I hate how important this game is. After getting embarrassed and outplayed by the Spurs on Wednesday, the Kings transformed tonight’s game into one with a ‘must win’ feel. While the Thunder are not a threatening name on the schedule and are being fully carried on the back of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Kings entered tonight’s matchup on the hangover of a three-game losing streak. A fourth loss in a row to the Oklahoma City Thunder would feel like a new low for the season, stirring up reminiscent feelings of nine-game losing streaks from the recent past. In preparation for tonight’s game, I snuck into Will’s house and destroyed his Poku shrine, so I did my part, and it was really just up the Kings to do their job. Let’s see how they did:
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings lose, 105-103
Sacramento Kings: 103 pts, 40.0% fg, 34.1% 3 pt, 76.5% ft, 20 ast, 49 reb, 13 to
Oklahoma City Thunder: 105 pts, 42.4% fg, 33.3% 3 pt, 73.3% ft, 13 ast, 52 reb, 10 to
I am struggling to find the words to begin right now. Here’s a synopsis: both teams started out poorly, the Kings got an 18-point lead, the Kings kindly gave those points back to the Thunder throughout the fourth quarter, then the Kings had a chance to win in the final possession, but instead gave it right back to the Thunder so they could have the home court glory of pulling off a comeback for their fourth straight win. I am not okay.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good
- Hella Hali Highlights: The only time I felt good during this game was when the ball was in Tyrese Haliburton’s hands. His absence, both in the past two games and in the few breaks he got tonight, was glaringly obvious. He has become the sole engine that makes the Kings’ offense go. Without him, the ball rarely touches the paint and shooters are forced into contested looks. Tyrese finished with eight points and seven assists with a handful of highlights created from two-man action with Richaun Holmes.
The Bad
- Lazy Defense: Early on, it was like watching the Kings play against a mirror. Oklahoma City is currently ranked 29th in the league in points, averaging just 99.1 per game. Much like the Kings, their offense relies heavily on one on one action and simple on ball screens. And, much like the Kings, this kind of offense doesn’t get you very far in this league. The difference tonight, however, was in the Kings’ absolutely horrendous defense. Not only did they get out rebounded by this smaller Thunder team, they gave up a disgusting total of 16 offensive rebounds. And to who, you might ask? To Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Aleksej Pokusevski. Again, WHO?! It was a reoccurring play that the Thunder ran where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Lugentz Dort would easily blow by their defender, miss at the rim, and then let their teammates clean up the garbage that the Kings were too lazy to grab themselves. It’s frustrating to see the Kings fail to do the little things (box out, rebound, take an ounce of pride in their man to man coverage) as if they can afford not to. If this isn’t a wake up call that they are NOT good enough to fall asleep on the details, then I don’t know what will be.
The Ugly
- The Basketball Game: I’m kind of emotionally spent at this point and I think we all get the picture. This was an ugly game.
The King of Kings
Richaun Holmes finished tonight with 16 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks, on 7-9 from the field. I love to see him back to this level of production, I just wish I could appreciate it more.
Up Next
Monday, November 15th @ Detroit Pistons – 4:00 P.M. (PT)
All the losses are starting to have the same Walton let’s just see what happens stench. Tonight the utter confusion and iso street ball Fox plays just show he has absolutely no business being on the sidelines anymore.
I am all in on maximum embarrassment for the people in charge. Watch that tape and get back to us, Alton.
Same. Stink this shit up.
Keep the loses coming. It’s the only way to get rid of Puke and maybe build a team—if that’s possible with Vivek around.
I’m on year three.
Cute.
Kings can’t think or mention playoffs until they actually have a star on the team. De’Aaron Fox is not it
They need a coach and actual real owner more then anything.
Sadly neither is forthcoming.
VR isn’t going anywhere, and close losses (ignoring the details) are how they’re going to justify carrying on with Walton. I’m afraid he’s here at least until his contract is up.
Depressing.
Should’ve traded Fox and Bagley for Simmons when they had the chance. Its been so obvious for years that the Kings don’t have a clutch player to closeout games – though Barnes and (to a growing extent) Tyrese have been admirable.
Fox can be a high volume scorer in this league, but he’s NEVER been a strong PG, nothing like Haliburton. Reminds me of the whole TyReke NaPG fiasco, took the Kings years to realize that he wasn’t working at that spot …. And Fox is regressing this season, his shot remains inconsistent, his decision making remains bad (you’d think he’d be weaned by now from constantly putting his head down and telegraphing that he’s going to drive into the teeth of the defense and rarely look to pass). Last year, I thought I saw some hope bc he was aggressively attacking the basket, now he’s back to those weak fall away midrange shots in traffic. His main skill is speed but he’s using it to get to spots and miss jumpers.
And with Davion showing such promise … Still feel certain that once Bagley gets to a competent organization he will finally live up to promise. Instead the Kings will trade him for some scrub or draft pick and he will come back over the next few years and kick our butts inside. Cannot understand why Walton has not come up w/better big man rotation this year. Pathetic. He should be on hot seat, too. And just look at the kind of glue player Bjelica has been for suddenly unstoppable Warriors. He was one of our most consistent/smartest players and we royally screwed that up.
Ugh. Im so sick of watching either Fox or Buddy just shoot us out of leads/games. But I still love watching Tyrese and Davion play and Richaun and Harrison play … they make others better. It is just painful being a Kings fan for the past 20 years.
I’ve said this for a while on here, but Fox is the King’s version of Monta Ellis. The sooner they trade him, the better the return before everyone else figures this out too. It will also allow Davion to shine.
The team is full of talented, athletic, average-wingspan, low-iq players. They need a strong Xs and Os coach like Joerger or Malone to tell the team what to do every play. Most teams can’t implement a read and react system and have no clue how to play team defense. You need high-iq players to run that kind of system (see Spurs and Warriors).
In one week I have gone from “playoffs baby!” to “blow it up!”.
Uggh.
Two steps forward…one nut punch back.
i hope Monte plans on trading away any player who just refuses to play defense and just go with the younger guys who do. There might be a lot more effort put into the game. It’s also going to be nice to see how the team operates under a new head coach who knows how to plan for a complete game.
Is another 9 game losing streak out of the question?
i think not. But maybe it will shut up those “this team is different”-sayers. Same coach, same top 5 players, still a weak bench and D (despite Davion). Monte hasn’t transformed anything, he just tinkered with a losing team. Surprise surprise.
I think the question is, how many 9 game losing streaks can one team fit into an 82-game season?
9?
That’s the incorrect answer, since that will provide losing streaks which are longer than 9 games.
The correct answer is 8. But given out start of the season, the maximum achievable is 7. Get it done, Luke.
It’s not even winter yet and we have to watch this stuff again this year.
That’s why u don’t get my hopes up with this team. Just expect them to be about a 30 win team, knowing that streaks will happen. 8 wins in a row just means a huge losing streak will be coming soon to an arena near you.
Oh, believe me, I’ve had my expectations low for the past six years. I’m not even surprised anymore.
Well at least this game wasn’t butt, right? So there is a positive. Time for a new coach search?
I’m not sure what’s going on here, but I 100% approve.
Questions I’d like to see an aggressive media ask Walton:
You are now coaching into your third season and objectively speaking, the team is still playing at the same percentage and making the same mistakes. How do you explain that and how much is your responsibility?
It’s clear the De’Aaron Fox is not just in a slump. He is a noticeably different player. He is not pushing the ball. His defense is bad, his ball-handling and shooting is worse and his attitude seems dour. When is the team going to admit that something is going on with him?
The problem is, there is no Kings media. We have the softest market in sports. No one asks real questions.
Oh, absolutely. Been like that for years. Nobody ever challenges the coach, much less the organization. Jason and Jason and Ham and all the radio guys are gutless
100% agreed
Time for this site to have a fundraising campaign to lure and hire some writers from Philly, NYC, and Boston.
Luke: “I’ll get back to you on that once I’ve watched the tape”…
I don’t know how many times I saw Fox dribble the ball up, pass it off, and then go stand in the corner and be a spectator.
Monte McNair should answer the same questions based on maintaining Vlade Divac’s roster.
Prediction: Simmons surprise return against the kings, shuts down kings backcourt and 12 assists in 124 – 96 blowout. Bagley starts. Fox refuses to enter the game.
Poor attention to detail… primitive/ineffective offensive gameplan… bad defense… THIS IS 100% A COACHING ISSUE. This team has enough talent to be taken seriously, but its coach is seriously unqualified. And if Monte is serious about taking this team to the playoffs this year, he needs to fire Walton yesterday. Gentry can keep the seat warm and do a serviceable job, which is better than Walton has ever done here.
I’m not seeing the talent, I’m not seeing any star players, zero. It’s the same weak roster as last year, with a mediocre bench. It’s definitely a Walton problem, but he also has nothing to work with. I don’t see a new coach improving things too much.
Exactly. No stars = no hope.
This is my assessment as well. A good coach maybe squeezes a .500 season out of the these guys (with a whole lot of injury luck). And the team would be less frustrating to watch. But overall the talent is meh and the players DONT FIT.
I’m still not certain who our top 2 guards should be if we are trying to win games; my gut surprisingly tells me haliburton and hield at this point.
the 3 guard offense is not a strategy but a default- out of options? only have guards? ok, call it a strategy
Laugh or cry?
That is the question.
Both at the same time?
The problem is this team never knows how to take advantage.
e.g. If team foul is full for opponents, then goes inside and draw foul, earn the point from the line.
and in this game, I just don’t freaking understand why our last possession takes the hardest way to handle(Fox using the best defender in 1-on-1 situation). Smart team would avoid this kind of circumstance, and pass the ball to other
Spot on. When Fox walk dribbled the ball up and every other Kings player on the floor hunkered down in the corners, I knew this shit was over.
Run a play, Walton, you fool. Get your team moving.
Or set picks to create a mismatch against a lesser or slower defender, or draw the double team to get someone else free.
The iso is fine for guys like Steph, Luka and Lillard to name a few. Fox is not at that level, certainly not this season so far.
But almost 16% of the season has passed and I don’t have the sense that he’s turned a corner yet.
They won`t fire Luke, cause he is so “nice” and the “players like him”. I have never heard someone says they keep him cause he has a sharp basketball mind…
At least he’s coached the team to a pile of wins….
is that right? Someone may need to fix that
Think maybe they didn’t because of money.
To me, this is the opportunity/moment—maybe it gets so bad they are forced to fire Luke. If they do, that would make me think that Vivek may have backed off.
Vivek and Co are fucking egos run amuck.
Did you mean “run amonk”?
A monstruous pun!
Well, no one ever became stupidly wealthy being kind, humble, and altruistic.
sharp basketball mind? how about just plain sharp mind, in general
OKC leapfrogged SAC in the standings. It’s super early, I know; but I still contend that this iteration of the Kings will make the playoffs.
Still, this ugly loss is a tough pill to swallow.
PLAYOFFS? PLAYOFFS? Don’t talk about playoffs! (Someone do the gif.)
Six days ago, when the Kings blew out the Hornets, I commented that there was a lot of bad play—turnovers and weak defense, lots of layups given up. In that game the Kings shot lights-out partly because the Hornets were so bad at defending the 3-point line, When the Kings were up by 18 in the third quarter tonight, I was thinking it would be another sloppy, misleading victory against a team that was playing incredibly badly.
The Thunder started playing ordinary basketball, and the very bad Kings lost.
What happened to that fairly consistent defensive intensity we saw earlier?
I agree that this team has no offensive plan. Hali and Richaun play a nice two-man game, but they aren’t Stockton and Karl Malone.
They need a coach who knows what she is doing (Becky Hammon, if she would come).
If Hammon learn, let’s say, 70% of Pop’s game, we would be a Top 5 team.
Those back-door cut, Pick and roll from the Spurs, they ran all the strategy in perfection.
What this team right now knows to do is all jacking up 3, Fox driving inside and shoot a bricked shots.
We need changes, NOW !!!!!!!
Fox is atrocious.
Some guy named Luka just had a 32-12-15 triple-double.
He seems like he’s a good player on the rise…. I wonder how we can get him….
was thinking about Bagley refusing to play. Next time the Kings play the Mavs, they should start Bagley and make him cover Luka for the entire game. Make a point as to why he’s on the bench.
And they come crashing back to the doldrums.
On the bright side, buying tickets during the holiday season is gonna be super cheap
But then you have to watch.
oh ! give as Christmas presents?
Look Mom, what I got in my stocking!!!! Kings tickets. Oh, son and daughter, you can’t go to that event- it is not safe psychologically.
Kings tickets…the 21st century lump of coal!
Don’t buy tickets!! Giving this organization money is asinine.
I might do a $14 ticket vs the Sixers though, then I look at the unsold map before going in and walk to the bottom of the lower level and enjoy an unsold seat. No food or drink though, that’s for damn sure.
This organization is a joke. The Aristocrats!
More like the Aristocraps, am I right?
they are who we thought they were! gif
Same shit, different season.
It’s time I buy that Kangz sweatshirt.
Is it time for another billboard ??
i.e. “We want Coach Becky Hammon”
“We want Coach XX”
“Fire Walton”
Becky would be worse !
I don’t understand the want for Hammon so bad. She has never held a head coaching job. Why do we think she takes us to the next level? Because she is under Pop? I feel like if the Kings went after her it would be more for their want of being first for publicity as opposed to actually looking for the best fit. This organization would do its best to ruin her career before it even got started.
There are a number of interesting, deserving potential candidates and she is absolutely among them. Outside of success as an actual NBA head coach, 3-4 years as Pop’s lead assistant is as good a resume/experience builder as anything. I can certainly understand why a Kings fan would be highly interested in a candidate who has 7-8 years of experience on the bench under one of the greatest coaches in NBA history within an organization that is arguably the gold standard for success, stability, and culture.
Now, if you want someone who has experience as an NBA head coach, which I can understand, she’s obviously not on that list. But if that’s NOT a prerequisite for you, then she has as good a resume as anyone.
This I agree with. If and when she accepts a head coaching gig, it should not be here. People will want her to fail, and it make zero sense to take a job where it’s basically impossible for anyone to succeed.
I’d like to make a fan request to the Kings organization: Grab a dictionary and look up the word consistent. Then go ahead and draw up a plan to keep those players who have been pretty consistent for awhile and build around them .. AND, hold on now, then you get rid of those players who have been inconsistent for a few years now.
Then go and look up the word consistent again and write it down on a piece of paper and post it in the locker room, word for word. You’re welcome.
Walton has been consistent. I hope they don’t use your logic with him, otherwise he will get another extension.
humiliating
a losing is winning strategy will not work either- psychologically or in any practical sense.
why do I care ? rhetorical
For some time there was hope- “we are a super team, just young” b.s., but now not young and not super and no path forward
I told you all not to get excited over a few measly wins, this is all standard Kangz stuff and we still have Luse as our coach so I’m not sure what you were expecting. I need guards that are great shooters, scorers, distributers, and defenders, at least 3/4. Fox is maybe a great scorer but can’t even seem to do that anymore, I could take or leave him, overpaid and overrated.
Watch it burn and hope something changes
Low b-ball iq + loser mentality + bad coaching is no way to go through life Mr. Blutarski.
These kinds of results were baked in the moment McGenius decided to keep Walton, and not make a big trade. We still don’t know if he was late pulling the trigger with the Lakers. And you either have to trade Bagley or play him. So much for McGenius waiting for the best offer. Now they won’t get anything for him. As for Fox, he looks like he’s trying to play his way off the Kings. There’s no better explanation. And why Walton didn’t just steal a Warriors playbook I’ll never know. He can’t make one of his own, that’s for sure.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2948863-what-kind-of-nba-team-can-actually-build-around-ben-simmons.amp.html
How does Monte not see this? How does anyone not see this? I’ll be in the Kings Fan Graveyard, if anything magic happens.
.
Happy I didn’t watch this game either. You could see it in that matinee game that something changed, and when things go bad for Walton they go on for so long, it’s like we have to wait for a new moon or something. I hope they don’t have a “players only” meeting.
Enough good individual players. Absolutely no team. Total void of leadership and strategy.
Step 1. Put Kings under a microscope. Stare intently during summer league, scrimmages, pre-season. How much potential there is! How much so-and-so and what’s-his-face have improved from last year! How these new guys give us what we’d been missing!
Step 2. Mostly just ignore the changes made by other teams.
Step 3. Foresee a jump in wins, based on the Kings’ talent improvement. Why should it matter that there is also improvement throughout the league, that the overall level of play on both offense and defense gets better every year? Or that the loss of last year’s injury/COVID/rest advantages will matter? Just assume that improvements in Kings’ talent will drive more wins
Step 4. Never say “I was wrong” when things don’t play out as expected. Blame the coaching for failing to realize all of that talent that you saw.
Repeat next year.
Great list! It always helps to have a non-coaching scapegoat as well. The India trip was a scapegoat for darn near a whole season. COVID, “shortened training camp,” “lack of practice time,” injuries, making trades and needing a full training camp plus half a season to “see where we are,” rookies needing time to develop and lineup changes without a full training camp. These are many of the classic excuses rolled out by our local media enablers over the last 15 years.
You forgot brutal, unfair schedule.
Actually I like the idea of the India trip for punishment.
Make the playoffs or play extra games in India.
I’m out of market and can only watch the YouTube highlights (which may actually be a blessing).
During a recent trip back to Sac I saw some nice defensive intensity. Now it looks like rotations are off. I love Tyrese but in this game he missed the baseline cutter a lot.
What happened to the trust I thought I saw, or was that myopia on my part?
Hate to be shitty about this but Fox is a Choke!! Great all around (at times) but not the guy to make easy shots when you need baskets. He can’t be relied on at the end of games. He just Chokes at the easiest shots anyone could ask for. I’m truly always surprised and relived when he makes a needed basket down the stretch. And he’s always been this way! Keep thinking he’s gonna get it “this” year . . . I swear it’s a mental thing with him he doesn’t seem to concur.
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