The Kings wrap up their preseason Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. PT.
Kings fans can catch the action on Kings+.
One more tune-up before the games start counting so we will hopefully see the team play a regular rotation, aside from players out with injury.
With the lack of success this pre-season,
DC strained the short leash that he’s on.
Our defense is so porous,
There’s little hope for us.
Those predictions are bad for a reason!
+1 BOOM!
WTF is that hame not on TV? They pull crap every preseason…
Face palm…it’s on Amazon.
Maybe I don’t want to watch this after all…
Well, I know at one point I said there was a chance this team made the playoffs. I mean technically that’s still true, but I know longer believe it is likely.
I really think Terry Stotts would be a very good coach for this group and I’m pretty sure the dude is available.
I get that he’s not a defensive coach, but holy hell, with these weapons on offense, he would run a pretty fun offense. I don’t think Doug knows how to plan an offense. I think he just tells the guys to feel their way out there, so they don’t really know what to do.
I agree. There is ZERO plan out there. ZERO. And if there is a plan then their preparation and understanding of the plan is absolutely horrible. I love Doug and will always love Doug but this is looking pathetic at this point. Down by 20 half way through the first quarter. This killed all my excitement for the season to start. Sabonis… Wow dude, please get your shit together. Please. what the hell was that. his trade value at that salary is ZERO.
Hey Doug, where is all that identity and defensive intensity???
Pathetic.
I’m not sure Doug will even make it 10 games .. this is ugly
I asked a week or so ago what are the chances he makes it to the end of the calendar year. With the way this team has looked in preseason, I may need to amend that window to Thanksgiving.
Are you saying that in jest or do you actually think that might happen?
The fact that there is a collective group that works together to produce this offensive style with ZERO system or at best ZERO understanding of a system is ridiculous.
I see them firing Doug and promoting Woodson, and then hiring Woodson next season, because like Doug, he’s cheap. Vivek has repeatedly fired people with their replacement already in the organizational shadows.
I would fire him now. Pathetic.
That was absolutely embarrassing. They all look lost.
This year is going to be bad, so bad.
Damn, looks like the team is tuning out and it’s not even the start of the season yet.
I can’t remember when’s the last time I felt so apathetic to an upcoming Kings season. Maybe it’s just the combination of so many things that have built up to this moment.
I wish Christie would have started Hunter one game and started Simmons one game. To see how both looked in the starting lineup.
Is Malik Monk injured, holding out, being shadow banned? Not that it would matter. This team only exists for next year’s lottery pick, and more likely a panic trade for a star to get out of the bottom three.
Also, way to sit this GLeague championship level team until you have to play one of the actual top three teams in the NBA, and you’re getting smashed to bits no matter what you do.
They said earlier that Monk is still “rounding into shape”, suggesting that he came into camp out of shape.
That is pretty pathetic if true. I would think that means he’s mentally checked out.
Apparently the Kings have a physical fitness test that players have to pass, and Monk didn’t pass it when he got to camp…
I don’t know, he looked fine a Fan Fest the other day. It’s not a game and the drills aren’t real but not only did he move fine but he looked fine up close too.
Round is a shape.
126-97. I think I’m gonna puke.
The Kings won the second half! ;- )
0-5 in the preseason. We’re going streaking!!!
Doug is such an idiot. He’s running a read and react O which suits neither Sabonis or Keegan Murray. So you’re essentially eliminating two of your best offensive players.
and he wants to play defense and run. He’s just a dumb ass.
Doug was an assistant during the 22-23 season and had a close look at how that offense worked and what made Fomas and Keegan successful. He simply said “nah, I’m good.”
Installed a lazy ass offense that is basically “go hoop” and see what happens.
I think Doug, as the designated Vivek plant, was too busy with undermining Brown in order to get his job.
Agreed. A shitty team like this with a bunch of players who have barely played together needs a system.
Is it the “Go hoop” system or the “Go poop system”?
Perry and Doug are Dumb and Dumber. Vivek is Dumbest.
I remember all the Kings fans reactions (also here on TKH) when Vegas put the Kings at something like 22 wins.
What are your thoughts on that now?
Sounds about right still, maybe 25 if Simmons remains healthy (he’s been better than expected IMO).
I thought it was high then and nothing has changed. People are delusional if they think this team will be anything other than a disaster.
One too many 2’s
2-82 is my prediction
It’s in the ballpark. I think LaVine is going to sit if he gets a hangnail, Simmons will miss most or all of the season with an injury or mental health issue, and the Kings are going to spend the first half of the season trying and failing to trade LaVine, Sabonis and Monk.
I think they’re going to drag well below a 22-win pace until the trade deadline, and Vivek is going to panic, grab the wheel and crash the Kings into a Zion Williamson (or pick whatever other distressed “star”) sized ditch with a bunch of first round picks, which will push them back toward the low-20 win mark.
I don’t see any cohesive offense or identifiable defensive system in any of the units played.
On offense there are barely any screens or DHOs, or movement, or anything at all unpredictable. Bad offense makes for bad defense.
On defense the team rotates well enough, but they completely leave the 3PT line undefended and yet also don’t defend the paint or the rim, it’s pretty baffling.
This is going to be such a rough season.
This is the season the fans turn on the Kings and it’s egotistical owner. I can see us being the worst team in the West and the drafting 12th. I was pissed when they traded Haliburton and that IMO was the beginning of the worst era in Kings history despite the Light the Beam success it was an illusion. They have paid lip service to obtaining players that play good defense. Ranadive devalued Haliburton and got his man-crush Lavine. End of story.
Nah, sadly I predict mostly apathy and disinterest.
So just like the last couple of years.
I honestly wish the Kings would just cut bait with Doug Christie now rather than drag this out. I don’t think his read-and-react offense fits this roster. That type of system requires tremendous chemistry, basketball IQ and players who instinctively understand each other’s movements and are not selfish. We simply don’t have that right now.
I’d much rather bring in an experienced coach who knows how to maximize the strengths of the players we have. We saw how entertaining Kings basketball was under Rick Adelman with Pete Carril’s Princeton offense. With Sabonis’ passing ability, there’s no reason we can’t incorporate more high-post offense, DHOs, backdoor cuts and structured ball movement.
I’d also like to see Simmons on the floor as much as possible. He’s another excellent facilitator, although pairing him with Sabonis means surrounding them with three legitimate shooting threats. Raynaud can develop as Sabonis’ backup, while Cardwell and Precious provide athleticism and defense in different frontcourt combinations.
Here are the coaches I’d seriously consider:
I know Mike Woodson is already on the staff, but I’d prefer looking outside the organization. I’m also not convinced Thibodeau is the right fit for this roster.
And please, trade LaVine. I’d take a bag of chips for him and might even throw in another bag to get the deal done!
The Kings don’t need another coach trying to force a system onto players who don’t fit it. They need someone who recognizes what these guys do well and builds an offense around those strengths. I’d rather make that change now than waste another season pretending this is going somewhere.
I am one of the harshest critics of Christie, and he has to go, but ultimately it is rearranging the deck chairs of the Titanic.
I don’t see any of these coaches creating a foundation for a functional team, given the infrastructure that would surround them.
Perry must be happy with Doug because he escapes so much scrutiny because of him.
Very fair points!!
I’m still of the opinion that we’re at least two head coaches and one GM away from sniffing (not necessarily reaching) the playoffs. We’re one owner away from being a relevant NBA franchise.
Well said, my only comment is that Perry chose Doug and approved this system all off season and now pre season. A good GM would say “Find a system that works toward the strengths of the players on this roster”. Run that.
Once Perry fires DC, the clock gets started on Perry and he is the next on the block to go so he’s buying himself at least another year on the job by keeping DC around.
He’ll probably fire DC around the All-Star break, hand the reins to Woodson to finish out the season, and then began his head coaching search for next year.
And Perry himself won’t last beyond the end of the 2028 season, no matter what he does.
i am really disappointed in how Christie has handled Keegan Murray, If something is wrong with Muttay then what I am suggesting here forget it. Doug should find a cigar store that is willing to sell a wooden Indian and nail him in either corner of the court. That’s where Murray plays. If Doug can’t or doesn’t want to run plays for Keegan then trade him because he needs to play to his strengths for a team that values him more than the Kings.
I hope Sabonis gets back to somewhat of what he was before. Hello Raynaud. Get well soon.
You played Hunter more than Murray last night. WOW!
If Acuff is your franchise point guard then what are you going to do with Simmons?
Why can’t the Kings shoot both running the offense or Free throws. Comparing the 3 point attempts between the Kings and Spurs not even close.
If this is it we are in trouble all year. Hopefully not.
I thought much of the same. The 3 point attemots the Kings take are frantic and rushed. The 3 point attempts the Spurs take are within a flow, poised and dare I say, planned!
Panic three’s thats their bred and butter.
This is a very reasonable post outlining moves you would expect a competent organization might make.
And yet, here we are.
I’m personally not going to criticize the manager at Taco Bell for their crappy ingredients.
Spot on! This doug “system” ONLY WORKS WITH CHEMISTRY!!! This is a “system” you run when you are a championship contender like the spurs who ran a system as a group had success and now they “Go hoop” with a system as their starting point / base of chemistry.
Woodsen is there and is the lead assistant so I don’t trust his judgement at all. If his voice and relationship with Doug is so weak that he can’t say to Doug “this isn’t going to work with this roster at this stage in their chemistry” then there will be ZERO difference between Doug or Woodsen.
I think I would rather they just forfeit the season and never play a game at this point.
I don’t think one game the Kings play this year will be real lol. Seriously, I don’t think people are ready for how bad this team will be. We’ll have a new coach next year and most of these players will be gone. We’ll finish in the relegation zone and that will be that. Maybe next year, if Acuff improves, we’ll have a shot to not to be the worst team in the league.
To not be the worst team in the league…is the loftiest of Kings expectations.
They should relegate the Sacramento Kings to the G-League, or ship them to Europe when NBA Europe starts. Just an embarrassment to the city.
What an absolute embarrassment. I had hope and excitement until watching this game. It’s the same shit show as last season except you don’t have two Hall of Famers that continuously said “F this I’m just going to do my own thing”. We faulted Russ and Demar for being players that limit the offensive systems you can run. Now they are gone and what… It’s the same shit but even more shitty now? Hard to believe.
I watch the game and it looks obvious to me that every Kings player is not sure exactly what the plan is. How pathetic, how sad, how infuriating!
Run a plan and then read and react off of the execution of said plan! Do that two or three times down the court and then run a designed play specifically for a specific player. SWITCH THINGS UP!!!
This is garbage. I’m angry
I’m at the point where that’s just not a thing for me anymore. The endless cycle of being excited for a new Kong’s season, only to be let down early amd often.
Now I go into the seasons thinking they are just going to suck, that way I won’t be let down. Over/Under of 21.5 wins??? Give me the under.
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