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Kings 119, Hornets 125: Never Go Full Kangz

The Kings couldn't stop anyone and spoiled their holiday homecoming.
By | 52 Comments | Dec 19, 2022

Dec 19, 2022; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) holds his eye during the first quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

Back in Sacramento for their first home game in weeks and matching up against the team with the worst record in the league, the Kings went full Kangz in a 125-119 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night. While the Hornets were on the second night of a back-to-back, they looked plenty spry against the more rested Kings and routinely punished Sacramento at the rim and on the glass.

The Kings (16-12) wasted a legendary game from Domantas Sabonis, who had an astounding 28 points, 23 rebounds, and 7 assists. De’Aaron Fox finished with 37 points and 5 rebounds, and did his best to lead the team back in the 4th quarter with 19 points in the period. But the Kings defense, especially in transition, was absolutely dreadful; Charlotte (8-23) shot 51.6% from the field, out-rebounded Sacramento to 56 to 42, and finished with a 24-4 advantage in second chance points. Six Hornets finished with 5 or more rebounds, while only two Kings (Sabonis and Fox) had 5 or more.

The Kings finished a whopping 17 of 31 from the free throw line tonight, and multiple Sacramento runs stuttered after missed freebies. Fox (7 of 9) and Barnes (5 of 8) were the only Kings who shot above 50% from the charity stripe tonight – the rest of the Kings went 5 of 16 from the line.

LaMelo Ball finished with 23 points (16 in the 4th quarter), 12 assists, and 5 rebounds, while Kelly Oubre Jr. had 31 points and 10 rebounds. Nick Richards (14 points and 11 rebounds) and Theo Maledon (12 points, 7 boards, and 3 assists) were huge off the bench for Charlotte against a surprisingly lifeless Sacramento bench squad. While Mason Plumlee seemed to be getting bested by Sabonis every time the two matched up, he finished with an impressive 15 point, 4 board, 3 assist, 3 block line.

The Kings have a day to recover and work on their free throws before LeBron James and the Lakers arrive in Sacramento for a Wednesday matchup.

Game Notes:

  • Sabonis had 14 points, 16 rebounds, and 5 assists in the first half – a team record for rebounds in a half.
  • Harrison Barnes (11 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists) suffered a right quad contusion at the end of the 3rd quarter and missed the end of the contest. His size was greatly missed in the 4th, as Gordon Hayward (19 points and 5 boards) took advantage of Malik Monk multiple times around the basket.
  • The Kings opened up the playbook a bit for Keegan Murray tonight, but needed more from the rookie (11 points and 1 rebound in 21 minutes), especially once Barnes went back to the lockerroom.
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Adamsite
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Nostradumbass 14
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Nostradumbass 14
December 19, 2022 10:14 pm

They just can’t get to the 5 games above .500 that I want to see to fully believe. They can still do it. There is time, but that’s still my threshold.

If they made their free throws at a reasonable percentage they’d be 5 games up.

Last edited 1 year ago by Adamsite
Klam
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Nostradumbass 19
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December 19, 2022 10:35 pm
Reply to  Adamsite

I guess “not being able to go past four games over .500” is the new “curse.”

Kingsguru21
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December 20, 2022 6:47 am
Reply to  Adamsite

I’m going to make a prediction and say that the Kings get there Friday. They needed a wake up call after that horrific 1st half. Plus the Lakers (even with LeBron and Westy and Reaves even) aren’t so good that you can’t beat them at home.

This team hasn’t really had a bad loss until now so I’m not terribly concerned yet. But…..this has to stop at pretty much last night. I suppose to each they own…but like I said I bet they hit that 5 game threshold Friday night.

Adamsite
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Nostradumbass 14
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Nostradumbass 14
December 20, 2022 7:33 am
Reply to  Kingsguru21

Bad loss until now? Did you watch the Knicks game?

Kingsguru21
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December 20, 2022 7:42 am
Reply to  Adamsite

Nope. I don’t watch Kings games ever Adam. Not even once.

TheGrantNapear
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December 20, 2022 6:51 am
Reply to  Adamsite

Why fully believe until you actually see this franchise make the playoffs?
The proof is in the pudding, either they make the playoffs or they don’t. It’s not a forgone conclusion that they will, just look at the standings, they’re only three games back of the first seed whilst being three games from dropping out of the play-in.
This is going to be a dog fight of a season to the very end. That’s why these games coming up against the Fakers are extremely important as they may prove at season’s end as a determining factor between which of the two teams makes the big dance and which doesn’t.

SierraSpartan
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December 19, 2022 10:23 pm

The chef has spoken…

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RikSmits
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December 19, 2022 10:26 pm

Coach Brown needs to go all Steve Clifford on their ass. Defense and rebounds; you have to want em!

I’m not mad, just disappointed.

Daydreamer
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December 20, 2022 1:42 pm
Reply to  RikSmits

Apparently Mike Brown focused on just that in his postgame presser. He said players were reluctant to rotate into the path of players driving to the hoop and to take that charge. Davion was a notable exception, drawing a fowl on Melo.

Daydreamer
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December 20, 2022 1:57 pm
Reply to  Daydreamer

foul, not bird

L-Train3.1
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December 19, 2022 10:32 pm

Keegan went full coke machine tonight

RikSmits
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December 19, 2022 10:36 pm

https://twitter.com/will_zimmerle/status/1605076099708243969?s=20&t=oDIN9jPtg6hNruLK2GP7bw

Hard to blame the refs when you get 8 more FT’s while they dominate the paint, but I’m sure we’ll find a way.

Kosta
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December 19, 2022 10:38 pm
Reply to  RikSmits

comment image

Timmy_13
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December 20, 2022 12:13 am
Reply to  RikSmits

Lazy ass game from them. Kings are what? 0-3 when they have 3 days of rest? Honestly Hornets wanted the W more and it shows. All of those stats that stood out were hustle points.

Kevin and the bench mob seemed to be on vacation mode tonight.

Adamsite
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Nostradumbass 14
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December 20, 2022 8:01 am
Reply to  RikSmits

What’s crazy about those 2nd chance points is that the Hornets had 11 offensive rebounds to the Kings 10, but the Hornets took some serious advantage of them, while the Kings did not.

eddie41
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December 20, 2022 10:08 am
Reply to  RikSmits

Other than FTs and rebounding collectively, I’m having difficulty figuring out how this equation works: Fox scores 37 points on 25 shots and finishes -20 in a close game.

RikSmits
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December 20, 2022 10:53 am
Reply to  eddie41

Let’s just say that he didn’t get the Defensive Player of the Game award.
I wonder who did.

Kosta
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December 19, 2022 10:40 pm

Jordan revenge game, for that time our perennial 27-win team beat him and the Bulls at Arco way back in the day.

Crying tears of happiness.

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Last edited 1 year ago by Kosta
BuffaloDiaspora
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December 19, 2022 11:27 pm

If they weren’t a complete shitshow from the charity stripe they would have won. Not even slightly well played game, but shooting under 60% on freebies will kill you every time.

BuffaloDiaspora
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December 19, 2022 11:56 pm

Aside from the extremely annoying FT issues tonight, backup center is a disaster – every time Sabonis is catching a break, everything falls apart. Metu is ok if the other team isn’t physically imposing, but he’s unplayable against bigger lineups. Queta isn’t ready, Len has no game aside from being huge and Holmes is just broken right now.

I really like the idea of trading Holmes + flotsam + maybe a swap for Plumlee or someone like that…

Ralph_Furleys_Tailor
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December 20, 2022 12:29 am

Most I’d be willing to give up is Holmes + jetsam + a future 2nd

but I guarantee Holmes returns to form with a point who can pass him open. No shade on Fox, but Ball is a different level passer.

Jack
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December 20, 2022 3:45 am

How about Holmes plus a second for Chris Boucher? Guy can play D, rebound and protect the weak side rim.

TheGrantNapear
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December 20, 2022 6:54 am

Whatever iteration of obtaining a legit backup center MM comes up with, I hope it’s an expiring. This is going to be a pivotal offseason and MM can use all the wiggle room he can get to continue to improve this team over the offseason.

EastCoastKingsFan
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December 20, 2022 3:23 am

How did the prediction know? This one hurts

DutchKingsFanInUK
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December 20, 2022 4:00 am

This was a tough watch. Every time I thought the Kings turned it on and opened up a bit of the lead, they immediately relaxed, leading to dumb turnovers, offensive rebounds and easy baskets for the Hornets. Just unacceptable defensive effort.

The most worrisome bit for me is that this team still hasn’t figured out how to play without Sabonis. The dropoff is astonishing when he goes to the bench. Quite telling that Brown in his post-game presser basically said the Kings had no back-up center, and that he would continue to rotate. We’ll probably see Metu again vs the Lakers, since he did quite well in the last game vs them.

TheGrantNapear
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December 20, 2022 6:56 am

I don’t think they will figure out how to play without Sabonis. He can’t be duplicated in any way and the big man talent off the bench is horrendous.

BabalooMagoo
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December 20, 2022 5:45 am

Can’t rebound and can’t hit free throws. No wonder we lost.

Hobby916
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December 20, 2022 6:24 am

Didn’t catch this one, sounds like a frustrating game. The lack of depth at the wing and center seem apparent. Wonder what moves will be made to solidify the depth.

TheGrantNapear
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December 20, 2022 6:58 am
Reply to  Hobby916

Wing depth doesn’t seem like a major concern to me, but depth at the 4 and 5 as well as the starting 4 next to Sabonis is a concern. The hope is Keegan fits the bill as the long term starting 4, but I don’t think that works defensively. MM is going to have to find a way to find a perfect fit at the 4 next to Sabonis, which will likely cost another future first.

BabalooMagoo
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December 20, 2022 7:43 am
Reply to  TheGrantNapear

Back in the day, we basically had a 3 man rotation for the 4 & the 5. Divac, Webber and Pollard. We also had Funderburke and a fifth player as well I think. I’d like to see something like that.

Marty
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December 20, 2022 8:56 am
Reply to  BabalooMagoo

Funny I think I’ve said to my buddy 100x that “just out of Michigan Webber” is what everyone is looking for now.

Last edited 1 year ago by Marty Marty
Adamsite
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December 20, 2022 8:13 am
Reply to  TheGrantNapear

Kings need a legit backup center. Sabonis has topped 40 minutes over the last 3 games. He’s gone from averaging 29 minutes in October, to 33 minutes in November and now 36 minutes in December. You want to play your best players a lot, but at the rate they are starting to ride Sabonis, they may ride him to injury. I think we all know that if Sabonis has to sit for a few games to injury, the Kings are screwed.

Kosta
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December 20, 2022 8:49 am
Reply to  Adamsite

Arvydas was in the building, and Mike Brown didn’t put him in the game when Domantas sat.

WTF?

RikSmits
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December 20, 2022 10:51 am
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Kosta
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December 20, 2022 12:06 pm
Reply to  RikSmits

LOL

Hobby916
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December 20, 2022 8:37 am
Reply to  TheGrantNapear

By “wing” I mean someone with the size and skillset to play the 3/4. They basically have Barnes and Murray. No other player has the size that can give competent minutes there. Lyles and KZ are not that, and Huerter might be 6’7, but he is definitely more of a SG than a SF type of player.

Marty
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December 20, 2022 7:58 am

Let me ask you something.

Sabonis gets a lot of rebounds, yet routinely he gets outrebounded by bigs when they’re in close proximity and near the basket.

Am I imagining things? I don’t know what to think.

Kingsguru21
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December 20, 2022 8:11 am
Reply to  Marty

I think part of the problem is that the other 4 on the court with Sabonis aren’t crashing the boards as hard. Especially whoever is on the front line with Barnes (Murray alot of the time).

I’m not especially disappointed by Keegan’s play overall (mostly happy at this point), but his rebounding needs to be better than it’s been. Some of that I get because he’s on the floor at the SF spot and on the perimeter a lot. But he needs to rebound better.

Adamsite
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Nostradumbass 14
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December 20, 2022 8:17 am
Reply to  Kingsguru21

I think it might be a system thing. Sabonis is a rebound machine so Brown may want guys like Huerter and Murray leaking out. As it stands today, Fox is close to second in rebounds. Maybe the plan is for Fox and Sabonis to crash the boards so they can begin the fast break?

eddie41
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December 20, 2022 9:55 am
Reply to  Kingsguru21

That might have made his first quarter better. After getting his shot blocked twice, he seemed off for a few minutes. Passed up an open three. missed two free throws. didn’t grab the rebound of his missed three that caromed back to him. He played well later in the game, but I was thinking that grabbing one or two rebounds might have got him back in the game earlier.

sethwg
December 20, 2022 9:13 am
Reply to  Marty

Kings are actually top-5 in defensive rebounding percentage, so I think it’s more of a perception thing. The other team’s offensive rebounds just stand out more because of how frustrating they are, but it doesn’t really register when that doesn’t happen and Sabonis secures the rebound because in our minds that’s what is “supposed” to happen.

Kingsguru21
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December 20, 2022 8:09 am

Not much to say about this one other than the Hornets scored 72 points in the paint. The Charlotte fucking Hornets scored 72 points in the paint. I repeat, in case the message did not sink in, THE SOFT AS FUCKING CHARMIN THAT GAVE UP OVER 130 POINTS TO THE RETARDED CHILD OF SCORING OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE DETROIT PISTONS scored 72 points in the paint.

But oh yes, let’s focus on the missed free throws. I agree with Mike Brown. This group was soft, got too fat and happy on their hype and were due for a letdown. They played like absolute dogshit and deserved to get their ass handed to them.

Games are like this are exactly why you get articles like this from Jared Dubin. Sure it’s a lowkey hit piece essentially slamming (still) the Kings org for trading away Tyrese Haliburton. But there are legit concerns about this team on defense, and Sabonis is not one of them. That’s the good news. The bad news? De’Aaron Fox played, eh, okay, and I don’t give a shit what his stats look like, he was terrible last night on defense for much of the game. Everyone else on that Guard line? They were alot, lot worse.

That’s a problem. Focus on the backup C all you want, but your best players played like dogshit outside of Sabonis and Fox to a much less degree. Hopefully this is the wakeup call they needed.

Adamsite
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December 20, 2022 8:24 am
Reply to  Kingsguru21

To be fair to the Hornets, they are 8th in the league in points in the paint and 5th in second chance points. As shitty as they are, they killed the Kings via their strong suits.

Still, 72 points in the paint is unacceptable and will lead to a loss 99% of the time. The Kings played like shit. Bottom line.

Kingsguru21
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December 20, 2022 8:38 am
Reply to  Adamsite

Those are aggregate numbers. They shoot a lot of shots in the paint because they miss a lot of shots there. They had the worst percentage in the league coming into the game and finished 6th worst in the NBA. They raised their percentage by nearly 5 percentage points.

The Kings were horrific in the paint all night.

UpgradedToQuestionable
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December 20, 2022 8:24 am

Don’t get too up or too down – the team knows they laid a turd. Bounce back and take revenge on the next opponent – and that opportunity is as soon as tonight.

The losses magnify the deficits – just my opinion, but I would be willing to wager that despite the points in the paint, rebounding and missed charities – had Harrison Barnes been able to stay healthy enough, the Kings would have pulled this one out. Then again…

As much as the Kings need Domas, they also need HB. Trey Lyles has been possibly present (hard to tell, I had to check the box score) and rookie Keegan isn’t there yet. Is there another front court player I am missing or is this another dip in the roster? Sure seems like it.

sethwg
December 20, 2022 9:22 am

Yeah there’s a lot of “I only watch 1 team” syndrome going on here. Literally every single team in the league has terrible games from time to time. The Bucks got whipped by almost 50 points last week. 50! The Hornets when fully healthy are a much better team than their current record suggests. It was a disappointing game to be sure, but losing to the Hornets by 5 points is hardly cause for a meltdown.

I’ll add that the Kings didn’t play well, but this is far from their worst performance of the season IMO. I actually thought their two games against the Pistons (which they won) were worse performances, but the Pistons are truly a terrible team.

SneakerKing
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December 20, 2022 8:33 am

Missed FTs and bad interior defense. Story of the game. Gotta shore that up this week with Lakers and Wiz coming to town. Monk and the bench need to get their heads out of their rears. Need better confident play from Murray and Huerter, although both may still be dealing with lingering injuries.

aplumley
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December 20, 2022 8:49 am

This team needs more rebounding than just Domas, obviously. The only other plus rebounder on the team is Len, and he doesn’t play much. For as much as I love Keegan, his weaknesses are becoming more glaring. On offense, beyond being a solid spot up 3pt shooter, he really doesn’t offer much. He gets blocked at the rim a lot. I don’t know what his percentages are around the rim, but I doubt it looks very good. His rebound rate is atrocious for a 4. Fox and Davis have better rebound rates than him. In fact, of the players getting regular minutes only Monk, Huerter, and Mitchell have worse rebounding rates. He’s not really making up for it on the defensive end either. He’s OK at best and makes a few nice blocks and steals occasionally, but on ball isn’t great.

For as high as I was on Keegan going into the season, he has struggled big time. I know he’s a rookie and will get better with more floor time, but games like these you’d like to see your starting 3/4 get more than 1 rebound. And if not, at least see him mixing it up with as much physicality as he can muster.

This is just one of those games where the rebounding was exposed and the Hornets were making shots and the Kings couldn’t respond, in spite of having very good offensive nights from their two best players.

ajonez81
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December 20, 2022 9:00 am

The West bracket is tight right now, you can slide between 5th and 10th real quick, let’s wait and see how this team does over the long haul before declaring this a playoff team. I do believe in this squad though and believe they can break drought. Supporting cast seems to be underwhelming lately, looking at you Monk and Huerter. FTs were huge obviously, not going to win many games with that %.

oswan88
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December 20, 2022 9:04 am

We need a defensive backup 5. Hassan Whiteside anyone? *ducks*

macdoogs
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December 20, 2022 10:01 am

Santa wasn’t finding Sacramento last night

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ManilaBayCleanerCrew
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December 21, 2022 4:35 pm

Sorry guys, it’s all my fault as I jinxed it. I will never doubt my Kings ever again, especially stop DOOMPOSTING here and on social media.

MBCC will now be a good boy from now on.

Let’s go KINGS!!!

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