defensive breakdowns. When shots weren’t falling, the Kings were able to maintain their scoring by finding ways to the free throw line. Harrison Barnes led this charge by getting to the line 14 times and scoring on 11 of them. De’Aaron Fox followed by scoring 7-8 from the line of his 27 total. In all, the Kings visited the stripe 44 times and converted on 31 of those attempts.
The Bad
- Perimeter Defense: The Pistons are not a good 3-point shooting team. On average, they connect on 31.3% of their 3-point attempts. Tonight, they shot 15-36 for 41.7%. And they could have made more. From start to finish, the Kings failed to defend the perimeter. The Pistons enjoyed wide open looks from the Kings giving them second chance opportunities, over helping inside, or getting lost on scrambles. Saddiq Bey finished with 30 points, with half of them coming from the 3-point line. Rodney McGruder also hit three of his open looks.
The Ugly
- A New Way to Lose: I remember last year’s collapse in the final 56 seconds to the Hornets. I still have nightmares of the 2014 loss to the Grizzlies with 0.3 seconds left on the inbound pass. I really thought I’d seen it all. And yet, the Kings found a new way to lose. This time, they held a nine-point lead with 2:34 left to go. Despite defensive havoc from Davion Mitchell on Cory Joseph, the Pistons’ next possession ended with a Saddiq Bey 3-pointer. Six point game. De’Aaron Fox finds Harrison Barnes in the corner for an open 3-point look, but Barnes got ahead of himself and lost the handle as the ball fell out of bounds. Pistons find a wide open Kelly Olynyk for another 3-pointer. Three point game. Fox misses a driving floater and Richaun Holmes commits an over the back foul to give the Pistons the ball right back. And here’s where it gets WILD. Bey cashes in on his final three points with a driving layup that results in a foul AND a goaltending violation. Bey hits the free throw. Tie game. Fox misses the next pull up jumper. And I cannot believe I’m writing this sentence: to put the game away, Cory Joseph buries the 14-foot middy to complete the Pistons’ 11-0 run, comeback win, and his very own revenge game. It doesn’t get much uglier than that.
The King of Kings
It really couldn’t be anyone else. Terence Davis had the best performance of the night, scoring a career high 35 points with seven made 3-pointers.
Up Next
Saturday, January 22nd @ Milwaukee Bucks – 4:00 P.M. (PT)
I’ve been so numb and apathetic for so long, a loss like this doesn’t even evoke emotion out of me. It sucks to know that as long as Vivek is running this team we are pretty much screwed. The delusional thinking of the folks that run this organization is just so unbelievably stupid.
Yes it stupid and gross behavior. This is the worst organization in all of sports because Vivek can’t see past his ego.
How can someone be so self absorbed they just shit on all the fans amd city. Selfish p o s.
And I know, an owner can do what he wants. It’s his team…blah blah blah. How about being a decent human being. How about letting a professional run your organization.
Better yet, how bout you get the fuck out Vivek.
I guess I hate ? marks. Oops. Anger messed w my editing
The first issue is expecting a billionaire to be a decent human being.
Same here Klam. I actually fell asleep at halftime, and figured ok, I’ll check the score in the morning. No problem, game in hand, right?
Seeing another loss didn’t evoke any emotion out of me either. The organization is a lost cause anyway, a waste of energy even following anymore.
Samesies. I haven’t had an emotional response to a game result (win or lose)since about 2 weeks before Luke Walton was finally fired.
welcome to the party.
So most predictions have Kings at sub 30 win team, yet this idiot has delusions of grandeur
CoJo’s dojo.
CoJobra Kai!!!
.
.
.
Kings-do Karate:
“Winning does not exist in this dojo, does it?”
“NO, SENSEI!”
Cojo BitchKick Vivek
Embrace the clown show and nights like tonight are fun.
Superstars aren’t coming. I’m surprised at the number of, “I’m done with this team! Not spending another dime” takes tonight. Seems a little late.
Cojo in second visit back G1 and second win with him as a key part ! Karma is truly a bitch !
Kings are way closer to getting a third or fourth pick in the draft then a playoff spot.
Tank time.
Wait. Who am I kidding?
No need to tank.
They just lose to every crap team in the league when they try to win.
They succkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.
Tank doesn’t help if you consistently draft poorly. Yes, McNair seems to be a little better than Vlade, but I have zero faith we would take the right player if gifted a top 3 pick.
Every week, The Athletic does an NBA Power Rankings. They break the rankings into different segments, with the last segment for the teams that are actively tanking (ie. OKC, Houston, Detroit, etc.). The Kings are consistently the last ranked team before the tanking teams. I wonder if there is any chance there could be a new segment for the Kings: who are trying to win, and still losing to the tanking teams? Embarrassing….
Announced crowd of 12,900 but not close to 10,000! People have had enough !
we’re laughing, but I’m telling you that could be the reason ownership forfeits our future
their poor and cant afford these ticket sales
What makes you think they’re poor?
They’ve always been a rag tag bunch of millionaires in a billionaires league
their businesses both the franchise and downtown have taken a notable covid hit in the news
they wouldnt allow our gm to fire our piss poor coach arguably due to finances
The owners of Cuolcom are minority owners ! Valued at 15 billion in Forbes ! Too bad Vivek will not sell out to them !
Forfeits our future? The perpetual 34 win future?
I will happily take the risk of forfeiting our future on SOMETHING, ANYTHING that actually moves the needle.
just a thought. Just because we possibly trade for Ben Simmons for example and possibly hand out two future firsts to get him does not mean we can’t trade him 1.5 years later for 2 future firsts. Not to minimize your feelings on the whole shit show, I just don’t think the risk is that high is all. Maybe that cheers you up a bit?
Go Kings!
?
What future?
To be honest, not all the blames goes to the players.
I don’t understand why Holmes is staying in the paint when Olynyk is on the 3pts line.
If Olynyk is on the court, then Gentry can sub in Bagley/Metu to match Olynyk.
Losses after losses, all I know is if McNair knows there is no one is un-tradable on this roster.
just blow the team up and do a proper rebuild.
I’d even trade for Grant Napear at this point
I’m sexy and I’m ready
Just wear protection.
The broadcast would be improved by 100% !
I’m not sexist in any shape, way or form but can we replace Kayte with another dude? If you wanna keep Draper and Mark cool whatever. Like how did she move up the ladder all of a sudden? She can go back to doing her sideline reporting or whatever she did before lol
In the absence of any actual explanation of why Kayte hasn’t earned a shot at her current gig, and why “another dude” should, I’m going to have to assume that you are, in fact, sexist in some shape, way, or form.
Ummmmmmm…. Sounds like you’re kinda sexist man.
don’t know you, I can only interpret your words.
I think the announcers are perfect for this team. It adds to the absolute absurdity of the chaos unfolding before our eyes.
Kayte talks too much ! Jim Kozemore was better than all currently on the broadcast ! Did not fit the narrative !
Katie is the only one on that whole team who knows what is going on.I hate it when the kings are down by two and Draper says we can ty this up. Has he ever thought that a 3 would put us ahead?
Kayte certainly isn’t beyond criticism, but there’s no actual criticism here.
Hmm…I wonder.
Oh look, you answered your own question.
Just to repeat your logic here, you seem to have an issue with a multiyear sideline reporter earning their way up one seat on the broadcast, and you want to replace that qualified person with “another dude.”
So you’d rather hire the least qualified dude than the most qualified woman? Maybe think about what you’re saying here, but I’m gonna guess that’s not real likely.
Usually people who feel they need to state they aren’t sexist/racist, are actually sexist/racist. You are a prime example.
Genius analysis there
So proud of the usual suspects for not making one comment in the game thread tonight. Well done. It wasn’t necessary or warranted. Good job guys.
Copied from the game thread; look at Gentry’s reaction.
That’s the look of a hopeless man.
I have to say, the Kings always come through for me in the TKH fantasy league tho. I needed Saddiq Bey to have a big night, and boom, playing the Kings he goes for 30.
Kings cough up this game. Lakers fold in the 4th against the Pacers. Jazz lose to the Rockets. What a weird year in the NBA.
Kings are a tire fire. Lakers are too. Jazz losing six of seven and players sniping at each other. Pacers want to reboot and lose Turner and Sabonis to injuries right before the trade deadline. Blazers are a mess. Hawks are a mess. Celtics are a mess. Simmons is sitting out. Kyrie can only play road games. Zion’s career might be over before it really began. Olshey fired for being a jerk. Sarver investigated for being racist. Westbrook is laughably bad at basketball.
What a weird freaking year in the NBA.
It would be the most weird if McNair made a trade/no trade, and the team got into the play-in, playoff , conference final, final, and grab the NBA Championship!
I’m only guessing but I think that would be the end of the world
theres always something going on every nba season to be fair
Don’t forget the Warriors co-owner who said the Chinese genocide of the Uyghurs is not worth caring about.
The rich are not like you or I.
The NBA has basically been saying that for years. LeBron effectively defended it, because it might have affected percentage points on the tens (hundreds?) of millions of dollars per year he makes.
Adam Silver’s NBA
Yeah, apart from his role in saving the Kings, David Stern was far from perfect.
But Silver is looking a step or three back from him.
Let’s be realistic, at this point maybe half of all the interest and intrigue in the NBA is the drama and stories. It’s less and less about the sport and more about the soap operatics.
ENTERTAINMENT and Sports Programming Network.
The Lakers are a big market team so they will always have that advantage. Putting that aside, the Laker’s future looks even more bleak than the Kings. They have AD and a bunch of old dudes, no cap space through next year, and no tradable assets. They are looking at a complete rebuild from scratch. The Kings at least have Hali/Fox as assets with potential as well as some guys on decent contracts that can be leveraged for the future (Barnes/Holmes/Buddy).
One thing I’ve learned is to never count the Lakers out. They sit on Westbrook until he expires, than land another star via free agency and be right back on top again.
Their luster has been losing shine since Jerry passed.
Being a Sacramento Kings fan is bad.
At this point, almost any trade is a good trade
I don’t watch anymore. Up until recently I kind of missed it. Don’t care anymore.
It is worse for many more people that have supported this team for decades. Most people do not even know who is on the team or when they play.
This organization is losing generations of fans.
That matters more than any game or play in ass beating,
Vivek thinks we can tweak this shitty roster and make the playoffs this year? Yeah, we’re screwed as long as that clown ???? is calling the shots.
In other negative news, how is something as childhood cool as Boba Fett the single most boring show in the history of television? I literally feel like I’m watching this old, fat, bald guy grunt through the desert, one grain of sand at a time, for an hour every week, and it’s 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. Somebody, save me, please.
When the social justice authoritarians took over the Star Wars and comic book franchises, they ruined everything. Now it’s all about THE MESSAGE, propagandizing young people and annoying older folks.
Have you read a comic book lately? They will have a hero fighting the villain and instead of snarky banter, the hero berates the villain while reciting intersectional theory and quoting Herbert Marcuse.
Pure garbage.
????????♂️????♂️
Facts
Snowflake.
Thanks for the recap. It’s so much better than the kings deserve.
I love being ” Pist” Kings fans nowhere.
This team needs a complete tear down, they are so bad. It’s like they are just waiting for the game to turn sour and then ultimately go rotten.
Then they need to hire Terry Stotts. He can be the next Rick Adelman (both previously employed by the Blazers and let go after successful stints).
Unfortunately no one’s gonna be the next Rick Adelman…Kings have been trying to find the next Rick for 15 years now. All we can hope for is a coach with a plan and knows how to build a playbook/scheme around his personnel’s strengths. I personally like the prospects of Kenny Atkinson. Really liked what he was doing in Brooklyn pre-KD/Kyrie.
This team is collectively brain dead. From the front office on down. I’ve got nothing else.
If Walton was coaching that game last night he would be crucified. Once again during crunch time the ball is put in Fox’s hand while 4 guys stand still on the perimeter. Having said that coaching is not the issue with the Kings it’s simply the roster. If we can’t beat a bottom dweller at home I quote Jim Mora “Playoffs, Playoffs, Are you kidding me Playoffs?”
You can’t win games with one player. Tell me if I’m wrong but I thought you play with five players on the court. Remember when Metu won the game with a three,Don’t you think TD would be given a chance to win this one?
I legit, do not like this team and actively root for them to lose. It’s a pure emotional reaction and I’ve been doing it for a while but just realized it today.
Kings fan since 1990. I guess this team rubs me the wrong way.
Same.
I like the individuals on the team (mostly) but I unfortunately agree. The more they embarrass themselves the more likely it is that something actually changes.
Yep. Keep losing, keep embarrassing yourselves and ownership.
TD – 35 points
Buddy – 2 points
BOOM! I love it. Total vindication. I would rather we lose to a scrub unit like DET and TD go off than beat DET and Buddy go off. There was one play Buddy launched from 30 feet, airball, and Fluke 2.0, aka the Old Man, aka Booze Hound, aka Dead Man Substitute Walking, aka Interim Idiot, throws his hands up in disgust. LOL.
But his disgust was self-created. Who has been riding and dying with Buddy since he took over? His terrible play and decision making and thirstiness is a surprise?
I have said it before if you always have one of Buddy or Marvin on the floor for 48 minutes, and usually we do, your defense is NEVER going to string together successive stops.
We allowed 33 , 33, 39 points to that team?! Cade Cunningham is not even that good! He is slow and lacks fast twitch. Olynk goes off (22 / 9 / 5) after not playing since November?!
Marvin Bustly puts up the most empty stats in the NBA. There is a book I recommend called “The Midrange Theory” by Seth Partnow. This book is must-reading for the serious NBA fan.
There is one chapter with regards to rebounding and how what is more important than the rebounds a player collects, the raw stats, is the defensive rebounding rate of the team when he is on the floor. This makes sense intuitively that a lot of rebounds a player gets are uncontested, therefore a replacement level player could just as easily collect them. But what is important is that when the big is on the floor he is finding a man, putting a body on him, he is carving space in the lane so that even when he does not secure the board he enables his teammates to get it. The example used IIRC is Brook Lopez, not overwhelming rebounding numbers, but his team gets most of the rebounds when he is on the floor.
I dont have the numbers to back it up, but I guess when Marvin is one the floor, the team allows a lot of offensive boards. Whereas I suspect if you put Queta on the floor he is going to find a man to box out. His sheer size and showing on the pick and roll and retreating back into defensive position is EXACTLY what a terrible defensive team needs. Not just to create more challenging shots but to do a better job on the boards.
Since Queta had his breakout game a while back, the Old Man has played him 48 seconds!
Gentry would not make it 5 pages into a book like Midrange Theory before setting it aside for a stiff cocktail, dismissing it as “fancy numbers and pencil neck theoretical pie in the sky gibberish”. Because if he or one of his assistants was privvy to this depth of analysis and insight, Queta would be on the floor!
***
The scuttlebutt on the street is Morey is going to do a sign and trade with Simmons for Harden this summer. Uh what? Someone explain this me…..
PHI payroll for next season is set to be 148M. If Harden opts out, PHI cannot sign him outright then trade Simmons to BKN. They have to have the space before the signing. This is where WE get involved, this is where McGenius strikes again! Morey knows it, he is just pretending otherwise, or putting off the inevitable, feigning strength when he has a weak hand.
This is cutting through all the rhetoric, this is what I am interested in. If my trade proposal and what I think our standing proposal is to PHI, namely:
HB. Harris
Buddy. FOR. Simmons
Marvin
TT
—– ——-
64M 69M
This trade saves PHI 5M this year but what is relevant to them is the cap space created when the season ends to enable pursuit of Harden. They relinquish rights to Marvin, TT expires. From 148M we subtract the amount due to Harris and Simmons (73M total) and we add the amount due to HB and Buudy (barring a subsequent trade to create more cap room) of +39M. (148 – 73 + 39 = 114M.) So this trade would reduce projected payroll for PHI for next season by 34M dollars (148 – 114). This is what Morey knows, this is what McGenius knows. Is not a move like this absolutely necessary to have any chance at Harden?
Of course this above trade is one-sided from a talent perspective. So here’s what we can do. Take our unprotected pick. You cannot have Ty, you cannot have Davion, but you can have the pick. Thats what I think is on the table or where this may be headed. Lets see if I am right, I usually am. 😉
Very decent chance this is your best post ever.
Sometimes you have good things to say. Your rebounding points are solid and your trade idea is well thought out, but when you assign demeaning nicknames to folks and talk of your own expertise, it really belittles everything you write. Booze Hound, really? WTF is that?
House Plant says “hi.”
If you’ve ever seen Lonely Guy with Steve Martin and Charles Grodin, “House Plant” would be a very affectionate nickname.
Can’t do that trade. Maximum Roster requirements apply here. There’s a reason Pompey mentioned both Reed and Joe. Both Philly and Sac are at 15 players on their roster. That means someone has to be waived or more players have to be included.
In this game and the last few games, the Kings are better with Bagley on the court. I think he was a plus 8 this game. Buddy played almost 20 minutes scored two points had one rebound and turned it over twice.
Can they please relocate?
u relocate, we just need to rebuild
16 years.
I’ve been scouring the internet for the perfect G1C apparel, and I think that I may have found it. For those souls that are still brave/crazy enough to watch this dreck in person:
This will do an adequate job of protecting your identity, while also conveying your thoughts as it pertains to this Mickey Mouse outfit…at least until the Disney Company files suit against you.
It looks like he’s having a hard time picking his nose.
I think Hali, Davion, and maybe Queta and Terence Davis can stay. I think everyone else should be dealt at the trade deadline, around draft, or in the offseason. Anyone with any significant time here has now been poisoned with our crap culture and needs to go. The 4 I’ve named haven’t had the stink of the Kingdom infect them, yet. Watching Holmes and Barnes look like clowns last night along with the rest of the “vets” showed me these guys give less than a f*ck about being here. Get them out so we can start to permeate the team with some kind of winning mentality players here, or with young guys who don’t know any better.
The fact that those are the best players you could come up with that deserve to stay means we are beyond screwed. I mean Quetta, really?!? What’s with this site being so enamored with a guy who can’t crack the rotation on THE SACRAMENTO KINGS!!!! That’s the guy you decide to keep? Lol
Eh, whatever.
That’s what the Kings defense said!
Kangz just haven’t been same since CoJo left, tip your cap to a great.
Fox plus picks for CoJo!!! Do it monte!!!
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