In a world in which the Western Conference went a little crazy at the trade deadline and loaded up for the coming playoff race, the stagnant Kings can’t really afford to blow many opportunities at home as they did against the Luka Doncic-less Dallas Mavericks on Friday evening. With just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter, Sacramento fell behind by double-digits and didn’t find themselves within nine or fewer points until a late run in the final period that wasn’t quite enough to secure the victory.
As has been their habit for much of the season, the Kings failed to play any defense early in the game, granting the Mavericks a 45-point first quarter and 74-point first half, and while they mostly shut down Dallas in the fourth, holding the Mavs to just 21 points, seven or eight minutes of intense defensive effort simply wasn’t enough. Kyrie Irving was the star for Dallas, scoring 25 points and recording 10 assists, while newly named All-Star De’Aaron Fox put up 33 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
THE GOOD
Keegan Murray: Sacramento’s rookie enjoyed another strong performance at home. As has been his norm this season, Murray was scorching from deep, knocking down four of his five three-point attempts on his way to 16 points on 10 total shots.
All-Star De’Aaron Fox: In his first game since being named as an injury replacement All-Star, De’Aaron Fox showed exactly why he deserved the accolade. He was the only one locked in offensively for the Kings in the fourth, and he finished the night with 33 points on just 16 field goal attempts, while tying his season-high in free throw attempts at 14.
THE BAD
Defensive Rebounding: For the vast majority of the game, the Kings struggled mightily in every defensive category, but the defensive glass was especially ugly at times. The Mavericks won the offensive rebounding battle 11-5, and many of those extra possessions led to extra points for Dallas.
THE UGLY
Malik Monk injury: In the third quarter, Malik Monk drove into the lane and came down on JaVale McGee’s foot, which also seemed to twist his knee awkwardly, and he missed the remainder of the game. Thankfully, Monk was eventually able to limp his way back to the locker room, but it seems unlikely he’ll be available for tomorrow night’s rematch with the Mavericks.
The King of Kings
De’Aaron Fox: Domantas Sabonis once again flirted with a triple double, but De’Aaron Fox was the primary reason, both offensively and defensively, that the Kings had a shot at a comeback in the fourth quarter.
Operation: MCNAIR – Season 2 Watch
Tonight’s chosen charity is Project Hope, an organization currently assisting with relief efforts in Turkey. Donate if you are able and be sure to notify Will via Twitter (@WillofThaPeople) or e-mail (donations@kingsherald.com) so he can continue to track donation totals.
Up Next
Saturday, February 11th vs Dallas Mavericks – 7:00 P.M. (PT)
We really need to win the SeGa. No excuses.
It looks like Dallas could be a tough match-up. Trey Lyles couldn’t keep up with their athleticism and the Kings struggled to find another bench option with KZ out and Ellis and Edwards not ready for prime time.
Is Reggie Jackson available? Or Pat Bev?
Giving up 45 in the first created too big a hole . Excellent D in 2nd half but Kings not good enough to overcome 24 minutes of zero ball pressure D .
The team’s final record could be very ugly if they don’t learn how to play defense.
As we all know, the margins are thin. Any injuries practically will crush.
Huerter has been a tad disappointing. He needs to, at least, find some consistency with his shot and he jus not a great defender.
Davion definitely needs ti do more offensively, even if it’s just drive and dish. He’s stagnant on O and is his career/game progress.
With no trades those 2 and Monk are going to have to play at a high level more often to make the playoffs.
But how can they possibly get better on D without new personnel?
Jesus, and I need to learn to edit my pasts….posts
Especially when posting whilst baked
That’s my biggest regret from no action at the trade deadline, too – we somehow have to get better at defense with the personnel we already have. Sometimes the two sides just can’t get a deal made, sigh.
Enjoy being baked. Somewhere in the world, Zach is smiling for you.
thanks. I will do. .
And I get no trades were done likely because none were there to be had.
Unfortunately, it was the starters that blew it tonight, and from all appearances they were looking for bench support pre-deadline.
The frustrating thing with Davion is we’ve all seen him have really good offensive games but it’s so few and far in between. I feel like he’d thrive as some teams starting point guard more than our 6th man/back up pg role
Many got fooled by him lighting it up in the last 25 games of last season. Putting up numbers against tanking teams shouldn’t be taken as reality.
erriblether than the 4th quarter the Kings were pathetic. 45 points in the first quarter. Do some simple math. That’s 180 points in the game. 74 points in the half. Do some simple math. That’s 148 in a half. Ball game over. Sure we played good defense in the 4th but what about the rest of the game? Dallas is known as a 3 point shooting team. In defending that last night we were no where in sight PERIOD. If we don’t start playing defense the whole game we will not make the playoffs. It’s as simple as that PERIOD. If we are playing a team that likes to drive to the basket we allow them to do so. So many straight line drives. We play a team like last night who love to shoot threes we let them do so. I might be wrong but not once did we drive them off the line. IMO we only have 2 players who defend at the point of attack Mitchell is one and believe it or not Fox in now the other. Davion is our best defender. I used to tell my players you hold your player under what you scored we win the game. Mitchell let’s say holds his opponent at 4 points the trouble he can’t score 5.
PS 6 important players last night shoot 2 for 18 from 3. Huerter last night followed Fox and Monk and instead of shooting 3’s made most of his points in the paint. Should have been an example to some others. We are supposed to be a really good 3 point shooting team. Other than Murray( 4 for 5) and Davis(3 for 4) everyone else was pathetic
I read this as the “Team’s financial record” I don’t know how to proceed from this comment
Cannot spot an opponent 45 in the first quarter and expect anything good to happen.
Well, it wasn’t great. That first quarter was brutal. Kyrie is still Kyrie on the court, really impressed with how he ran the show and it will be interesting to see how the Luka pairing works. When Keegan let’s it fly without thinking he is a big difference maker on offense.
After the long road trip and this ass whipping, I’ll save any real feelings for however they respond tomorrow night.
They better or go from third to fourth. We are really going in the wrong direction. Just a side note. I wish people especially commentators would not keep saying he’s an all star. They are both all stars. Let it lye. It puts too much pressure to preform. Just play basketball and do your best to win games. I am probably wrong but I think it puts a jinx on them. So much for superstition.
Somewhat off-topic, but is scoring “suffering” from inflation?
Fox had a great game offensively; 33 points on just 16 shots is wonderful efficiency, aided by 14 FTA. But in the scheme of things, it doesn’t make much of an impression when a guy goes off for 30+ points.
Look at this night; Brunson 30, Embiid 35, Siakam 35, Herro 31, Ja 32, Mitchell 30, Dame 38 and Giannis 35 (if you don’t count Bogdanovic and Grham 30’s in a double OT game).
And to top that, Tatum had 41 and SGA had 44.
I checked the scoring lists; Luka leads a list of 7 players averaging more than 30 PPG this season. That is unprecendented. You have to go back to the 1961-’62 season to find more than 3 players averaging more than 30PPG. It were 5 players, led by Wilt with a ridiculous 50.36 PPg, Oscar Robertson at 5th with a modest 30.78. That was the only season, othert than this year.
The last time there were 3 players averaging more than 30 PPG was in ’05-’06; Kobe, Iverson and LBJ.
Points don’t really come at a premium anymore, it seems.
Basketball is suffering from basketball.
The Hornets have the NBA’s worst offensive rating at 110.46 so far this season. Just 10 years ago that would have been good enough for 6th best. 20 years ago it would been the 2nd best offensive rating in the NBA The best Kings team of all time in 2001-02 had an offensive rating of 109.7.
That’s right, the worst offensive team today is outscoring the Webber era Kings. Things are just different
What a beautiful photo. Cary nice job.
Great pic. It’s the classic post-game parent soccer tunnel.
Kings try to bridge the gap on defense
Can we get Fox’s new baby off of Kings Row? Way too risky.
Thank you! I found myself wondering what happens to a one week old if it takes the knee of a flying 250 pound dude to the head. Why wouldn´t they sit in a luxury suite?
Vivek must have a suite the family can hang in for the next year or so?
I’m really hoping this is a joke….
For all the complaints about last night it was a pretty competitive game…..save for the final 5:15 of the 1st qtr.
Lineups for Dallas at that point: Wood, Hardy, Irving, Hardaway, Bullock.
Lineups for Sac at that point: Sabonis, Lyles, Monk, Davis, Mitchell
Reggie Bullock makes a layup at the 5 min mark. 21-17 Dallas.
Malik Monk misses a 3 at the 4:49 mark.
Kyrie Irving makes a 3 at the 4:39 mark. 24-17 Dallas.
Terence Davis makes a turnover a-t the 4:23 mark. Theo Pinson enters the game for Dallas for Tim Hardaway Jr.
Pinson makes a layup at the 4:06 mark. 26-17 Dallas. McKinley Wright IV enters the game for Irving. Keon Ellis enters the game for Sac subbing in for Davis.
Monk makes a layup at the 3:58 mark. 26-19 Dallas.
Wood misses at the 3:48 mark, Pinson grabs the O board, Bullock 3. 29-19 Dallas 3:43 to go.
Monk misses a 3 at the 3:31 mark.
Pinson misses a 3 at the 3:17 mark. Bullock Offensive rebound. Wood makes a 3. 32-19 Dallas 3:19 to go.
Sabonis misses an 18 footer at the 2:50 mark.
Wood makes a 3. 35-19 Dallas with 2:31 to go.
Monk makes a pass out of bounds at 2:06 to go. Brown takes time. Dallas up 35-19 with 2:06 remaining in the 1st quarter. At this point, Fox, Metu and Barnes come back on the floor for Sabonis, Mitchell and Lyles. Josh Green is subbed in for Reggie Bullock.
After that, Wood makes 2 more jumpers, layup plus a FT. Hardy makes a 3.
You lost the game because of a 3 minute spurt essentially. I know that’s not the narrative, but that’s what you’re looking at the actual difference in the game. Look through the PBP if you think I’m lying.
A game like this is where, and I hate to say it, you needed Richaun Holmes. I don’t have many issues with how McNair or Brown have handled this season overall, but Holmes is at the top of the list. If teams don’t want him, it’s because they think there’s something wrong. But you have to play him at some point because everyone of these things that happened with Wood are a perfect example of what you lose when you have Metu/Lyles on the floor with Sabonis instead of Holmes. Now could you have lost with Holmes? Sure, of course. Are Holmes and Sabonis a perfect fit together? No. But…..at some point you have to play them together or just accept this is your roster.
But, it would be stupid to not try and use Holmes in matchups such as these moving forward. What are you going to lose? Trade value?
You lost the game because of Christian FUCKING Wood. I repeat: Christian FUCKING Wood went off on your home floor and you lost. For 5 minutes, no less. CHRISTIAN. FUCKING. WOOD.
Un. Fucking. Believable. What a disgrace. You shoudl be run out on rails, Mike Brown and Monte McNair. Both ya’z. You should never lose TO CHRISTIAN FUCKING WOOD. EVER. EVER.
That’s the emotional side. The head side says: Do it again, you don’t have a playoff berth happening because you will sink down the standings incredibly fast. You cannot lose to the Christian Wood’s of the world and expect to win. You cannot lose because JaVale McGee grabbed 4 offensive rebounds. Since Jan 1, Jaden Hardy has been shooting 34% from 3 and went 4-5 from on you. (He also went 4-6 from 3 against the Jazz two games ago, as well.)
That could be chalked up to bad luck, bad design, or both. I’d argue both. Don’t. Let. It. Happen. Again. Make Doncic and Irving beat you with historical greatness tonight. And for fuck’s sake, DON’T EVER LOSE TO CHRISTIAN FUCKING WOOD EVER AGAIN MORONS. What the fuck is wrong with y’all?
Got pissed off again. Carry on. Christian. FUCKING. Wood. SMDH.
One thing to add about Richaun Holmes – i believe he’s also the reason Sac didn’t have roster movement this trade deadline.
I am supposing that the reason Plumlee, Zach Collins, Thomas Bryant and whomever aren’t wearing Purple and Grey is because Holmes couldn’t be moved and despite the inventory of second round picks that changed hands, I am guessing that they decided they wouldn’t waiver Holmes and couldn’t trade him, so there you are.
We’ll not ever know, of course.
And we’ve taken the name off of discussionlately, but we also don’t the Ranadive factor, financially, decision making or otherwise. It’s a nonfactor when you are winning, not so much when you ain’t.
Last I checked we’re still 3rd in the West…
and another thing:
I thought JeVale McGee was another sticky thorn in Sac’s side. At times it seemed like Shaq vs Spud, Manute vs. Mugsy, I.T. vs Rudy Gobert.
Dallas played a wonderful game on offense- their shots fell, they had tons of assists and some of it wasn’t just slow rotations on D, but crisp O overcoming modicum of D.
The Kings offense failed them as the Dallas D wasn’t noteworthy. They traded baskets until the second part of the 4th and Sac could never rally.
Let’s hope for better tonight.
Yep. He’s holding up a few things. I really don’t understand why teams didn’t take a swing on the guy as he was a buy low project that has NBA success unlike Mo Bamba who hasn’t but just simply fits a conceptual profile that every team looks for.
But, that’s the NBA for you. They are convinced there’s something wrong with Holmes and that’s why they won’t consider him. They are waiting for the Kings to move on and waive him which I just don’t see McNair doing anytime soon. Not until at least 2024 when there’s cap room to be gained by stretching Holmes at that point. That’s a season and a 1/3 to go.
I don’t think this is much of an issue personally. Not really. I don’t think McNair, if he were working for Steve Ballmer, would waive Holmes in this situation either.
McGee played a huge part for Dallas as well. As did Hardy. But Wood’s 13 points were the real difference in the game IMO. And it happened largely due to choices made by McNair and Brown regarding rotation and who is going to play. I have yet to understand why Richaun Holmes has not played more, and I still don’t understand it. I don’t understand it now the deadline has past and at this point, what do you have to lose?
I think that’s the challenge at this point. You kept continuity in the sake of chemistry, and it might work out yet. After all if you win 45 games, which is still very doable IMO, that’s a great season and a very successful one all things considered. Sure the fans want more, but they always do. Fans expect you to win 83 games in an 82 game season, as the saying goes.
I just think they will have to figure out the Holmes conundrum not because of trade value but because unlike Barnes, Metu or Lyles, he does things none of them do right now.
Strangely enough, tonight might be more winnable than last night was. Especially if the Mavs are trying to figure out how to play with Luka and Kyrie. We shall see, we always do.
Man it seems like people go right by Sabonis if he’s out near the free throw line.
There are definitely more than a few limitations to building around Domas. Dallas exploited them well, especially in the 1st qtr, last night.
Kings are looking a little tired, lately. I think the rotations are a little tight and the bench has zero flow, especially if one of Lyles or Monk aren’t hitting. The bench HAS to produce for this team to succeed, hope coach figures out how to get their rhythm going again.
On another note, I don’t know what you’re supposed to do when the opposing team is lacing the net when your applying decent pressure and your hands are in their face but they need to figure out how they’re going to cool teams off. When they let opposing offenses get hot they struggle to get back into games. Can’t imagine we’re going to fare better tonight with Luka back in action…
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