The Sacramento Kings games on Sunday and Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies have been postponed by the league due to COVID-19 contact tracing protocols, according to multiple reports.
The Grizzlies‘ next three games against Portland and Sacramento have been postponed.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 21, 2021
Friday (Portland), Sunday and Monday (Sacramento) are postponed for Memphis, because of contact tracing leaving them without eight eligible players. https://t.co/roGQpvUo6y
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 21, 2021
To be clearer: League says games are postponed due to "unavailable players" on the roster, and "contact tracing for other players." League doesn't specify that Memphis is without eight eligible players for games. https://t.co/3anLv3lSrc
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 21, 2021
At this point the league has not begun rescheduling any postponed games, but the league only released half of the league schedule to start the year. As we near the halfway point of the season there will be a short break (what would normally be the All-Star Break but no All-Star game will happen this year), and the league will then release the second half schedule.
Sacramento has been more fortunate than most teams, with this being the first postponement to impact the Kings. The Kings have also been fortunate that contact tracing has not impacted the availability of Kings players once the season started. The Kings did have some players miss the start of camp and preseason due to COVID protocols.
The Kings are scheduled to play the Knicks on Friday and then will be off until January 27th when they’re schedule to play the Orlando Magic.
I don’t think the league is going to hit their 72 game goal this year. At this rate they’d be lucky to get to 60 for each team.
I have to wonder how this is going to affect player and staff salaries.
Yeah, the postponements are just going to keep racking up going forward.
It’s now pretty clear why the League didn’t schedule the second half of the season. They may just use it to balance the games played if some teams have played far fewer than others.
Ja Morant is ducking the player that De’Aaron Fox thinks he is.
I just hope the players and staff on the Grizzlies are able to stay healthy.
Yesterday was the deadliest day of the pandemic so far.
I was bored watching the Kings last night so … oh well!
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Yea I had the game on mute in the background and don’t remember a thing.
I listened. I could tolerate Doug before, but now it’s just so…. bad. He has np self control.
This is what annoys me. I think Doug has the potential, he’s just not utilizing it. Maybe his analyst career will go like his playing career did: It takes 7 years, LA and NY in the rearview to kick in.
Toronto fans will love him in about 4 years if the TL continues.
He just needs more minutes to reach his potential.
I really thought C-Webb would be great the first time I heard him. But he never improved, and just got worse and worse over time. Doug’s better than C-Webb, but he’s worse now than he was last season.
Come on, you don’t like a monotone Mark Jackson impersonation?
If Chris could just cut his points down to 1.5 possessions it would be a huge help. He walks over four or five possessions, I don’t understand how that is even allowed.
Doug is just bad. I mean really, really bad. I don’t know how any of you can tolerate it. I feel like we should start a drinking game every time he grunts like he’s squeezing one out.
They’re so close. I actually like Kayte and Kyle and Koz. I like Mark Jones. But with Doug I can only last maybe five minutes of game clock. Thankfully I’ve figured out how to sync KHTK.
Doug could be great, because he really is an excellent analyst, but he’s been trying to find himself a catchphrase from day one. It’s exhausting.
Chris Berman has destroyed two generations of sportscasters, and I see no evidence that this awful legacy will abate.
I actually enjoy Doug’s commentary with Mark Jones far more than I ever did with Grant.
Yeah. Didn’t like him at all when he first started. I’m actually fairly happy with the current lineup. The PBP guys are both better than Grant. Though I may never know how that early tech might be important late in the game.
How do you keep track of which team will start with the ball in fourth quarter, and how many points the leading team needs to score in the last five minutes of the game to ice it? I’m totally lost without Grant guiding me through those tricky nuances of the game.
I used to wonder why he would unfailingly explain how the rest of the quarters would begin after each opening tip. I just assumed that people who watched a lot of basketball would be able to figure it out on their own. Less experienced viewers might appreciate a quick mention of who would have possession at the beginning of the next quarter as they headed to the break, but the treatises that Napear regularly offered on the subject struck me as odd.
I do like Mark Jones as PBP, although he’s also got a few tendencies that can be annoying. Twice in the first six games, he asked DC if he new what NBA stood for (Never Broke Again. Hilarious!), and he refers to free throws as “foul shots,” which isn’t wrong, but sounds funny for some reason..
I suppose the main thing is that I miss Jerry, which certainly isn’t either of those guys’ faults.
Maybe the Kings can practice some defense during this time
silver linings!
You beat me to the punch. Lets hope it does some good.
https://twitter.com/BenGolliver/status/1352308467504082944
Staring at this chart trying not to think of the alternate universe where Dave Joerger is currently coaching a Fox-Luka backcourt to a WCF appearance
And to think, Joerger now lead assistant for the 76ers, will make the playoffs before the Kings do.
hmm I don’t know. In this alternate scenario Vlade is definitely still GM. Is a core of Fox/Buddy/Bogi (Vlade matched his deal with ATL in this scenario)/Doncic/Barnes(assuming Vlade still makes this trade)/Holmes get you to the WCF? Playoffs, for sure. But that sounds like a team that loses in 6 games to the Clippers in the second round. Still not enough defense.
This is where the butterfly effect gets tricky. I don’t think the Kings trade for Barnes in 2019 if we draft Luka in 2018.
But yes, to your larger point, Vlade would still be running the show.
I feel like the Barnes trade actually makes more sense in this alternate universe. But maybe Vlade wouldn’t have seen it that way.
I always figured that if Doncic were drafted there would have been no need to trade for Barnes. I just figured the Kings would have rolled out with Fox, Buddy and Luka with Bogi as super sixth man.
Hell with Luka’s size you could even run him at the point 4 spot. Imagine a lineup of Fox, Buddy, Bogi, Luka, and any rim protecting/rebounding big you want.
I have finally gotten to the point that I can watch a Mavs game without seething with rage. I think it’s only possible because Vlade was fired.
Now, once Bustley is dealt for a late 2nd rounder or Cash Considerations, the process of healing will hopefully be complete.
Weren’t they on a 5 game winning streak? It’s probably for the best. Prayers that everyone is safe.
On the other hand, the Grizzlies will likely have Justice Winslow and Jaren Jackson, Jr., back by the time these games can be rescheduled.
Might be a decent time to fire Walton. Next coach would have a full week to prepare.
By prepare, do you mean scouting Cade and Mobley?
New Coach Preparation step 1: Tell Buddy that unless he’s driving the lane, if he dribbles more than twice on a possession, he’s yanked.
Step 2: Suggest that defenders stop leaving their own man alone on the perimeter to “help” by lurking near the paint, particularly when said player shoots better than 35% from distance.
Step 3: Spend whatever time is necessary to learn how to keep your mask properly situated more than 10% of the time. Understand that your nose is also a way that breath leaves your body, and that matters because there is currently a pandemic.
Step 4: Have additional strategies other than calling time outs when you wish to remind people that you are still the head coach.
Step 5: Have basketball bona fides other than your dad is in the hall of fame.
I’m certain that any potential hire could manage all of these things in less than an hour. He can use the other 167 hours that week to donate plasma and find a decent steakhouse.
Drive the lane but only 2 bouncy bouncies Buddy! Games already is little over his head.
Your friendly reminder from Captain Obvious that there is a very real possibility that Monte McNair is in the early stages of collecting picks, and if done right it’s not going to happen in one trade deadline.
It’s strange that this is the same core of players (minus Hali, GRIII, Whiteside) Joerger coached and he was able to get them to play some good exciting basketball and darn near make the playoffs. Walton comes in and the Kings are back to being one of the worst teams in the league, even after adding Hali, GRIII, Whiteside and Bagley coming back. I don’t know much about the intricacies of basketball but Walton as the coach has been a disaster.
I have to say I am a little confused by the comments here recently. Wasn’t it widely known, or at least accepted, that the Kings would be pretty bad this year and that the tank was on?
I guess I just don’t understand why fans who have been here the whole time are now surprised that the same team as last year continues to struggle.
I don’t mean to tell anyone how to fan, but I am seeing the same people who were (rightly) calling for the tank before the season now making comments that indicate they think we should be making changes to try to win every game. This is what a Walton-led tank looks like.
Try to enjoy Fox’s improved attitude (in terms of being aggressive and taking more shots on the offensive end while digging in on the defensive end). Hope for Hield’s journey to continue to his next destination. Root for Burt to continue to exceed expectations, try to keep hope alive that Bagley can become an average-level NBA player. Enjoy the individual excellence that is Rashaun Holmes.
Personally, I watch every game hoping the Kings win…but at least for this one year, I don’t mind that they lose if it means we get a top 10 pick and we get to jettison the POS Lose Alton.
I agree with you in that expecting the Kings to win more than 25-30 games this year is rather unrealistic, and that should be the starting point when grading the team. Among those of us who are operating under that premise, I’d imagine that most of the discontent lays with how truly awful a lot of the losses have been.
The defense is historically bad, but for me what grates the most is the long stretches where the offense stagnates. I can understand how players might drift into that mode at times, but when they do, the head coach ought to be calling out a play that requires movement and passing, to break the players out of the rut. I honestly have no idea what Lose Walton does during games other than call time outs.
Badge Legend