Sacramento's third preseason game ended in dramatic fashion, as Kyle Guy capped off a night to remember by drilling the game-winning three pointer at the buzzer to beat the Golden State Warriors 114-113.
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1339081306957701120
Guy's night was about more than the buzzer beater however, as he showcased as a backup Point Guard in Corey Joseph's absence. Guy finished with a team-high 20 points, including 6 of 10 from three, to go with 3 rebounds and 3 assists. We all knew Guy could shoot, but tonight he looked comfortable running the offense as well, and showcased moments with good playmaking and vision. With Sacramento adding three more rookies this offseason, many were quick to write off Guy, but if his performance in preseason is anything to go by, he's making a real case to be a part of the team's rotation.
This night was also special in that it featured the return of Marvin Bagley III to game action. Bagley hadn't played competitively in almost a year and it was great to see him on the floor tonight. He finished with 9 points and 4 rebounds in 15 minutes and definitely looked to be in the best shape we've seen him yet. Hopefully he can continue to build on that as it looks like the Kings are ready to put him right back into a featured starting role.
Hassan Whiteside also made his Sacramento debut and while at times he looked slow and lackadaisical, he also offered a tremendous presence on the defensive side of the ball, cleaning the glass and protecting the rim. He finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks in just 14 minutes, stellar production from a backup big man.
No King played more than 25 minutes, and Buddy Hield and De'Aaron Fox led the starters with 18 and 17 points respectively. Hield in particular looked good tonight, consistently making the second effort on both ends of the court.
It was a mixed bag from the rookies. Tyrese Haliburton only played 15 minutes and finished with just 2 points, 3 assists, 2 steals and a rebound. He consistently looked for others on offense and he was doing a good job of playing the passing lane on defense. If the worst that can be said of him is that he's too unselfish, that's not a bad place to start. Jahmi'us Ramsey and Robert Woodard both only played during the 4th quarter with the rest of the Kings deep bench and didn't really have any highlights to speak of. Ramsey had a nice up and under move to the rim for his only points of the game, and Woodard showcased solid defensive potential and weakside help protecting the rim, but the Kings offense ground to a standstill.
Sacramento once again made a conscious effort to play with speed and pace with Luke Walton in particular constantly telling his guys to run. At one point, even Hassan Whiteside took it coast to coast for a layup in one of those no, no, no, yes plays.
https://twitter.com/SacramentoKings/status/1339061769294102531
On the Warriors side, Steph Curry led the way with 29 points and looked more and more like the Steph of old despite the new hairstyle. He was a little off on his three point shot tonight or he could have had even more. Sacramento-native Marquese Chriss also chipped in with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists off the bench.
The Kings have one more preseason game ahead of them as they face the Warriors one more time on Thursday before the regular season begins on December 23rd.
Check out the official game highlights below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHE7NpS9bA8
Hotter than fish grease
Thanks, I was trying to figure out wtf he said there.
Am I wrong to be confused by that statement? ð¤£
I’m guessing after you fry fish, that grease is hot. Yet Kyle Guy’s shooting was hotter, especially that game winner.
I once melted a microwave handle while frying fish.
How are you even possible let alone alive?
I’m like Mr Bean. I just go through life attempting to complete basic tasks *high jinks ensues*
Grant would then turn the sprinkler systems on and end up burning the arena down.
I would also like to preemptively submit myself for Nostradumbass of the year:
Blake should add a ’20 Nostradumbass medal to your handle!
Who hit the game winner?
my friends
Are folks noticing the same pattern that happened in the spring?
starters get immediately down, bench saves us (all spring, two out of three preseason games)
no starter is imprinting the game
if there are only robins and no batmen in that lineup, bring the best energy you can (at this point Haliburton)
i might try Buddy at sf than benching him though
I’m noticing an imprinting pattern, for sure.
Sacramento once again made a conscious effort to play with speed and pace with Luke Walton in particular constantly telling his guys to run. Like no one ever told him to do that last year or he never watch game tapes from joerger era or something
can we please stop with the Joerger mythologizing? He wasn’t this magical coach that unlocked his player’s strengths. Here’s how the team ranked in pace in Fox’s rookie year:
That was the year Z-Bo led the team in scoring. Can’t we just pretend that one never happened?
Joerger did make the adjustment in year 2. Can Walton do the same?
Hopefully!
Joerger ran as fast a system as having Z-bo would allow that first year.
Walton ran as fast a system as having Joseph as a starting pg would allow.
Year 3 joerger was pretty good because he had them play fast. My problem with Walton has always been when he took over and immediately reverted back to play slow like our offense was still featuring Z-Bo in his twilight years. Can he make adjustment? Sure hope so. But based on what I’ve seen in Los Angeles that answer is a no.
I’d still rather have Joerger than this mush-mouthed coach, though.
Dick Motta, Bill Russell, and on and on.
The problem with Walton is that he was too dumb to build on what was being (successfully) built before him. He had to re-break it first.
Exactly. Joerger was in year 1 of a full rebuild. Walton was supposed to come in and build upon what was already (somewhat) successful. “Take us to the next level”…
Like what I’m seeing from Buddy lately on both ends.
Whiteside has cinder blocks for hands and is clumsy on offense. Dat rim protection though..
Defense looked lost a lot but improved.
Has Bjelly lost a step? More like lost a leg. Bye-Bye, please trade.
Fox… Hang in there buddy. Liked the aggression seeking fouls. The free throw line is crucial for his play style.
Kyle Guy, just wow. Impressed with his improvement. He can stay in front of his man and you can tell he bulked up.
Haliburton just needs experience. My cause for concern is he seems reluctant to shoot off the dribble. There were a few screens he came off of with the ball in his hands that should have been 3 point attempts. Overall though he is a net positive.
Progress is looking like its happening with this team. And that’s all I ask for this season.
I’ll add, Harrison Barnes with another Houdini game, can you believe he led the team in minutes tonight? I can’t remember anything he did.
Exactly. I would lump him with CoJo and Bjelly as logjam vets. They hold us back more than they help. The younger guys defer to him too much I feel. I would like to see a Bagley, Barnes, Hield, Haliburton, and Fox line up trotted out though. The Warriors are a smaller team so the next game is the perfect time to try it out.
Agreed on CoJo because there are other guys (ha) his minutes could be going to like Hali and Guy who probably can compete at the NBA level but need the development time.
But I’m not quite there yet on Barnes cause I think he’s still a notable upgrade over any of our other wing forward types. I’m not as worried about taking minutes from Robinson, Jeffries, or Woodard at this point.
Bjelly did look slower than usual on D today. Hopefully that’s not going to carry into the season. But he’s our only big that can really shoot which is useful if he can be a serviceable defender.
Joseph has to be on the trade block, as he clearly had no place on this team now.
No one wants him
One again agreed. My thing with Barnes and Bjelica is more about the ball stopper in them. Bjelica has no business taking anyone off the dribble and his lack of athleticism means there will be matchups where he should be sat. Barnes shouldn’t take anyone off the dribble too actually. That’s just not their game.
Barnes is not a terrible one-on-one out of the high post. He got a lot of practice at it when he was in Dallas. But yeah, that should be like your 8th best go-to play when he’s on the court.
Agree on Bjelica. But Barnes can absolutely take his man off the dribble, not sure what you are seeing to say he can’t.
I never said he can’t, I said he shouldn’t 
Is this really an issue in a game that doesn’t count?
If Guy keeps this up, he will certainly crack the rotation. I like him a lot as a secondary ballhandler.
I enjoyed this game tonight. I hope Bagley can provide around 15 and 8 over 70 games this year.
He earned a spot on the rotation already. There’s no “if” about it. The spot should be his to lose.
This is good
wrong
Bagley, per 48 min: 27/12. That’s all-star stats. Guy rules, trade Fox!!!
Bagley, per 96 min: 54/24. MVP stats!
C’mon man, admit that the kid has game.
Yes, 15-30 of them per year.
Just a bunch of haters! All of you know the kid’s got serious game!! Put some respect on his name!!!
I liked what I saw from Bagley tonight
I’m officially on the assist watch for Bagley. I think we may see one by game 7.
You’re such a h8r Adam!!!!!
I wasn’t particularly impressed. He produced off putbacks and awkward-looking isos off the left block where you knew passing was the furthest thing from his mind. We already knew he could do that.
I don’t care how much he does or doesn’t produce posting or facing up and taking it himself. I’d rather not them build a team around that style at all.
He hasn’t really earned that yet.
Great to see him back in action, looked like he was moving well and generally making the right plays. A little early to start calling for respect and redemption though.
9 points and 4 rebounds in 16 minutes, making 4-of-7 shots without any assists, steals or blocks.Im happy he’s back, but really need to see some growth in his game before I’m putting respect on his name ð
I agree. Too much hating the young kid because he’s not luka. I’m still excited to see him growing personally.
Bagley’s inability to stay on the court or show team-oriented skills has nothing to do with Doncic. Honestly, I think the Bagley assessment has officially transitioned from unfair comparison to Doncic to using the veil of unfair comparison to Doncic to hand wave his inability to make a positive impact on the court for the Kings.
Forget Doncic comparisons. That ship has long since sailed. The question is if Bagley can develop his team-oriented skills and awareness enough to be a key contributor to a theoretical good future Kings team.
Anything the Kings get from Bagley at this point should be seen as an unexpected bonus. He has been injury-riddled and barely on the court at all in a year and a half. The team should be planning for a future without his contributions. If they end up getting something out of him, it’s a pleasant surprise! (And note that I am really rooting for him. The injuries are obviously not his fault, and being picked ahead of Luka was not his fault. If he were picked from 5-10 like he should have been, he’d be a sentimental fan favorite.)
Game winner aside, the player of the game for me had a stat line of 2 points, 3 assists and 1 board. Anticipating that being a somewhat regular occurrence this season.
Love that Guy!
I will say this for Kyle Guy, he’s a great shooter and he knows how to play. As a 9th man spark plug, why not? He will get torched on defense but for this season why not?
He’s like Seth Curry on a budget, who himself is a homeless man’s Steph Curry.
I’m feeling a Hali/Guy/Robinson/Bjelica/Whiteside bench lineup. His defensive struggles aided some by our last line of defense brick wall. Offensively shooters and a big to grab boards and get putbacks.
Should be a starter. Trade Fox!!!
I don’t know why you think Guy will get torched on defense. He is active and he has added strength. Cory Joseph is a joke on defense and yet everyone buys into this fake narrative he is a defender.
Do not be fooled by a guy who has defensive fundamentals down but lacks the athetic and physical profile to be an effective defender.
Cory Joseph had a defensive rating of 114 last year same as Buddy. We are losing little to nothing defensively with Guy over Joseph and our offense will be much more potent and dynamic with him.
Agree with this, he’s fighting through everything on defense and seems absolutely up for the challenge of team defense.
If hitting the stop and pop 3 on breaks is truly a skill of his, then it seems to me he should be playing with Fox.
Reminds me of Redick a little bit.
And that’s exactly how he should be used. Like Redick…off the bench of course.
The Microwave 2.0
Kinda like Buddy (on a good team).
Ok we’ll see if he gets torched once the games are real. My bet would be that he will. I’m really enjoying Kyle Guy’s play at the moment but I’m just guessing he won’t look quite as effective in real games on defense.
Whiteside’s stats don’t contribute to winning!
Why would you sign Whiteside if you want to play with pace!
(Don’t question my minutes restriction. I’m just having fun with stats)
On a one game sample size? That take is hotter than fish grease. Also fishier than fish grease. Probably slipperier than fish grease, too.
(Don’t question my response, I am just having fun with fish grease).
speaking of fish grease, is John Salmon the best fish-named player in nba history?
They should rename the Halibut “Haliburton”, in honor of Tyrese.
He’s better than Brandon Bass. But Michael Finley gets my vote.
Ooh, good ones. Also : Kendall Gill?
Isn’t Finley more fish-themed than fish-named? 🙂
Matt Fish.
Jarrett Jack?
Jerry Tarkanian “Tark the Shark”
C’mon guys, don’t you all remember the other fishy King Travis “Trout” Outlaw?
The executive committee on fish named players met last night and made a final ruling. Oscar Robertson is the best NBA player to share a name with a species of fish.
Not Goby Bryant?
Kobe has the rare title of being the best meat/legume named player.
Well done.
Also
Not Magic Johnson?
Would Kobe’s dad be in the running for best legume named player?
Bobby Chickpea had that one good year for the Cavs
Wow, nice work, BHE!
Medium well.
Because there’s a defensive side of the game too. Duh.
Do your stats from the couch contribute to winning??
Yeah
Happy for Bagley to be back on the court again.
Very happy for Guy, but then there’s coach Walton with the cold shower:
obligatory gif for Luke Walton:
And its a Christmas themed Debbie Downer? Well done.
The Kings Herald literally published an article about how the Kings needed to sign another PG like a couple days ago. I think we all need to reevaluate the Kyle Guy situation.
Dude was hot, I give you that.
Like fish oil!
Walton was just keeping it real.
The timing and the way to tell it publicly was not very kind.
There are times to keep it real and times to be diplomatic.
Yeah, real stupid