On Thursday night, the Sacramento Kings took on the red-hot Portland Trailblazers, who entered the evening on a five-game winning streak, and despite a back-and-forth affair, the Kings fell just short, losing 108-102. DeMar DeRozan led the Kings with 22 points, 4 boards, 7 assists, and 3 blocks, while Portland’s guards, Anfernee Simons (30 points) and Shaedon Sharpe (24 points off of the bench) pushed Portland to a win.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good:
DeMar – Bucket-getter: On the second night of a back-to-back, most of Sacramento’s players struggled to knock down shots from the floor. The team ended the night shooting 42% from the floor and 33% from deep, but DeRozan was Sacramento’s truly efficient scorer, as he put up 22 points on 9 of 16 shooting. Malik Monk (21 points) and Zach LaVine (22 points) were the Kings other leadings scorers, but it took the pair 39 field goal attempts to reach their 43 combined points.
The Bad:
Bench Differential: The Kings are waiting on one more deadline addition, Jake LaRavia, to make his debut, and his three-and-D play off of the bench will certainly be a boost, but Sacramento’s bench still looks pretty shaky at times. Keon Ellis (poor handle) and Devin Carter (too small, not a good enough shooter) can’t penetrate the lane, and the Kings were outscored 35-15 on the night. Jonas Valanciunas was aggressive and much more competent looking than Alex Len in his debut, but Doug Christie still lacks that punch and spark when the starters exit the game.
Broadcast Reply Timing: This is a minor pet peeve shared across the Kangzdom, but every time Kayte or Kyle mentions a critical play, the broadcast teams shows the play from two plays prior. Get on the same page, people!
The Ugly:
Starting Guards Defense: One of the most overlooked aspects of De’Aaron Fox’s exit was Sacramento losing their best point of attack defender, and those defensive shortcomings have been on complete display in Zach LaVine’s and Malik Monk’s last two games. The Blazers had little to no trouble penetrating the lane and either scoring or kicking it out to shooters, and Domantas Sabonis was often left defending two or three Portland players on his own, eventually resulting in his six-foul ejection. Injecting Keon Ellis into the starting lineup would help the issues, but none of the trio of Monk, LaVine, or DeRozan can realistically head to the bench. No guard defensive intensity and no rim protection will spell trouble for the Kings for the remainder of the season.
Play-in Chase: Thursday night’s loss will drop the Kings to under .500 once again, sliding them to sole ownership of 11th in the Western Conference, and they’ve now lost 6 of their last 8 games. In addition, the Blazers’ sixth win a row pulled them to within 2.5 games of the Kings. Sacramento will now be battling the Mavericks, Suns, Warriors, Spurs, and Blazers for three play-in spots.
The King of Kings
DeMar DeRozan: DeRozan led the Kings in points (22), assists (7), and blocks (3), and he was Sacramento’s most reliable offensive player.
Up Next
Saturday, February 8th @ New Orleans Pelicans – 7:00 P.M. (PT)
That $8 ticket would’ve been an $8 overpay to see that in person.
Better effort tonight, but still
&ct=g
Effort is like potential. You haven’t accomplished anything. And it means little in the grand scheme.
This is bad basketball. They cannot win with these players and playing this way.
4th Q O was DDR/Monk/Lavine get a screen (or not) dribble dribble dribble and shoot unless cutoff and then pass out- do the same thing again. It’s horrible 1-1 ball. Keegan never touched it. There’s no ball movement.
And Lavines D isn’t bad- it’s horrible. Waves at players blowing past rather than move his feet. (Monk/Lavine/DDR -all bad defenses).
So, bad O- horrible D. This is completely unsustainable-won’t win. They are done.
If we’re lucky, the Kings will inadvertently Tank.
But even if they do, there are so many moves this team would have to make to get good. Honestly, on the verge of not watching them anymore.
At least we’re keeping the pick that Vivek so desperately wants us to miss out on for the 11th seed
Gravy is delicious
Eh… The Defense? Ad Nauseum. Almost 50 games in.
It’s going to be interesting. The Kings play the Dubs 3 more times. With Playoff Jimmy revitalized. I don’t think it bodes well. I’ll be taking Jimmy and Steph all day over whatever we are rolling out. Playoff Killers vs. Playoff Disaster DDR and Lavine. I live in Miami been watching Jimmy 5 years now. It’s not the playoffs now. But Jimmy will be treating these next 30 like the playoffs. He will play possessed. His Bbiq is off the charts.
Spurs I can definitely see passing the Kings. Dallas with AD will be fine. Blazers not sold yet. But if they beat the Hot Lakers with Doncic on Sat all bets are off. Suns I see missing the play in all together. They are cooked. Minny will fall apart as well. Edwards is carrying that team.
Dubs Dallas Spurs all get in. The last spot not sure.
Once again you need to check basic facts. We already beat the Dubs twice in January and have only two more scheduled games against them.
Cooper Tank
I wish. Kings Cooper flag with be the Lavine 4 year extension in the Summer. Lol!
They should just aim to keep their top 12 protected pick at this point. Not talented enough to beat any of the teams they would see in the play in.
No question. Though I have no confidence in MM’s ability to maximize the pick. But at least with that, there’s some hope that we’ll luck into a good player.
That is Schrodinger’s pick. If we are bad enough to keep it, I don’t think Monte is the one who gets to make it.
This team has no point guards lmao. We went from lots of point guards to resorting to the Bull’s discarded chucker SGs. It’s like theres no plan. The lack of assists and now endless low percentage shooting nights is going to be so very grim. fml
Monk has the rest of the year as an audition for lead pg, if he fails we need to ship out demar for a legit pg and move monk back to the 6th man role.
Lavine looked better and i can see him really being nice on this team offensively after the break. I wish coach would have the stones to put keon in the first group with monk and lavine, or demar had the team mentality to green light that move.
jval gonna be a great role player for us.
I don’t understand the ship out Demar talk. Demar is better, and had played better than either Monk or LaVine. If anyone stays it should be Demar. Get rid of Lavine for a position of need. Where is that true 3 and D we have needed for the last 20 years?
Demar is 35, a complete ball stopper on offense and by far the worst defender out there. Yes he is clutch and that’s nice, but is definitely not a future piece here.
Stats seem to suggest that the worst defender, both this year and in their career, is in fact Lavine.
Then there may be BBIQ. Did you not see LaVine dribble out the clock at the end of two quarters last night without taking a shot?
Corrrct DDR won’t have a long career here, but he was brought in for now. And he has been clutch at what we do. Lavine just alters our entire dynamic, and. It necessarily for the better.
Lavine is borderline unwatchable for me. I was skeptical when we got him but want to give things a chance. But boy, am I not liking what I see. Like you said the togetherness we saw with the team, even sans Fox, has completely evaporated.
DeMar does not make this team better. It was a dumb-redundant pickup in the first place.
Actually, getting rid of Levine and DDR amd rebuilding would be the way to go. But it ain’t happening. Clusterfuck- Vivek style
This. Everyone needs to go, and they’ll never do it.
Ship out a 36 yr old player for a legit Pg? Put down the drink. Demar doesn’t have a much value as you think. His contract is not bad. But to think you’re getting quality PG for him at 36 not happening . Nothing but stats and has never contributed to winning anything. Kings are pretty stuck with this roster for the the next cpl years. You can bank on that. Their only real tradeable asset is Monk. Period. Keegan is a role player disguised as a starter. He won’t get them much either. He’s declined severely every year.
I think you could look to houston as an option, short term swap of demar for van fleet, or if they really aren’t going to use reed sheppard then obviously we add a first rounder
What on earth would Hou do that. Do you see all the picks and assets they have. Houston will be in play for a real star that is much younger
like Booker in the offseason. Demar does not In Any way fit their time line. Kings have no leverage no picks and no assets. Houston will laugh at that idea. Hou is exactly one star player from being top of the west for the next 5-6 years. Sheppard played big minutes tonite. I doubt he’s going anywhere. You just done throw away a Number 4 pick after a yr for a 36 yr old who’s not LeBron.
Demar is playing well and on pace to become a top 20 all time scorer in the nba.
If any team needs to sacrifice scoring in the starting lineup for defense, it’s this team.
Yuck. It’s remarkable to see the Kings’ talking heads act like every team the Kings play is just sooooo good! Not enough about how bad the Kings are.
Right now the Blazers look pretty good, to be fair.
On the bright side, the team still looks the same as it did with Fox.
Unfortunately, you can’t fire the owner.
Actually, they look worse to me. Fox is a lot better than people thought.
And that is hugely unfortunate.
I really hope Keon gets moved into the starting lineup sooner than later. It’s remarkable how much better this team performs when that’s the case. Not having him start or close is criminal.
Probably unpopular opinion, but I think DeMar would make more sense off the bench. Obviously get his 30+ mins but scatter him with LaVine, with DeMar still closing. As much as DeMar is more consistent, he loses a step frequently against young first unit players, and we simply need more quickness/agility out there.
LaVine is already coming into his own and has the offensive power and speed to lead the fist unit alongside Monk and Sabonis. Keon is now as efficient as they come from 3, so he could get a lot of set-ups from a cutting LaVine, Monk or Sabonis. Murray can be so damn timid, but what are ya gonna do? He’s still utterly solid on d and does have an offensive game that he just needs to consistently utilize.
Monk-Keon-LaVine-Murray-Sabonis
Carter-DeMar-LaRavia-Lyles-Valanciunas
…gets my vote.
It’s funny. Murray is not a starter in a playoff team. No way. His defense is not as good as everyone makes it out to be. It’s above average. But Athletic players run right though him and outmuscle him. He no longer scares any team on offense. Get real. Why does everyone exaggerate how good he is? Are you watching the same guy? Replacing Ellis with Demar in the starting line up. Dont count on it. Ellis plays d. He can’t create unlike Demar and he cannot handle the ball either.
Ellis is also a little overrated as well. Good defensive player. But as on display tonite.
Sharpe took him to school. All night.
It won’t matter either way. Subbing one player for another won’t make one iota of difference in a play on or playoff against most teams in the West. Kings will get smoked. Kings could win a play in against Minny, Suns and possibly hou. But the other teams they have zero shot. With that being said they might not make a play in. Spurs get hot with Fox, Jimmy plays playoff Jimmy with the Dubs and the Blazers keep shocking. Kings will be fishing come April.
Analytics couldn’t disagree more with you
I am not completely sure that defensive analytics are all that accurate, as most defensive stats are far from perfect.
But aside from that, defense also contains a measure of intimidation. And if you compare Keegan to a guy like Camara, it’s like a poodle vs a pittbull.
Really good defenders are players that other fanbases hate and fear (and often grudgingly admire). Good defenders really get into opposing players heads and cause frustration. Keegan mostly evokes more of an “Aw, that’s nice”-reaction.
I would like to see angry Keegan one game. A game where he pumps his fist, knocks someone their ass, shows some type of intensity and emotion on the court. Doesn’t have to be beating his chest or screaming like Malik, but dude looks like he is on downers all game. Maybe some of Doug’s smelling salts will help.
Like you said, he’s a fluffy little dog (I won’t say poodle because I have found that poodles are mean).
Let’s go Keepood!
Couldn’t agree more, i don’t know if they staff just doesn’t think demars ego will allow it or what, but thatbis so clearly the answer to a lot of issues
Could they just do the right thing and tank? Please? For the love of all that is holy? This is an excellent draft class filled with dynamic wing players. Just at least try not to be the most mediocre team ever assembled.
No draft assets and no upside young players. In 2025, Monte rebuilt the 2022 Chicago Bulls in the Western Conference. What a disaster.
Kings have a starting five that was working but can’t go back to using it cause it would be bad optics for the Kings FO to have the new guy come off the bench.
I hope if Doug becomes the real coach or whomever becomes the head coach will have the courage to go against the FO/Vivek and bench one of Demar or Lavine and start Keon.
Unfortunately, Demar and Lavine are the big gets by Monte/Wes so they won’t allow them to come off the bench and Lavine is Vivek’s personal fav so won’t allow it either.
Kings org values looking good than winning basketball games sadly.
It was working with a very very small sample size. What 10 games. Most of them during a skewed Christie hiring peiord . Where most of the games won were against good teems missing their key pieces. Minus a victory against a Boston team that was 7-8 over that stretch. They beat a bunch of team missing their star players.
Nah homie, kings starting monk/keon are not 7-8. I am not verifying it but they might actually be 4-0 or 5-0 tbh
They are 8-3 in games that Ellis starts, and 8-1 in games that Monk and Ellis start.
It has been clear since the ending of last season that Ellis needs to start. But that hasn’t happened consistently. Its a travesty.
Yeah, Ellis was hosed no matter what. Had they traded Fox in a Collins deal, Murray moves to the 3, DDR to the 2, Monk to the 1. Had they added Johnson, Murray stays at the 4, DDR to the 2, Monk to the 1. Instead it was LaVine to the 2, Monk to the 1.
They had this really good 6th man on a decent 6th man contract (Monk), one who accepted the role and relished in playing big minutes off the bench and closing most games. And they fucked it up. And they are never going to get that genie back into the bottle.
100% correct. They’ve made their bed with Monk starting.
This is 100% fair, and given the SSSI-approved record, it can’t hurt to try, but this team is not a lineup change from success.
It was a roster building issue in October 2023, it was a roster building issue at the beginning of this season aaaand yeah. With LaVine’s salary and how hard it was for the Bulls to get rid of him, that move is not changing soon. The Kings can’t trade LaVine to themselves.
The good news if they miss the play-in and McNair gets fired is that a NEW GM (presumably, assuming it’s not Wilcox, which, Vivek) would come in and actually make changes (assuming Vivekery, etc.). Monte finally did stuff this trade deadline, so we’re off of him doing nothing at least, but it all seems pretty lateral right now, STRONGLY maintaining their position as a fringe play-in team.
Agreed 100% that starting Ellis has little impact to the wins produced by this current roster.
Will putting malik monk back to the bench and letting ellis start solve our bench problem at the same time improve the defense of our first unit?
Problem is Ellis cannot create. He’s not a playmaker. And he’s a pretty bad ball handler. So no.
Run an offense that has sabonis as the hub and you don’t need a true pg. demar can obviously iso whenever, lavine can obviously create. It would help a ton imo
Ellis cannot handle the ball. Period. Everytime he tries he coughs it up. Poor ball handling skills. That’s why you rarely see the ball in his hands more than a second.
Monk has to start. Ellis as a lead guard will be a disaster for the offense.
monk is loose as shit with the ball lol…not saying it has to be keon, i think lavine could initiate just fine
Monk is better at pick and roll. has a good rapport with Sabonis. does not predetermine what he’s going to do which makes it difficult for the defense to anticipate where he’ll go.
They do need to run an O and yet they refuse. It’s all fee flow bullshit.
And I don’t know if you’d get the buy in from DDR -in particular-of ball
movement and cutting. (Levine too maybe) Everyone touches the ball. Space and ball movement.
They have no identity on O. And the identity they do have is a bad defending , bad shooting team.
Didnt say Ellis would be bringing the ball up. Lavine can do that.
It is what it is, we lost our perennial all star guard and we have a rookie for our point. Suddenly that glut at point isnt there anymore.
Lavine-Ellis-Demar-Keegan-Domas
Carter-Monk-Latvia-Lyles-Jonas
Who in the heck is Latvia?
Big Country?
he’s improving in those areas.
With all due respect to the article about Fox, Kings fans deserve better.
Need a new owner for that and even I don’t believe in that miracle happening lol.
I think I would much prefer a John Collins/Cam Johnson rather than LaVine. This lineup is just not going to work, ever. We needed that PF and/or wing WAY more than triplets (DDR, Monk, LaVine). Those three are the same player.
And most importantly it is taking shots away from your most efficient scorer in Sabonis. He has taken, what, 5 shots and 6 shots his last 2 games. Yuck!
The problem is, one of Lavine or DDR need to come off the bench and they just won’t do it.
The problem is that the kings picked up both of those guys. Why? Useless. You’re not going anywhere with those guys.
Thank you shitty owner
I was arguing for trading DDR as soon as they traded for Lavine. They just have a team that makes no sense now. They’ve got too many guys who want to shoot in the starting lineup.
Just heard Amick saying there was a possibility of moving DDR at deadline but couldn’t.
Hopefully that means this summer but mostly it means/shows the owner’s ineptitude.
Why pick him up in first place ? Amd already need to move him. The same is true for Lavine. He’s not a foundational piece.
basically, the kings have to now go out and find their foundational piece again. This all looks very bleak.
Their only foundational piece has left.
Sabonis is a piece. But he will be 29 this season and next year 30. So. His window is not open much longer.
This team is stuck with what they have for the next 2 years. At least. Lavine and his contract. DDR is movable in the summer. But he only makes 20 mil. And he won’t get tons of interest at 36. Lavine will be making 50 mil. Meaning no one wants that contract.
Sad. Even if they bring in a new Gm. Don’t think it changes much since Vivek is really calling the shots.
IMO having both Lavine and Derozan on the floor at the same time will create the problem that neither one can truly get into their game and score. One needs to come off the bench and let the other do his thing on the court. Having both on the floor at the same time is counter productive. IMO that will also free up Keegan to get more shots because right now he is just out their playing defense and is getting not many touches. It is worth a try for at least the rest of the games leading up to the break.
2 other things, Monk is the guy who has the keys. He needs to understand that fully and apply that to the game as his responsibility. He is the one who touches the ball the most in the game and understand his responsibility with it. IMO he can do that. Next Sabonis needs more touches. That means more passes and more touches whether inside or out. If Doug is going to stick with this offensive scheme then this has to happen.
One more thought. On point defense should be our greatest concern. Defense can be taught. It takes hard work and concentration but it can be taught. If you can defend on point then the opponents 3 point shooting will decline and you can also stop a lot of their straight line drives which puts so much pressure on Sabonis. I do believe it can be taught. I’ve done it before with players. Two major factors are the players willingness to put the work in and they have to buy in what you are trying to do. Ex. When I was coaching in Payson Arizona I had a kid named Cameron Romance who started learning to play defense when he was a freshman because he bought into the art. By his senior year he was voted the third best point guard defender in his division. He did that because he bought in and WANTED TO DO IT. The Kings have professionals who have played the game probably over half their lifetime and it should’nt take long to but in if they WANTED TO DO IT. It’s that simple.
You also have to have the requisite physical attributes and skills, though. Particularly at the pro level. At least if you want to get to that elite status. Effort and BBIQ alone can make you an adequate defender.
Also, size, length and aggressiveness. Against Orlando, they often had 3 players as tall or taller than Domas in Wagner, Banchero and Bitadze/Carter. Keegan had one of them and it seemed DC tried to get Lavine to match up against one of the other two. It ended up with Domas having to play two of the other three when they got by Keegan or Lavine. Even with Jonas, the Kings don’t have enough size and you can’t coach people to be taller, longer and more athletic.
Yep agreed on all counts here. The offense needs to revolve around the Monk/Sabonis pick and roll with shooters and cutters off that action. The last two games they’ve completely gone away from that with predictably ugly results. But Lavine or DDR off the bench would make all of this look better.
When you say “They just won’t do it”, are your referring to the FO/Coaches or the players?
Could be all three but what I wrote above pretains to the players. The hard part is getting them to buy in. That’s mainly on the coaches. If they buy in and work their asses off because they love the game and want to be good at both ends of the floor then IMO the Kings will be well off.
One of Lavine or DDR needs to embrace the Manu Ginobli role. Get 28-30 minutes off the bench. Spread out the shots more evenly, and get a more defined role for each lineup. There are too many high usage/need to shoot guys on the court at one time. Monk/Lavine(same as Fox)/DDR/Sabonis can’t all be the focus at the same time. It doesn’t work.
Monk/Ellis/DDR/Murray/Sabonis start.
Then bring in Lavine and Lyles for Monk and DDR. Something along those lines to get a more clearly defined rotation and roles.
I like that idea but IMO I would bring Derozan off the bench instead of Lavine. Neither can play defense unless they want to and Lavine IMO is the better fit to start.
I was referring to the organization but it’s probably all of the above. I doubt either of those guys want to cone off the bench because of their stature in the league. DC is ostensibly a lame duck so he doesn’t have the juice to get buy-in from the players to do it. The organization is too feckless to have a cohesive strategy and execute it. I think it only happens if the lose 8-10 games in a row and then at that point, who cares?
I personally think Cristie has the guts to do this but it all comes down to Lavine or Derozan to want to do the best for the team. IMO either when explained they would buy in. Your the head coach Doug get them to buy in,
If Beal and Shaedon Sharpe can come off the bench, Lavine or Derozan can.
There you go!
Christie has to have the guts to do it. IMO if one of those two are coming off the bench it needs to be Derozan. It isn’t he will lose that many minutes and he sure needs to be in the rotation in the fourth or at least when it comes to crunch time,
I agree I think it should be Demar and I think Christie has to have the backbone to do it.
Too late now. Monte needed that Fox replacement minus the D.
It’s not too late. The Kings have the players but they need to get their confidence up on offense and work their butts off on defense. No excuses. This is a good team and they can prove it for the fans, their teammates and themselves by putting it on the line 100%{in my opinion there isn’t a 100 and 10%.) GO KINGS!
Not sure what you’re saying. Since game one they have been ranked in the bottom 5 in 3 pt defense. Since game 1. They are also in the bottom 5 in 3 pt percentage made in 3s since game 1. So. Not sure what you’re saying here. This team cannot defend the 3. It’s not an arguable point. And they can’t shoot the 3. Look up the stats. They won’t go far knowing this is their identity and this is 50 games in.
I tend to agree on shooting the 3 but respectively disagree they can’t defend the 3. Any good NBA player can defend. I firmly believe that.
Yeah the removal of offense from sabonis and keegan is tough to watch with those three
6 (SIX!) shot attempts by Sabonis in 29 minutes. That just isn’t going to get it done. And for the love of God can we run a few set plays?
What’s wrong with a Read and Not React offense?
IMO it’s okay most of the time but you also have to have set plays for those times when they are needed. Boy Scout motto Be Prepared.
They don’t do the read part much . A lot of dribble react . Other than that, nothing .
I agree. Watched Derozan turn his back and dribble dribble the ball. Because of that we had 2 24 second clock expire because of that. If you are going to make a play okay. If you are waiting to pass then it’s on the other 4 guys to move move and get open. This is where set plays come in. No movement no teamwork no set play NO SCORE.
Domas refuses to take shots too often. Jonas took 8 shots in 17 minutes versus Domas’ 6 shots in 29 minutes. The shots are there; he just isn’t taking them.
I agree. Sabonis needs to get himself in the shooting part of their offense more because 4 is better than 3. I am also including Murray.
I agree.5 is always better than 3. Got to PLAY TOGETHER.
Yes. And taking shots away from Keegan. It’s terrible basketball
Sabonis taking more shots doesn’t affect Murray as much as Lavine and Derozan do.
please stop trying to convince yourself this team is good if you have children do not let them be kings fans lol
I wish someone could go back in time and tell little kid me the glory years were going to end very quickly and to bail now. Get to love jason richardson and be patient lol
I moved here in 2000 after one year in WA, I and just assumed the franchise would always have their shit together.
Sike!!!
DDR just wasn’t much of an addition for me. He gets buckets but he needs the ball a lot and we’re paying him enough and featuring to be an impact player that wins games but to me he doesn’t. Winning games is about being good on both sides of the ball. The Kings 4 best players are elite offensively and average defensively. That won’t get it done, need more defense. And also although they are skilled and effective on offense, they don’t have an efficient offensive system that makes the game even easier. Monte really hasn’t done much but shuffle things around, he never created a team with an identity that works and equates to wining. He tried, let’s move onto someone with a different vision and understanding of the game/league.
Also, I haven’t seen a ton of Devin Carter but have not been impressed at all. Just an awkward player, that lacks size, moves slow and seems super mid. What a lame pick
Does it seem like he falls down a lot or trip or slips?
This new Kings team is a hard watch. They look real old and slow. We went from having an exciting young core to old and feeble.
The fact that LaVine is ungodly athletic but can’t play defense means it’s solely an effort issue. He also doesn’t realize there is a shot clock apparently or that once you hesitate on a 3 you are not going to make it when you still inevitably chuck it up.
Lavine can play defense if he wants to. He has the tools but needs 2 things a buy in and hard work.
He’s athletic but I am not sure he has the tools. His reaction time and lateral movement seems slow. Though he did manage to put some token pressure yesterday. Reminds of Bagley kinda. Springy and all but can’t seem to keep anyone in front of him or react quickly defensively.
With more work on defense not offense(he has that) he can continue to get better. Get your best defensive coach to take him aside and work work with him. He can improve if he wants to.
I don’t doubt he can improve. I just think there’s limit with him for the reasons I mentioned and overall court awareness issues.
He can improve. Good place to start.
Lavine’s defense has been worse than expected. He doesn’t even get in a good defensive position, shows little effort on close outs, can’t stop penetration, and is out of position a lot. Let’s hope this is just him getting used to his new team, but it’s looked awful.
All of what you just said can be corrected if the player buys into what is called defense. The hardest part of defense is anticipation. As a coach I could teach footwork, position, spacing angles but anticipation is the hardest. Just an example you play defense with your feet not your hands. Most players don’t use their feet enough on defense. They use their hands and that’s where fouls come in. When beat they foul with their hands. Lastly you need to know you opponent. Study study you opponent. Put in the time. It will show his weaknesses as every player has one or two. Now you can use your chest or not due to his ability to get around you. Use your angles. OK I’ve said too much. Professional coaches know more than me so I need to stop rattling so much. GO KINGS!
The most maddening thing about this team for me is the sporadic levels of execution. For 4 or 5 possessions, this team can look like a high-performing, well oiled machine ,that is capable of playing with anyone in the league. The next 4 or 5 possessions looks like a bunch of dudes at the local YMCA. There has to be some sort of middle ground. This has been a season long issue, even dating back to last year.
The offense needs an identity. Ball handler + Domas with 3 other dudes standing around isn’t working. Doug needs to reach back in the past and dust of Pete Carril’s playbook. Get these guys moving and cutting, make defenses rotate to get open shots. Domas is a really good passer from the top of the key, but he isn’t being used well this season. He is averaging 2 less assists from the season before.
Defensively, the scheme must be to sag off of every 3pt shooter. The opponent won’t even be attempting to drive to the paint and the Kings players are standing at the edge of the paint, leaving a shooter wide open. It kills them almost every game. Change the scheme already, jeez.
It is apparent to me, and many others, that Keon needs to start. It balances the starting lineup, especially with all the ball dominant players that they have. Have Lavine come off the bench and get his 30 minutes while being the focal point.
This team shows that they can be really good, then they look like hot garbage.
Boy do I agree with you on playing Pete Carril’s playbook. Yes it’s old fashioned but why not put some of it into not nessesarily all of it. It just might be the ticket. Won’t hurt.
yeah, all the standing around seems odd to me. They got the shooters. They need to pass. Hell, Portland and Orlando were passing the ball.
I think there is a chance that over time they will gel, but they could speed up that process by actually playing basketball. Pass and cut, set a pick, cut. It’s not rocket science.
Again, I think there is hope, in that there was a lot more passing and cutting when Monk and Sabonis were running the team when Fox was out. Get back to that, guys.
It seems like the entire season they have struggled with passing and cutting. Basketball basics. Hell, make them watch Hoosiers to teach them how to pass the ball.
I really agree. Just coming down the court turning your back and dribbling so much isn’t an offense. No movement isn’t an offense either. So many times I watch Domas handing off to somebody and a player like Murray just sitting in the opposite corner. Movement creates opportunities both player movement and ball movement. I watch other teams offense and most of it deals with screens yo open up a drive to the basket or shoot the 3. Not very complicated. This is where point of attack defense comes into play. You know kits going to happen. Either an open three or a grive to the basket now you have to work your ass off not once or twice but everytime to defend the move. If you aren’t willing to do that then bring somebody in who will. It’s hard work and determination even when you are tired. If so substitute.
Knew it was only a matter of time before Simmons got bought out.
Not gonna lie, the idea of starting him at PG and moving Monk to the bench isn’t the worst idea. If the Kings aren’t gonna start Keon in favor of the one of the three iso scorers, maybe Simmons is a big enough name to relegate Monk to the bench. Last time I checked Ben can still play defense, but still can’t shoot.
Just put Ellis or even Issac Jones into the starting lineup….
We need someone who do some hustling job or dirty work…
Seeing Camara keep crashing the broad, and grabbed off. rebound made me mad…
Ellis yes to start. Jones not just yet but do give him a little more playing time.
If you enjoy dribbling and ISO ball this is the team for you . Domas is now just a screener and Keegan/Ellis are spot shooters hoping to get the rare opportunity to shoot. Feel sorry for Christi since he now has a more talented but even less balanced roster . Playin looks like a goal now . .
I’ve followed this team since about 1992 – every single season. Unless some miracle happens like the Kings making the playoffs or getting a top 5 pick, I think I’m going to hang up my hat after this season. Not worth it – especially with management that thinks we’ll be happy watching an aged 2022 Bulls.
The incompetence from this management is not even mind-boggling – it’s the norm. I’ve become so jaded to this shit. An incompetent organization is reactionary, not pro-active. What we are seeing is band-aids being put on top of band-aids, instead of actually fixing the problem. Then when we actually have a chance to fix the problem, when all the band-aids have fallen off, we get to the point where we spent all our assets on band-aids – and then the cycle continues of putting more band-aids back on. Total incompetence.
Oh how I miss the good ol’ days when we could complain about Fox’s poor 3pt shooting.
LaVine, Keegan and Monk a combined 2-12 from 3.
And Domas has to take more than 10 shots. Half of those were on put backs.
The Domas passivity has become a problem. Against Orland, he had 18 and 8 at half, finished with 21 and 13. He shot 8-10, but he needed more shots, in my opinion. Teams game plan to take away his high PnR/DHO, so his counter needs to be more aggressively attacking the basket.
3pt shooting has been an issue since last season, and it is only getting worse this season. I think the scheme has changed since the Warriors playoff in the 23-23 season. Less ball movement and more standing around ISO play. It’s not a good offense to run.
Yeah, Domas should be leading the team in shot attempts.
The 3 point thing is frustrating. Looking at NBA.com stats
Kings shoot 29% on 14.0 open 3s per game and 38.8% on 19.4 wide open 3s.
Our Opponents shoot 35.3% on 16.2 open 3s and 41% on 17.7 wide open 3s.
We’re getting as good a shots as our opponents, just they hit theirs and we don’t.
Last night for example. Kings were 10/30 from deep. Blazers were 16/40. 8 point Kings loss. That’s the game in a nutshell.
We are not a good 3 point shooting team. We could be better but the best way to solve the problem is defend the other team’s 3. Period.
It’s not being passive it’s being the one person trying to get movement and teamwork into to the offense . Sadly, you are correct since he hasn’t been able to achieve this goal .
I had a coach who taught me more about defense than any other. On offense he ran the passing game. You had to learn to set screens, back door, and move. If you didn’t do this there was a thing called the bench. Made no difference who you were.
I cannot find any post-game interview for this game, as I wanted to see how Christie see in this game, and see if he going to make some lineup adjustment
Here you go:
Thanks Bro….
But unfortunately that the Youtube link you posted is not available in my country, as I cannot view it………just too bad………
Anyway, thanks again..
Dang. Basically he said that he thinks they will figure it out once they get some time to gel.
He liked the fight they had in the game, but they need to execute at a higher level.
Poor execution by going under screens on Simons and Sharpe.
Thanks Bro….
They are not going to win games, if not giving any sort of efforts to do some defense, and eliminate those stupid turnover..
The appreciation of the defense that Fox played will begin to surface the more that we watch LaVine and Monk “defend.”
For the past few seasons, this team has had an ongoing issue with the lack of a true stretch four and depth of the three. It is amazing that you can ship out a franchise cornerstone and address neither of those concerns in the deal, all while creating a hole at PG. But hey, you can’t have enough shooting guards!
If you remember before the last 2 and a half years Fox didn’t play defense either. Coaches got him aside and got him to buy in and work to improve. Really work at it. We have seen the results.
We can blame the front office for a lot of things, but Fox and his agent put the Kings over a barrel in negotiating this trade. He and his agent were working with the Spurs to minimize what they had to give up in players and picks to get the trade done. Selfishly, Fox and the Spurs have very similar interests in minimizing the hit on the Spurs. Truly sucks for the Kings, but nicely done Fox, agent and Spurs.
Was thinking about this last night. I think the Warriors are on an upswing, as are the Spurs. The Mavs will probably get worse. The Suns have top end talent, but no idea what’s going to happen there. The Kings are probably a just above .500 team and they could easily miss the play-in. And if they make the play-in and lose, that’s no consolation. If they make it into the first round and lose, THAT’S NOT AN ACCOMPLISHMENT MONTEVEK.
It feels like this team is stuck at the end of the play-in race without any real hope of help in the draft, and a lot of mid-tier players who don’t fit together. The complaining is kinda fun, but the basketball not so much.
Worse yet, they could miss the play-in AND convey the pick to ATL because the East’s teams have such bad record. It’s entirely possible that the teams that lose the play-in in the East could have a worse record than a team like the Kings who miss the play-in in the West.
If only winning a couple more games than they lose wasn’t the goal!
Lavine looks like a traffic cone out there. He’s either barely trying or just really bad. If he’s such a good athlete why can’t he play average defense? For good sake, stay in front of your man.
I don’t like the look of this team, at all. Kangz 4ever.
Two games is small sample size.
The lack of defense shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. And honestly I’m not sure how we fix it. Our entire starting back court doesn’t play defense, and they aren’t going to change at this point in their careers. Our starting center isn’t a shot blocker, and our starting 4 is undersized. Our bench is supposed to play better defense, but if you look at the plus minus last night, the bench play was where we got killed.
If we can’t outscore teams in the regular season, we definitely aren’t hoping to do it in the postseason if we get there. I know we need time to adjust, but so far we aren’t looking great with our new lineup.
This borderline playoff team zone we’re stuck in is exactly where we all thought we’d end up without a rebuild 12 years ago. It just took us a bunch of years to get to this point. That’s all about the Vivek GMs before Monte.
With the mandate to just retool, Monte has done a poor job, but still light years ahead of his predecessors.
That’s a really really low bar.
Christie mentioned post-game that when JV came in, they had to keep the defense very “vanilla” because JV didn’t know the language and actions on the defensive end. Similar was said about Lavine after the Magic game. How the Kings want to run zone is different, so he wasn’t able to run it how he wanted.
That being said, the defense has been up and down all season, and the other guys that have been playing all season with the Kings should know how to run the actions. But they haven’t either.
So the really crazy thing about that, is that our offense was all about plus six or seven, while our bench which right now the only change is adding Jonas, was about negative 10.
They have to want to. It’s hard.If they just want to sit it out a couple of years take their money say goodbye with a smile as they walk to the bank so be it. You have to love the game, both ends of it, then you have done what you were supposed to do and now you can go to the bank with a real smile on your face. I hate to say it but some players are just lazy. You can’t tell them it coach them it. As a coach and fan very frustrating. What a waste.
Screw it. Monk-Keon-LaRaVia-Sabonis-Valanciunas starting
I’m interested in seeing whether the acquisition of LaRavia lights a fire under Keegan. LaRavia’s advanced stats stack up very well in comparison to Keegan’s.
Now this might be it. Light a fire under his you know what and see what happens. Could be good.
The flaws of this team are so obvious, and will reveal themselves game after game.
I honestly don’t know what to say here that hasn’t been said by everyone else.
Me neither, but that won’t stop me from trying!
Every team in the NBA has flaws. It’s what you do about it that counts. IMO Monte has tried within his power to correct it and in some cases I think he has done that. He is not a magician just a GM trying to do the best job he can and he has improved this team since Fox has left. IMO one player(Fox) as good as he was was not a savior for the Sacramento Kings. Monte got 3 new players all of them can help this team not destroy it. Let’s give them some positive vibes so they will work the hardest to improve this team.GO KINGS!
Agreed and give the new players a few games to integrate before they get burned down too!
I had to come here to grumble about the Kings not getting the Atlanta pick from the Spurs in the Fox deal.
With Atlanta mailing it in, that is going to be a nice pick.
Also, the Spurs now have their own pick and the Atlanta pick which may give them two chances in the lottery.
Can you imagine if that ATL pick becomes Cooper Flagg for the Spurs?
As much as it would hurt to not get that pick if that happened, but what a dream scenario for Flagg. Imagne the swing in your career getting drafted by the spurs vs us. I almost don’t even want us to get any young players to ruin
We aren’t ruining young players. The Kings are a NBA team that is working hard to improve not ruin young players. Case in point Keegan Murray, Keon Ellis and Devin Carter. All young and up and coming players that will help the Kings be the best team that can be. PS and we will get more young players to develop.
Yes Keegan who has not been coached properly and has regressed outside of ok defense and rebounding. Keon who has been jerked around since he’s been on the team and still doesn’t have the role he should. Carter who was supposedly drafted for another team before it fell through.
Ruined may be harsh. But over the last 15 years how many of our lotto picks couldn’t have been drafted to a worse organization? Constantly having issues from the top down, coach after coach, no real direction still. I root for every kid we bring in but the most purple of glasses can’t not see what this organization is
Boy
are you a real Kings fan. Pessimism will really do the Kings a whole hell of a lot of good. Go tell that to Doug and Malik and Sabonis and please listen to what they say to you.
One man’s pessimism is another man’s realism, Jack. If it’s all rainbows & unicorns as far as you’re concerned, good for you. But this schtick of yours of calling out a fellow member’s fandom for being critical of this shitshow is old & tired. And if macdoog’s comments have any impact on the Kings as you assert, this team is fucked beyond repair.
Oh, I almost forgot…Go Kings!
I think if any of this sites comments made an impact on the team, we’d have been in the playoffs year after year. I feel like a majority of the fans here could run the team, at worst, as well as Vivek has been
I have the right to criticize respectively. If you go to this team and call them a shitshow so many times good luck getting out of the club house. These are human beings who try there hardest to make you happy. I know they can improve. You took my comments the wrong way. I look at things including the Kings with a glass half full. I think maybe some read these comments and say forget it why try to make them happy. I coached basketball for 41 years and never called my team a shitshow.and sometimes my teams lost more than they won. I still loved everyone who played for me. Sometimes that was hard. My best friend asked a player years ago to sum up my coaching. He said” if you played against him you hated him, If you played for him you loved him” If that’s my legacy I’ll take it. I love the Kings and will continue to support with a glass half full.
I don’t think that it’s respectful to question one’s fandom simply because they are critical of the team. So we disagree on whether or not your opening line to macdoogs was “respectful.”
My criticism is of the team, not the fan.
I use my real name, so if Vivek or Matina or Monte or Wes want to chat with me, I’m not hard to find.
My criticism is that of a fan, not a coach.
I have the capacity to root for this team and still express when I am not happy with this team. Almost all of my criticism is about the front office. My criticism of any individual player (or even coach) is very low across the fan spectrum. That said, a fan can fan how they want to fan. But disagree with opinion, not the person. Questioning one’s fandom or loyalty is the weakest of sauce.
Bottom line, this convo is not taking place because of you or me or macdoogs. It is taking place because the Kings, when measured against the other NBA teams in the WC, have sucked to the high heavens far more often than not, whether your yardstick is the Sacramento era or the Ranadive era.
Nice arena, though.
We all fan differently. I’ve spent most of my youth waiting for us to turn it around in Sac and have been disappointed for a majority of my fandom. Most years I am still optimistic but the past 2 seasons have really just took a #2 on those purple glasses.
I’m definitely a bit jaded after all these years though I will give you that. I want wins and the kings to be great like we all do. It’s just painfully obvious to myself that I don’t know if this organization genuinely cares about what it takes to win
Question. Would you call the Kings a shitshow? I believe they want to win but in hindsite its really hard with other teams who also want to win.
In my own words I would yes. After reading your last comment, we definitely look at the team a bit different. I do appreciate your love for the game and what it takes to coach a team. I’m just looking at it purely from a fans perspective that has been with this team the past 25+ years. I know every coach and player play for wins and I’m sure they’re not the ones I’m upset with.
It’s been said countless times but the great and powerful Oz behind the scenes is the reason for my pessimistic outlook. Vivek can’t get out of his own way. He is probably the smartest person in most rooms and 100% smarter than I’ll ever be but him trying to constantly reinvent the wheel here hasn’t made our car go anywhere other than the mechanic again and again.
I love this team. I love the players, the fans, this community, all of what makes the Sacramento Kings what they are. I just don’t think it hits the same feels for the people in charge who are running it as a business. I respect and understand your points and how you view it all, but for me the optimism has faded.
I should also point out that I’m a fan of the Kings, Raiders, A’s, and Sharks. I shouldn’t even like sports at this point but I’m addicted to my teams unfortunately. Like I said before we all fan differently.
Now I know where you are coming from and I respect that. I truly do. Just a little side note. You are a King and so am I. I also root for the 49ers and the Dodgers. To be clear when the Dodgers came to Ca. in 1958 I was 15 years old. I was a Dodger before that and Jackie Robinson was my idol. I will continue to be a Kings fan and always will be. Go purple, go red , go blue.
Ps what do you think about the A’s coming to Sac? You are a fan.
I’m happy you at least get to enjoy some success! I have a few dodger friends that I was happy that they got to see them win.
I said a few years ago if they had to leave oakland then sac is the first option for me. As long as Fisher is running things though and collecting checks my long term optimism is low but I do love more sports in Sac and giving fans the chance to still hit games for a while. I hope vegas falls through somehow and they get to stay there
Lavine still looks like he doesn’t process the game quickly at all.
I liked the presence of Valanciunas out there last night. played physical but clean. made good decisions. when’s the last time we’ve seen a King with that size who is a capable post player? looked like he might have done a head wobble after the no-call by the refs on his vertical that got overturned.
stay clean Kings.
Let’s do some maths, shall we?
Right now the Kings sit at $3.4M below the tax line, of which they have zero incentive to cross. Monte is currently trying to figure out how he can add two players to the roster for the remainder of the season with the remaining room. With each passing game the salaries of any signed individuals becomes cheaper due to less games remaining. I imagine he is going to stretch signing folks until he absolutely has to. My guess is there is not going to be any significant role player signed via the buyout market. Those vets are going to want more that a prorated contract to be sit the bench for Sac. The value guys are going to title chase on playoff bound teams. From all that, I’m going to assume Monte signs a couple of G-league type dudes (Isaac Jones being the first) to the cheapest and shortest contacts he is allowed to give. Something like a guaranteed $800K for the remainder of the season a a non-guarantee for next. Which brings us to summer…
The Kings will have roughly $163.3M in guaranteed contracts (assuming they pick up Keon’s stupid cheap $2.3M deal). Folks, that $163.3M guaranteed to just 8 players with approximately $24m in space under the tax line. That means just $24m to sign an additional 6 players. One kicker here is if the Kings retain their pick, and lets be Kangzy and say the are at the 12th pick…that’s about a $5M guaranteed deal for year one. We are now at $19M in space under the tax line with 5 more roster spots to fill. It makes you wonder if Monte is secretly hoping to convey that pick because it’s contract could be crippling to the Kings.
I can’t stress this enough, it’s going to be a very tight offseason unless major changes are made to the starting 5, otherwise Monte is gong to be rolling back the current core with a bunch of vet minimum deals to round out the bench. If you thought having dudes like Crowder, McDermott, and Len as the bench was bad, honey, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
No one could have predicted this would happen when trading for a guy making $46 million next year!
Clearly, the KANGZ answer is to trade Keegan Murray, DDR, Devin Carter and a first round pick for Trae Young.
To be fair, the Kings would have been in the near the same cap situation with Fox and Huerter who’s combined salaries would have been $54.9M next year. It’s basically a swap of Fox and Huerter’s guaranteed deals for LaVine and JV’s guaranteed deals. Your milage may vary on he better duo and financial situation, but the cap issue coming this summer was likely going to happen anyway, unless the Kings had acquired some large expiring deal.
Understood. If they were dealing Fox anyway, which they were, they should have gotten some combination of young players, picks and expiring/short term salary instead of two years of a guy at $46+ million.
Your lips to God’s ear, amigo. I would have preferred that as well, but I guess it just wasn’t on the table.
What happens with the Atlanta pick if the Kings don’t make the playoffs and end up in the lottery? Do the Kings keep the pick, is it protected or does it confer to the Hawks?
Protected 1-12. The Kings finishing 13-14th in the lottery is no-man’s land. They are currently 14th.
If the Kings end up 13/14 and somehow jump in to the top 4, they keep it. If they end up as say the 12 seed and a 13 or 14 leap frogs them to the top 4 and the kings drop to the 13th pick, they lose the pick. If they don’t convey this year (i.e. draft 1-12 this year), it’s 1-10 protected next year. Not having this thing convey to second rounders sooner is really one of the bigger blunders they’ve made.
It sure would have been nice to have had the pick convey last year, instead of having the 13th pick in a bad draft. Kings would have now owned all of their future firsts, sans the 2031 pick swap with the Spurs.
They are actually tied for 12-13 with GS, I think, as Orl would make the playoffs right now in spite of having the worse record?
And you just know they would lose the coin flip to GS, 100 out of 100 times.
No 100 and 10% of the time.
Not sure what is to be expected when you have half the team being new additions or learning new roles all at the same time in the middle of 3 games in 4 nights.
No excuses, just perspective.
I thought last night was an improvement over the drubbing they took from ORL in a lot of ways. I also understand that the defensive scheme we run to hide our lack of size is not easily digestible or wasn’t considered worth getting too deep into with the new players (hence the switch to that atrocious rendition of the 2/3 zone at the end of the game.) I feel like our offense is a bit like that as well. The nuance that’s baked into requires a bit of seasoning for new players to adjust to, and unfortunately its a bit late into the schedule. The good news is the break is coming up and the Kings have earned their entire team the weak off! Can they digest the full playbook during that time? They need to, or their screwed.
Some positives; Lavine is a mad bucket getter and a savage offensive weapon. I was not a fan at all but his offensive skillset is off the charts. I don’t want to talk about his defense. DeRozan clogs things up a bit but he also has gravity and actually plays some decent defense. Monk is great and has his work cut out trying to fill the PG role, but I think he adds a dimension there that’s very tough to defend. Jonas is obviously a perfect backup C, my concern is him eating minutes from our best player, and all this to say…
There is a way for this team to work and win games. Even playoff games. Especially if Lyles can continue to contribute, they can figure out how to play cohesive defense. And +1 if LaRavia can come in and earn some rotational minutes with some strong wing play. I wouldn’t hate seeing our 3 guard starting lineup’s minutes reduced / redistributed to include more traditional lineups with some size on the wings, especially when matchups are requiring it, especially if its working.
I don’t hate this new era just yet. A lot of people here were ready to move on from Fox. I understood that Fox was probably our best trade chip for returns that filled needs. Monte didn’t quite get exactly what we needed, but he did get valuable players, some draft capital and stayed flexible. I don’t think we’re toast this season yet. I won’t be happy if that happens in short order. And I’ll be even less happy if this team doesn’t do some more trading in the offseason (I mean, barring a championship, of course…lol) But it was quite clear the Fox era was over (and all the things coming out about, once again, how Vivek has and is handling all this is just… wow,) and it was time for change. Coach Christie’s got his work cut out, I hope he can figure this thing out.
I would like to believe that this roster can distribute the ball well, but if they keep just getting 22 assists a night – as they have over the last 2 games – I’m not sure thats going to be enough. There’s also no reason to believe that the totals ought to be any higher than this. The team has now lost two point guards in Fox and Davion Mitchell in the last 8 months. Are the remaining Kings guards to old to be tought new tricks? This machine was built around firepower but its lacking the machine oil to keep itself lubricated.
They lost Jordan also.
for those who want more information about the Fox situation in Sacramento and what he might have been referring to when he mentioned “issues with ownership and management”, check out today’s Carmichael Dave video on YouTube.
What a crock. Granted the Kings FO have made mistakes, but Fox, his agent and the Spurs leveraged the Kings to trade him to SA in a way that protected their roster and best draft picks. They pulled it off, it was transparent, and as they say, the “business of basketball.”
Fox: “Once they let me take the fall for Mike Brown’s firing, I was done.”
Don’t blame him
I’m in the Jerry Reynolds camp of thinking he was likely gone the moment he signed with Klutch (unless he had a clear path to All NBA). And I don’t blame him for that.
And he was certainly done by the time he made that 4 point play foul and gave that lame postgame answer. He didn’t really care anymore by that time.
The Kangz brass just did everything to give him the convenient excuses on a platter.
Yeah, I may be with you on Klutch. Going to San Antonio was just to try and find success, it was also to make a lot money. The Spurs are about to become one of the most televised teams thanks to Wemby. Fox now has the ability to share the spotlight and make even more money off of the court. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a few more All-NBA and all-star appearances simply because he now has more eyes on him, an not necessarily because he may up better numbers. I could see his numbers being on par with Sac, maybe even a tad bit worse, but more accolades coming to him.
I miss DeAaron Fox.
Love Jonas V. and looking forward to LaRavia.
Don’t miss Huerter jacking long 3s.
Bones Hyland waived. Might as well get him. Fits the undersized PG that is all offense and no defense.
Saboners
Fox game winner…NOT!!!
Fox -7 in a loss to bum ass hornets ????
He was -4 in their one point win vs bumass hawks too
enjoy the 5 yr $296 million on that one SA lol
They can’t give him 5 years. Also, Fox had another reasonably nice game – it was Wemby that had the rough game. But sure, jump on that Kings FO bandwagon and scapegoat Fox.
I think because he was traded he can get that, just not eligible for super max
I think he can only get the 5th year with the team that drafted him. I don’t think the 5th option travels, but I could be wrong.
I’m pretty sure he can still sign a 5 year max offer, just not the super-max even if he somehow gets All-NBA this year with the Spurs.
Wemby only -1 and fox got severely outplayed by his rookie partner
Man, if single game box +/- is a stat of any meaning for you, we just need to shelve this convo.
How about minus 11 in two games vs bad teams, how about that being about the same here
Or you could look at the full season number for Fox, which was a +1.1 for the Kings, behind only Domas & Ellis among the core rotation players. But this larger sample size doesn’t fit the hater narrative, so cherry picking it is!
Fox defenders want to use two games to kill the trade, big difference?
I thought it was a shitty trade before any games were played, and will continue to feel that way until something makes me feel otherwise. I have not seen anything in Sac. or SA to change my mind.
And if it comes off as defending Fox, do be it. I’m just not buying the pablum that the FO is dishing out. And I base that on over a decade of mismanagement under Ranadive.
The FO are a joke. 1 playoff in 16 years tells you all you need to now. Period.
This is a bad, meaningless stat and Zach LaVine is a -27 in two games with the Kings. Again, meaningless, but if you’re going to look at it for one guy, look at it for both.
Yup good luck to them lol
Fox also hit the go ahead shot with 7 seconds left and what would have been the game winning three a few tenths of a second after the buzzer.
I can’t say I understand the need to throw the guy under the bus now. And if you’re going to criticize Fox, I would also look at how the guy who replaced him has done so far.
yeah, he hit several clutch time shots, which we’ve seen him do. that pass to Castle for three was a highlight play also.
I think the divorce court vibes will dissipate because Fox is a nice guy and the Kings traded him to his preferred destination … without delay! it will be all hugs later.
The “dreaded next 10 games” has already sailed from this recent B2B and I was predicting at least 1-1 between the two. Now, it’s a bad 0-2 start for a 7-3 target. With that, and predicting the schedule ahead, I have them going 44-38 and I don’t think that is gonna be enough for an outright playoff berth or even a 7-8 seed for the play-in. Heck, they could be out of it altogether.
If they do worse than 7-1 in the next 8, they should just shut everyone out and the tank should be fired up to keep that freaking pick, ala Dallas a couple of seasons ago.
Here’s what I predict for the upcoming schedule. Note those highlighted are games I feel could go either way.
You are very optimistic. I think 41 wins is the absolute ceiling of this team but could easily see 36 or 37 being the final outcome.
There is no chance, IMO, of them going 19-12 the rest of the way with this roster and the tough schedule. It would be one of the most epic, improbable, astonishing, (insert adjective here) finishes in Kings history with the schedule they face.
I’d be willing to make a friendly wager to the charity of your choice that they don’t even hit 42.
I’m really hoping that they finish under 40 wins because they likely keep their pick….at least until next year.
A 7 game and 5 game winning streak. Sorry don’t see it. Don’t see them beating a healthy Dallas. One through 5 Dallas is better and a better bench by a mile.Davis has owned Sabonis all year. Not sure they beat a motivated Jimmy Butler and Steph either. Jimmy when motivated better than any player on the Kings.
That 7 game winning streak you saw when Christie took over. It’s called the honeymoon period. Coupled with the fact almost every single team they beat were without their key starters. Minus a bored Boston team who were 7-8 going into that sac game. Dallas was without their entire starting lineup. Philly. No Embiid. Houston no Smith, Fleet, Miami no Jimmy, Memphis without Jah, Santi and someone else.
I see them winning 2-3 games max in March. This team hasn’t really consistently proven they can beat any good teams Unless said team has players sitting or injured.
This team will be lucky to go .500 the rest of the way.
This team picked up a player that is horrendous defensively that scores similarly to Fox. With a better 3 pt shot. But cannot run the point and is also another ball stopper to add with Demar.
Valenciunas was great. He’s also 32 and looked awfully slow against the Blazers.
Laravia is a decent pick up. Has size and can shoot it. But if he was that good defensively Memphis would have never let him go. Defense happens to be the hallmark of the Memphis team That’s for sure. He will have issues against speedy and more muscular players. Meaning he’s kind of slow footed.
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