The Kings’ game was a tale of two halves, marked by a strong start and a wet fart of an ending. The first half showcased the kind of performance we’d hope to see, where the squad competed fiercely on defense and didn’t settle for the first open look on offense. At one point, the Kings held a lead of 13 points in the second quarter, seemingly poised to maintain a double-digit advantage by halftime. However, the game’s dynamics shifted dramatically when Fred VanVleet splashed back-to-back three-pointers from well beyond the line. This brief yet pivotal 45-second period was arguably the most significant turn of events in the game.
Apart from the initial spark of promise, The Kings’ performance was rather lackluster, especially from their key players. Domantas Sabonis had a rough time with his ball handling and passing, ending the game with nine turnovers. De’Aaron Fox’s impact was significantly diminished due to his inefficiency, recording a disappointing 7 out of 21 from the field. Keegan Murray, seemingly battling an injury, upheld his defensive prowess but was largely ineffective on offense. Kevin Huerter seems to be going through possibly his toughest season yet, and Harrison Barnes, unfortunately, lived up to his reputation of underperforming when it matters most.
Furthermore, The Kings continued the Kangz trend of falling short of expectations, especially on their home turf. With a strategy heavily reliant on three-point shooting prowess, they shot a dismal 6 out of 32. In stark contrast, the Rockets had rather impressive accuracy, netting 12 out of their 29 shots from beyond the arc. Heck, even Amen Thompson nailed a three from the corner and he shoots just 13% from downtown. Other key team stats were mostly balanced in fouls, turnovers, and assists underscoring the importance of the three ball for the Beam team.
Give credit to the Rockets though. They were down big early in this game and never conceded or packed it in. They continued to battle, fight over screens, play within themselves, and trust the process. The Kings, however, became complacent and lethargic, which was evident in their gameplay and lack of energy.
Malik Monk emerged as the silver lining for the Kings, especially in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter, contributing 13 points and displaying remarkable passion on the court. The Kings did succeed in narrowing the deficit to a certain extent but were ultimately forced to resort to fouling in an attempt to turn the game around. Unfortunately, this strategy backfired as the Rockets’ free throw shooters, who consistently perform at over 80%, capitalized on these opportunities.
This loss was a disappointing one, adding to a series of frustrating defeats this season. It’s clear that the Kings require some significant changes. Even though the trade deadline has passed, I believe there is ample talent within the roster and it might be beneficial to contemplate benching players like Barnes and Huerter who haven’t been performing up to the mark. Instead, giving players like Keon Ellis and Trey Lyles a chance may enhance the team’s defense and could also serve as a wake-up call for Barnes and Huerter.
We keep trying to figure out who these Kings are – and they keep telling us:
They are 3Q team some nights and show up for a full game other nights. Today was a 3/4 game.
They play down to their competition and they play up to their competition.
If somehow, someway, they get the 6th seed (Pels are jellin’ at 5) or through the Play-In I could see them going 0-4 or 1-4 as easily as 4-3 or 4-2 depending on the opponent.
Their point differential is +0.5. They are an above .500 team with a decent record. Nothing more, nothing less.
They are also no longer a 30 win team. I like that.
“We keep trying to figure out who these Kings are”….. You don’t know? Watch the tape.
They frustrate, they disappoint and disappear – but they are competitive as verified by their records and impressive wins.
These are Kings and the stench of Kangz no longer lingers, despite these lesser team losses (especially at home).
I get it… I was frustrated before the game started because I knew they would lose… So when you started your comment with “We” I’m like…..
you got me there –
my confusion is mine own, even if parts are shared. However, I know I am not alone in seeking answers even when they are starkly apparent
I’ve got your answers… I’m Ellis5… I have an avatar
2 things concern my about the Kangz
1-as a group this team has the worst focus I’ve seen/like 1/2 are in another world Even Sabonis/turning it over a billion times. Are you not paying attention?
Worse the opponent = less focus. The only good thing is if they get in playoffs- they are forced to focus.
2- Hearing Ham talk about McNuggs saying getting back to the O was key for post all star run-Brown saying it was D/O would work itself out….
Suggests two different agendas. Maybe why Heurter wasn’t traded ?…McN -values shooting over all- wants to see how this team fairs in playoffs and he overvalues Huerter ?
If we make the playoffs…IF, I see some favorable matchups and we could “accidentally” make a deep playoff run.
If we flame out, which it looks like we will do, it is a MUST that we get longer and more athletic in the off season. I’m actually ok with Fox and Monk in the backcourt as long as our front court is 6’8 and over and that starts with Keegan at the 3. We need weak side help bad because HB is not cutting it. We need a PF that is between maybe 6’9 and 6’11 that can spread the floor and protect the rim especially when Sabonis is getting cooked in the post. I’m not sure of who that PF could be, but he has to click beside Sabonis.
We know what the flaws are and it’s up to MM to address them. It’s up to the team to want it bad enough to fight 48 mins against whoever.
Right. Monte should have traded Herter and Barnes or replaced them. Holding on was stupid. Maybe he’ll get lucky and able to get something but everyone could see their limitations in last years playoffs.
Now, I’m not sure if there’s a rift between GM and coach. Meaning-Brown needs and wants defenders but MM isn’t moving.
I am diappointed in a number of Kings this year. Barnes should not have been paid that much money. He hasn’t lived up to rhat contract. Huerter it seems can’t shoot the 3 ball anymore. The bench( even Lyles) have been disappointing except Monk who still turns the ball over too much. Lately I have been disappointed in Murray. He has played really good defense but has struggled on offense. He seems to be down either on himself, the team or both. Doesn’t get enough touches especially in the second half. I wish the Kings could play defense like the Rockets. Maybe they can’t. Brown has been harping on this for 2 years and its only gotten slightlly better. Go figure. If the Kings could play defense and be as physical as the Rockets they would be a shoe i for the playoffs.
Maybe it’s the system but Murray needs to start making shots. It’s ridiculous at this point.
But I wonder if this is a byproduct of MMs desire to hold Huerter and Barnes.
Murray needs to snap the fuck out of it and be more consistent on O. That might require Brown facilitating that.
You could be right. IMO it has to do with confidence . He might feel a little left out. Another is he puts so much energy on defense he has little left for offense.
We know who they are. They dominate the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Warriors, Lakers, Suns, OKC, etc. They also routinely lose and blow big leads against subpar non-payoff teams, and often at home. It is what it is.
Dominate…Not so sure that’s totally accurate:
All of the wins against Denver came at the luxury of Denver missing key starters every single match up. Outside of the last game. Which Denver won.
The 2 wins against the Wolves were one without Mcdaniels and Their number one guy, Edwards missing the entire second half of the last Game.
Dubs? The season series is tied. So, I don’t see the domination.
Lakers are joke.
Both Suns victories came without Beal
and or Booker.
OKC gets cooked by The Kings because Chet is too light. Biyombo will definitely help them.
kings got no shot against a health Pels or Clips squad.
Also playoff basketball is not the regular season. The Heat and Lakers prove that every single year.
The record is very very misleading. This team is slightly above average.
They can beat some great teams. Of those teams are without key starters.
No one on earth would pick the Kings against a fully health Nugs
team in a series. No one.
.
He’ll need that real soon!
Is an easily predictable loss the same as a scheduled loss?
For the Kings…absolutely.
Scheduled home loss against a non-payoff sub .500 team
Physical/athletic teams make these Kings look like hot summer dog farts.
The small lineup of Ellis, Davion, Monk was really bad tonight. I don’t have the numbers for them, but the eye test was burning my corneas.
Like the Rockets. Wish we could do that. Rockets are physical and play really good defense. IMO teams better look out for them next year. Why can’t we shoot the 3 like Van Fleet or close to it?
Release the bream!
The Kings are who we thought they were but hoped they weren’t . The Rockets are not a good team but compete and play defense like the Kings talk about it .
IMO the Rockets wiil made a difference next year. They hace the tools.
If you didn’t see this coming I’m not sure you’ve been paying attention. Physical team with a bunch of irritants coached by Ime Udoka? No chance.
They are obviously not going to do any better than .500 the rest of the way. 45-46 wins will get you 7th or 8th. Last year’s 3rd was in a weak West. Still it’s not that bad. So why are we so dissatisfied? They never seem to rise to the occasion against a team that’s hot or young and fast or physical. I don’t think we should give up on Mike Brown, but he seems to be a system’ coach more than a ‘game’ coach. And they can’t seem to get 2 or 3 guys hot in the same game. They’ve regressed a bit since last year. Changes are needed, but that’s for the off season. Let’s just hope they win their play in game. It’s still great to watch Fox and Sabonis.
I guess that means we’re beating Milwaukee on Tuesday!
Each time we’ve gotten to 10 wins over 0.500 this season, we’ve gone on to lose the next two games. That probably means we’re losing next game too.
I think it does . Bucks very lucky to beat Kings in Milwaukee . Very frustrating team but still fun to watch with several very good players . Just not enough .
If this team truly desired a winning culture defense would be a reality.
Half the team cares. The rest want stats for a contract.
I’ll take the loss like all the other losses. In transcendental context
I went to sleep after the Kangz showed up in the 3rd quarter.
It was too late for me too get worked up about a team that plays down to its opponents again and again.
I’m also a bit annoyed that Domas didn’t secure the triple double with another turnover. Would have been funny to see the statheads argue over the question whether it counts as one or not.
I really don’t care about double doubles or triple doubles. I care about WINS and I hope Sabonis does too. Two things he needs work on is securing the ball and finishing his layups.
If I may let me tell you a story. A father with a family of 3 wanted to comment on a fan forum. He was a white collar worker so he liked to comment on TKH and make some more serious, some less serious comments and often with a hint of sarcasm.
Once in a while other commenters would take his tongue in cheek comments literally and he would chuckle. And his son would ask, “why are you laughing father?” And his wife would respond “someone just fell into the sarchasm, dear.”
And they lived happily ever after, while caring about wins, triple doubles and each other.
I really really hope in my heart that will happen.
Fox is a defensive stud that will guide this team to multiple championships.
The sarchasm is a place where one can be real and other don’t see it or understand it.
Disappointed again. Last year was fun, but this year just pisses me off.
I can’t see this team rising to the occasion and actually making the playoffs. There’s just no heart.
I think its the fans who are the big losers. I feel so sorry for them. If I may let me tell you a story. A father with a family of 5 wan’t to give his wife and kids(ages 10, 8 and 6) an experience of going to a King’s game. He was a blue collar worker and had to save money to take them to the game.( wasn’t cheap ). After the first half the 3 kids and his wife were really excited. At half time he even, although he could’t afford it bought everyone lunch at the game. The second half was terrible and because the King’s couldn’t figure out the Rockets defense, which was really good, and the fact that the Kings shoot 18% from 3 but which they were supposed to be a great 3 point shooting team lost the game. The 6 year old cried and asked his Dad why they lost. Right away the 10 year old knew the answer. He first said why can’t the Kings play defense like the Rockets do? Next he said the Kings can’t shoot the 3 ball anymore. They rely on it too much. They left the game disappointed like all the other fans. Really pathetic. Will the dad pay so much money again to watch another game with his family. I don’t think so.
Yeah, if only the kings traded a 2046 4th round pick for Tari Eason like you wanted we wouldn’t be in this situation!!
I really like Eason. Two others I really like are Jalen Smith and Jalen Johnson.
And on Family Day too…think of the children!
What STH in their right mind would return next season with a 15% increase in their package price when this kind of product routinely shows up on their home court. Pay more for shit entertainment?
Adamsite can you or someone else help me. I for the love of it can’t get a straight answer on how much cap space we have this summer in order to retain Monk and get a good player through free agency? Can you help? Thanks.
The NBA salary cap is slated to to be at $141M, with the tax kicking in at around $171M. Kings currently sit around $151M in salary next season, so they are already over the cap. They’ll be to offer Monk the max on his Early Bird Rights (staring just under $18M per year) which will put the Kings on the cusp of the tax threshold. They will also have the Mid-Level Exception (which is around $12M) and their B-Annual Exception (which is under $5M). The Kings won’t have their “room” exception since they will be over the cap and they have no trade exceptions.
This is doesn’t take into consideration a possible lottery pick salary. It is possible the Kings keep their pick, with it’s cap hold, give Monk the max they can offer, resulting in the Kings being in the tax. Their MLE would then drop to $5M instead of $12, which would suck.
Basically the Kings are capped out, but with no real bad deals. If they want to clear space it’s going to take moving players for lower contacts. The worst part of all of this is if Monk walks for a larger deal elsewhere, the Kings are still above the cap.
Thanks Adamsite. I was hoping we could retain Monk and possible pick up a player like Jalen Johnson who will probably be a free agent this summer.
He’s not a free agent and there is no way to add talent like that through free agency. IMO, the best hope is the Kings can remain below the tax line and use the full MLE ($12M) on an impactful bench player, but they aren’t getting a game changer.
Maybe Monte can find some guy coming off his rookie deal that is an RFA or had his option turned down who is looking for a change of scenery, or has a PO, and doesn’t have a future role with his current team . A Saddiq Bey, Obi Toppin, or Jalen Smith may fall into that category, but the Kings would be competing with every other team offering the MLE, and that assumes those type of guys would settle for $12M.
The double edged sword is still the possibility that Monk gets his max from the Kings and they go over the tax to make it happen. Then they don’t have that $12M to use and the Kings are rounding out the same core players with vet minimum deals.
I really like Jalen Smith. He can play along side Sabonias. Can spread the floor and can shoot the 3. He would also be the backup center for Sabonis. He has great stats on rim protection and rebounds. Also looks like the Pacers aren’t that interested in Toppin. I would propose a trade of Lyles, Edwards and Jones and a resonable compensation for Smith and Toppin.
Indy is a team to watch. They are going to go all in with Pascal so I’d imagine Toppin or Smith are the odd guys out. Toppin is an RFA and Smith has a TO that he’ll likely opt of.
The Kings can’t trade Edwards as he is a UFA come July.
OK lets just go after Smith. He’s young and hasn’t come close to reaching his potential. Also the other day I read a trade proposal sending Michal Bridges to the Kings for Harrison Barnes Davion Mitchell and 3 firsts. If not I would also thing along those lines for Dejounte Murray.
This team has one problem: they play to the level of their opponents every night. That’s why they can beat a team like the Nuggets 3 out of 4 nights, then lose to a team like the Rockets or the short handed Pistons.
Championship teams don’t do that. They set a bar for how they plan to execute, opponents be damned. Not sure if that’s a coaching thing or a players thing or a combination of both, but its going to have to change for this team to really find ultimate success.
If they lose one more to a team below 500 then its loghts out for any playoffs this season.
Haha. The Doomers are out in full force. Bunch of uninformed dystopian whiners! Why don’t the Doomers call out the real culprit in these misfortunate games? Red Diva gets a FREE PASS.
Kevin is a nice guy. So let’s not pick on the nice guy. Do I have the Hivemind rationale right?
Back in the day, I was relentless in my attack on Buddy Yield, Marvin Bustly and Fluke Walton during their tenure. And all I got around these parts for my wisdom and expertise was the label of “hater”. How did that analysis work out?
Huerter’s confidence is shot. He’s a broken player. He is a bricklayer and when he’s not laying bricks he can’t shake his defender to get a clean look, wasting precious seconds off the shot clock running around like a decapitated chicken.
The problem with Huerter is you can’t tell where one slump ends and a new one begins. His season has effectively been one long slump. And it is inexcusble when he shares the court with TWO incredible unselfish players.
McGenius should have dumped his ass during his brief uptick in play before the trade deadline.
We owe our 2024 pick for this bullshit? Sad! Is Huerters headband too tight, restricting the blood flow to the brain? Is he still butthurt that Duarte would have taken his job had he not suffered the knee contusion in the preseason?
The coach has shown undying loyalty to him. How much is enough? Duarte is wasting away on the bench when the dude was money in his brief minutes lately. Free Duarte!
It is unbelievable to think when Huerter first joined us he was phenomenal and was the league leader in threes for November and December at like 45%, IIRC. Now, he can’t even get open. What happened?
Easy. No confidence, no chance. Flailing confidence, nary a chance. Also go back and look at the tape from last year and you will see Huerter was a little leaner. Domas is having an incredible year because he adopted the Doug Christie diet regime, cutting out the grains and gluten.
Our center is a beast. Our SG is bloated.
Monk is super shifty and quick. This allows him to get to his spots. Huerter is the anti-thesis of this. No shiftiness. Little to NO quickness.
No other fan sees this but me?
For the Doomers who think we have NO chance in the Playoffs we have arguably two Top 10 NBA players who are just waiting for the chance to redeem themselves for the Game 7 loss . Then there’s Monk who lives for those moments.
The pivotal factor is Fox figuring out the opponent defense. When he gets free and loose, it is lights out and game over. Last night was his first bad game since the All-Star break.
He kind of earned himself an off night, unless you are some kind of cluess fan who thinks no off nights are allowed.
The last two games are DEFENSE was friggin great for stretches, in particular in the first half. We ran out of steam vs the Spurs because it was the second of a back-to-back, and the reason are defense faltered last night was because we could not make a shot.
We should NEVER schedule early start games. I don’t care what anyone says. It happens too often that when the games do not tip at 7 PM local time, our shooter are thrown off their rhythm.
There’s many other comments I intend to make about Davion, Keon, Sasha, and others but I have more important things to do.
For now I will conclude by saying I am NOT pessimistic in the least about this team. In the context of the bumps and the bruises in a rocky season, we are trending UP. Did you expect linear progression to the Promised Land? Get a grip and a clue.
Do you know what would be disconcerting? Fox doesn’t care about defense. Domas took the money and took a step back. Keegan sophomore slump was real. Davion as a bust was irrefutably confirmed (he made like 89% of his shots over 4 games, albeit unguarded, and 67% over 12 games). Sasha is a bust. Keon cannot play in the league.
None of the aforementioned is true. Hence, nothing that has happened precludes us from peaking at just the right time and shocking the world in April.
I was at this game and have a somewhat different take than that portrayed in the article.
It felt like the kings offense never really got going. Yes they were up in the first half but you could tell that things were not working appropriately on offense and unfortunately that never seemed to change. They had a lead in spite of their offensive struggles not because the offense was working well in the first half. The shots were not falling all game long. This was an especially bad game for Fox as shots that normally go in for him were clanking off the rim. The 3 point shooting was abysmal and really impacted the rest of the offense for the entire game.
Defensively things were better, as it was the defense was the only thing keeping the Kings in this game as the shots were getting missed and the dumb turnovers were happening. Huerter was actually doing really well on the defensive end of things, until he was forced to sit with 4 early fouls. While I agree Huerter didn’t offer much in the way of offense, no Kings player was particularly good on offense. Whole team was missing shots all night long. I thought Huerter deserved the DPOG for the game.
3rd quarter was the worst of it, as the Kings either got a little more lax on defense or the Rockets made some good halftime adjustments. In any event this is when the biggest run was made. Kings tightened the defense back up in the 4th, but the offense continued to not co-operate. It felt like there was a lid on the basket for our guys. Coldest shooting night in awhile as no one really could get it going offensively. Monk probably was the best of the bunch but it never really sparked the rest of the team. Domas did get some decent buckets also, but as noted he was also a turnover machine. Guy couldn’t get a triple double because nobody could hit their shots to give him the assists he needed.
So to sum up, Defense actually played pretty well overall except for the 3rd quarter. Offense was off all night long and shots were just not falling. Huerter actually played really good defense and shouldn’t shoulder the blame for this loss and doesn’t deserve to be benched. We had team wide shooting woes and sometimes that just happens, and there is nothing to be done about it. Trey Lyles couldn’t really get it going on offense either, and played plenty, Keon Ellis didn’t score a single point in his playing time either. Putting them in the starting lineup seems like a dramatic overreaction to a really bad shooting night by the team.
I thought Huerter played well on offense also yesterday. some good passes and cuts. he matches up well with Houston I think.
It’s to the point where you hope the Kings play a top ten team instead of a bottom ten team missing key players. So much for scheduled wins and losses.
OT: Golbert is back
The question here, is this a talent thing, a coaching thing, a commitment thing? Are the Kings only so good that they can win certain games. In an 82 game schedule teams have to occasionally coast. Usually a great team can knock down a weak opponent while doing a little coasting. Can the Kings learn to do that? Without all the dumb losses, the Kings would probably be about the three seed right now. Would a line up change addess this problem? Would adding another superstar change things? Or is this just a Kings’ problem. The third quarter looked a lot like a Luke Walton third quarter.
Yes to all 3
Its a focus thing. They lack a consistent focus and their talent level isn’t such that it can compensate and they get killed for it. When they are dialed in they’re near unbeatable. That’s been less than 1/4 of their victories this year, though.
Badge Legend