The Sacramento Kings began their 5-game January road trip with one of the easiest back-to-back sets in NBA history – victories over the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets. The competition was supposed to get substantially tougher on Friday night in Philadelphia, but Nick Nurse’s 76ers squad was without Joel Embiid, Kelly Oubre, Robert Covington and Kenny Lofton, giving the Kings a great opportunity to steal a win against one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference.
Spoiler: the Kings did not steal the win. In fact, it was pretty unwatchable from start to finish. If you want to skip right to the comment section to air your grievances, feel free. If you must read about it, enjoy. Here we go:
Despite their 23-14 record this season, the Kings have struggled with sluggish starts seemingly all year long, and we saw the same unfortunate trend rear its ugly head in Philly tonight. I know you’ve read this before, but when the Kings aren’t shooting well from beyond the arc, their offense goes in the tank. There is no backup plan, there is no Plan B, just keep shooting. 2-12 from three in the first quarter is really all you need to know.
Philly didn’t shoot particularly well in the first quarter either, but they lead the league in free throw attempts for a reason. They attacked the paint and lived at the line for a 29-21 lead heading into the 2nd quarter.
The 76ers are a good, physical defensive team. They generate more steals than anyone else in the NBA, and the Kings played right into their strength with sloppy passing and unforced turnovers leading to easy buckets. The Kings don’t have the luxury of a good defense to keep them afloat when their offense isn’t playing well, and this game started to snowball in all the wrong ways very quickly. The first half featured Paul Reed outplaying Domantas Sabonis, Tobias Harris dropping 27 points, Tyrese Maxey filling up the stat sheet with 17 points of his own, and 50% 3-point shooting on the 76ers side.
The Embiid-less 76ers took a dominant 65-46 lead into the half, and the disappointment didn’t stop there.
The Kings quickly learned that the Philadelphia 76ers are not the Detroit Pistons. We’ve seen this team erase large deficits and come back to win games after poor starts, but this game never got close. From the 2nd quarter on Philly held a steady 14-20 point lead. There was no fight. There was no comeback. There was no answer.
Chris Duarte started due to Kevin Huerter’s ankle injury, but only played 10 minutes. He was a -9 with 1 point.
Harrison Barnes started, but only played 21 minutes. He scored 4 points on 1-5 shooting.
Sabonis was a -20 in 33 minutes with 4 turnovers, 3 fouls, and 14 points. He had garbage time to thank for a stat line that could have looked much worse.
De’Aaron Fox didn’t have it going, either. He finished with 21 points but did most of his damage at the free throw line, shooting just 5-15 from the field and was a -25 on the court tonight.
Keegan Murray is the only player worth praising to any degree, and his game fell apart towards the end, too. But I thought his defense was pretty good. He was aggressive. He moved well without the ball. He was the only efficient starter until garbage time juiced Sabonis’ numbers.
The bench… I rather not waste time on. Bad grades all the way around.
The Kings got absolutely cooked by the 76ers to the tune of 112-93. Next up: Bucks in Milwaukee on Sunday. If their effort is anything like tonight, that could get ugly.
Can we petition ESPN and TNT to flex us out? I feel like we’ve been slaughtered on our national games.
What.
You actually wrote a write-up on this game? Props to you, Tony.
I’m kind of dreading the next game. It’s not gonna be pretty. I don’t see how the effort could be any different than tonight – that’s just how this team plays against better teams.
The players don’t look like they enjoy each other most nights. The chemistry is off this season.
Sure, when things are going well its all high fives and what not, but the moment adversity hits everything goes to shit.
Thoughts on whether or not the players have tuned out the coach?
It’s a possibility
I do know Browns rep is that his act wears thin with players-at previous stops.
though, I don’t think this is happening with Barnes right now.
I certainly hope not.
I don’t think it’s happening with Brown right now. That the players are tuning him out and turning.
I don’t think so either but I do have some concerns. His rotations are puzzling, as if he doesn’t know what to do and is randomly trying stuff.
The way Sasha looked when he got to play was telling, IMO. He’s been yanked around lately and seemed bewildered. It’s easy to say that a player should stay ready, but it doesn’t work like that for everyone.
The attempt to play zone was a disaster and should have been ditched much sooner.
The offense too many times has no flow. One pass and a shot, a DHO and then some improvisation. A halfhearted attack of the rim where you know the ball will get kicked out for a 3 etc. Rarely the ball swings around, all 5 players touching the ball, like last season. Movement without the ball often stalls.
D is a mess. Especially at the PoA. I like Colby Jones, but he’s not the answer.
Severa COTY winners got canned within 2 seasons after winning the award. I hope it won’t happen here, but that also requires Brown to fix some things.
I see all of the above as well.
Why don’t I ever see ball
movement, man movement or getting in the paint and kick?
It’s all weird. Especially Vez. And how is it suddenly the Kings have nobody off the bench after Trey/Monk? Davion/Vez etc—no one seems to be improving. Seems to be worse.
It’s obvious adjustments need to be made but I don’t see any. The league has figured out the Kings 1/2 court (which used to be beautiful).
Can this be fixed with 2 players who defend and move in the O? Seems like Brown has gotta do something
Brown doesn’t have the assets to do something. Monty IMO is trying everyday to get something done but doesn’t have much to work with. The only thing is he has our late round firsts to work with. As we play like last night and other nights those trade chips do get better. Last night I thought that Philly had a great defensive scheme to nuetralize Domas.He also brings the ball down with his back to the basket and the sixers used that so many times last night to pick his pocket. They also cloughed the middle and dared us to shoot the 3. They must know something we don’t. Other teams will pick up on this.
IMO we have great coaches. They don’t turn the ball over. They don’t miss threes. They don’t miss layups(hi Sabonis). They don’t play defense. Defense hurts the most. Duarte isn’t the answer. Barnes isn’t the answer. The only player that played some defense last night was Murray. If we are to be contenders this year we first need a defensive player at the point of attack and one who can defend the 3. At least move them off the 3 point line. Next we need a 4 would can defend and rebound. Too many second chance points not only last night but most nights. Defending the coaches they don’t have much on the bench to bring in other than Monk and Lyles. Neither were good last night especially Lyles. Last other than Fox, Murray and Monk are we really a good three point shooting team.?It seems that if those 3 aren’t hitting them we have nobody else good enough to help back them up. I fear for this years team a lot more than last year. IMO Monty needs to do something but what? Barnes, Huerter and Mitchell are not good trade chips and as time goes on they are getting worse. Can’t blame Monty or Brown.
Monte can get some blame, he was the one who brought the players in. Brown can get some blame because he might not be putting players in the best position to succeed.
The players are to blame, like you said, for turning it over and missing shots and not knowing how to play defense.
Everyone has some piece of the fail pie.
That’s a valid question. But if the answer is ‘no’, then why is our offense so predicated on threes? If that isn’t a coaching issue, then what is?
2022-2023 3FG at .369 1128/3060
This season? .368 3FG on 40.6 3FG Attempts per game (from 37.3 last season).
As an old coach I hate it when the camera pans the bench as players are laughing and smiling. Also as a player when we were losing I never did that or my teammates. Different time different culture and different type of players.
I also don’t like the laughing and smiling when getting beaten, especially so badly and in an embarrassing way.
The current players are also too friendly with the other players. That’s where I respect the older guys. It was a competition/battle to those guys.
Another supermegaultraelectromagneticpathetic loss.
This team is built for the regular season. They have no toughness, defense or free throw shooting and average to below average BB IQ.
I’m grateful they are no longer pathetic, but they have almost no chance of getting out of the first round of the playoffs.
This is all true.
Or even in the playoffs.
We need two different starters. Duarte should be a backup and we need to move Barnes to a different team or the bench.
I hope we go after Dejounte Murray or Bogi. We can lift the trade protections (great leverage actually) and offer most or all of Barnes, Mitchell, Huerter and another first. AJ Griffin is buried deep down their bench and I would love it if he was included. He seemed decent last year.
Exactly. Huerter and Barnes have both fallen off the face of the Earth. So now there are 2 giant holes in the lineup. Practically contributing nothing.
And Duarte is not good enough to fill either. And apparently they don’t have anybody.
Unfortunately, Barnes and Huerter have little value right now… because they’ve fallen off the face of the Earth. Huerter has been exposed as a one-dimensional player (3pt shooting) who frequently can’t perform even in that dimension, and Barnes has just plain lost a couple steps and is overpaid.
So is Shaddiq Bey.
Missed the game but the box score of scrubs who destroyed this Kings team is like a bad dream.
Fox… motor is innate, as I’ve said for 6 years, and his inconsistent one isn’t going anywhere. Thats why, even as a rookie and second year player, when I noted that innate lack of imprint on the every second/third game it was highlighted. Its a trait, its a spot on the leopard.
I think he was strongly motivated by the supermax, and he publicly turned down the 2 year extension searching for it.. I’m concerned that carrot in front of the rabbit is wearing off, and we are now seeing the lack of “imprint” for swaths of seasons instead of random games
I don’t want to come off too down on him, as he’s improved and overall had a great year if this doesn’t continue much further this current abyss.. and he’s still one of the better PGs in the league that will help assist (assist, Sabonis is the best player on this team currently and he was last year) first/second round playoff basketball after two trash decades. But I’d really not like him making the supermax and we need more help
I got to chaperone a high dance tonight. It sounds like my crappy night was better than the night Kings fans had.
“A high dance?”
Lol, sorry. A high school dance. My brain is a bit fried with the music being played. Damn kids.
My brain is fried too, but from watching the Kangz.
I wished somebody can ask Mike Brown why he still playing HB….
I like HB, but he is doing nothing at all….(no pts, no rebound, no defense and no efforts)
Rather play Mitchell and Edwards in the starting lineup….at least both guys would hustle and play hard…
PG: Mitchell
SG: Fox
SF: Edwards
PF: Keegan
C: Sabonis
Both Mitchell and Edwards don’t need to shoot the ball…let Keegan shoot all the ball
Could have started me at the 3 and a ham sandwich at the 2, and we would have only given them 5 less points than their starters did.
5 less points? More like 3 less points.
I’d much rather start Lyles at 4 and Keegan at 3. Mitchell can stay on the bench for all I care, though – his offense is too awful to even consider putting him out there except to cover a small opposing PG.
I think it’s time to start Sasha. He needs a solid stretch of consistent minutes to see if he can contribute, or if he needs to be traded. Thought he played well early and then the minutes lessened, and then the DNP-CDs started. He can’t be any worse than Barnes.
I agree, Mike Brown threw and tried all players in the roster…
but they were not given consistent minutes…..
The experiment of starting Duarte and HB should be ended…and let’s try another combination to see how it pans out..
It is very telling that this many games in to the season the starting unit is being searched for, and the bench unit is mostly in disarray.
Depth was supposed to be a strong point of the roster, and it is the exact opposite.
Yes and let him do his thing. There’s already horrific defense, they should just go straight J-Will Kings and outgun people. Barnes ain’t doing anything special on either end, he’s slow and lost any athleticism he once had. I’d go Fox Sasha Keegan Lyles Sabonis with equal minutes for Monk and some minutes for Huerter. Everyone else is just spelling the starters.
Great idea. Barnes is looking all washed up. His contributions have fallen off a cliff from 15 points and 4.5 rebounds per game to 10.8 and 2.9 rebounds.It is visibly apparent that the dude doesn’t even try to rebound. Also lowest blocking percentage on the team of anyone.Sasha has not been given a consistent enough set of minutes long enough to determine his value and at this point its worth the gamble. The dude was the Euroleague MVP so lets see what the offseason investment can do. If that doesn’t work try Kessler Edwards. He was killing it at the end of last year with some lock-down defense. Not sure why the kid got stripped of his minutes. Don’t think he has gotten a consistent chance to prove himself this year but his performance last year has earned him the right to get more time on the floor.
How about Sasha replacing Barnes? Can’t get any worse.
What do you like about Mitchell so much?
Giving maximum efforts is already out-shined all other teammates….
His maximum effort hasn’t yielded positive results. He might have the worst offensive and defensive rating on the team for those guys that have played decent minutes.
That’s because he changed his trainer in the offseason and started the year trying to be Steph Curry. He looks like his old self now, pit bull defender. The data point of reference for Davion is last year.
How does trying to be like Steph have anything to do with his defense? It’s been awful for most of the season.
Not lately
Do you have any evidence to back up that claim?
He has played 33 minutes in the past games, mostly in garbagish time. Brown wants guys that defend, so that leads me to think if Davion was “that guy”, then he would be out there. But JTA, Huerter, Jones, Ellis are getting those minutes and they have all been underwhelming too.
Tenacity on D. Play style on D now affecting his shot mechanics on his set shot from 3 (like last year). Getting calls again on D.
did you forget the 80 something games he played last year?
I did not forget the 80 games last year, just looking more at the 31 games this year. The windshield is bigger than the rear view mirror for a reason.
What he did last season was last season. What he is doing this year isn’t contributing to winning. If it was, he would be in the game more frequently.
We are just going to disagree on him as a player, and that’s okay.
If we face the Pelicans in the 1st round, all four games could have scores like this.
The Kings did everything the impressive Sixers defense wanted them to do. Was interesting to see how the they handled Sabonis. The Kings usually feast when he’s able to overpower his man, but the Sixers chose to play him with a smaller guy (Harris), and have a guard come over to dig at the ball as soon as Sabonis dribbles. And it worked.
First possession of the game: Harris stays in front of Sabonis, and I think Maxey pokes it away, leading to a Philly fast break
Early on in the second: Sabonis gets the ball of the pick and roll, takes a dribble, and Maxey pokes it away again. Beverley pushes, leading to an open three with a soft contest.
So yeah, Philly’s defense impressed me, but the Kings’ lack of effective counters were equally worrying. Simply playing different guys isn’t enough.
PS. I felt bad for Vezenkov. Hadn’t played much, got thrown in the game, and just obviously misses any sort of rhythm. Then gets pulled again after 3-4 minutes. Would’ve liked to see more of that unit with him, Sabonis, Fox, Monk, and Lyles.
I felt bad for the fans………..
All our eyes are bleeding……..
Time to change the lineup anyway….
I would say we’d better not stick with the same starting lineup again and again..
rather adjust according to different opponents….
and Sasha may play better when facing a weaker SF/PF in certain matchup
It’s interesting to me that teams focus on disrupting Sabonis and seem to pick their poison with Fox.
Could be that Fox is more dificult to gameplan against, but I guess it is mainly because Domas is the engine of our offense.
You are right.
It’s the same thing the Dubs last year in the playoffs. Slow down the most important player on the team and let the best player do his thing. Every other player on the team, sans Fox, needs Sabonis to elevate their games. Good teams know that if you focus on Domas, the ship runs aground.
It can’t be easy to not play any meaningful minutes for several games, and then get inserted and have 3-4 possessions to perform at a high level. It must be maddening for Sasha and the others. I can see Sasha asking to be traded to a team that will play him consistently, and I wouldn’t be mad at him for doing that.
What did you all think of Colby Jones’ minutes. I only saw his 2 minutes in the first half. Although he fouled twice and got his shot swatted once, I liked his composure and ability to read and react.
He looks inexperienced, timid, and unsure of what his role is. All understandable as he hasn’t really played meaningful minutes at all this season.
Long term I think he will be fine.
Long term = when he’s on another team
Can you expand on that?
It was a play on the thought that some players only “develop” after we give up on them (currently Queta). Which rarely happened, btw.
Got it.
I agree long term but not now. Starting a rookie is tough although we started Murray. Different situation.
I think that might just be his body language. It does not necessarily mean he’s timid.
Just need to make a trade. Way too easy to defend Sabonis when he is a complete non threat mid range shooter. Just collapse on him when he tries to play bully ball and he has no clue what to do. Need another legit scorer. Sabonis can score but he is far from a true scorer. Having a starting lineup of Sabonis, Barnes, and Huerter (when healthy) will not get it done. Fox is the only one who can create and get his own shot. Murray is improving, but not consistent enough yet. MM has to get a deal done. Clock is ticking!
They need another guy that can create his own shot. We all see when the half-court Domas offense gets stopped, things turn ugly.
Barnes can create his own shots…but he just way too passive to try to back someone down and draw fouls…
Yes, too passive. He just stands there half the game doing nothing. I forget he is in the game most of the time until he makes a stupid foul.
HB no longer has it.
Well, one good thing about having unselfish players who are respected shooters (like HB and Huerter) is that it opens the floor for a young player to emerge and expand his game. (Keegan).
Too soft – need more strength training
Per a Giraffe tweet: HB has 6 boards in the last 4 games. Lol, what a disgrace.
MM f’d up with the HB signing and even the Sasha signing. That’s almost $25 million that could have been used on the ideal 4 betwixt KM and Domas. I don’t the difference in what we could have spent based on the rights we had on HB, but either way it was money badly spent.
Could have sold high on KH.
Traded away a valuable draft pick for nothing.
MM shat the bed this offseason.
It was so obvious exactly what this team needed after that duds series, yet he doubled down on offense, no defense and a lack of athleticism. Reap what you sow.
But a lot of Kang’z fans keep defending the off season moves.
Memo to MM: turn HB, KH, Sasha and a pick into an athletic stretch 4…if one is not available then buy cheap on an undervalued one that may pop in the right situation. There’s a ton of them: Cam Thomas, Isaac, Pat Williams etc. Take some flyers on some lottery busts for pete’s sake.
Grant’s rant is complete.
It’s crazy to think Ayton and Bagley got drafted over Luka. NBA GMs overthink things so much and get cute. Oh we already have a ball handler in Booker/Fox so we don’t have any use for a generational talent like Luka. He’s probably just a soft pudgy Euro anyways.
Damn, looks like MM missed his opportunity!
In my opinion with what we have to trade isn’t that much so trying to get a big name player would be nigh imposible. IMO we need a SG who plays defense and a 4 who can defend not only players but the rim(both sides) can stretch the floor shoot the 3 and run. For the SG there are some out there we could get. Thybulle, Okoro, Caruso. The 4 also. IMO Monty should go after Tari Eason. Fills all the above rolls has a 7’2′ wing span and is only 22. If you have doughts look up his highlights. You will be impressed. If we could get him we would have him for years to come as he has room to improve. His motor is abought as high as it gets. Would be a better 4 than Barnes.
I don’t see why Houston would trade Eason for anything the kings would actually offer.
Let Monty try it and see.
HOU is kind of in win now mode with trying to make the play-in. I could see them having interest in vets like HB/KH.
Yeah there’s so many options out there to improve the team without making a huge move, that’s why I’m glad we didn’t trade for Pascal or OG. Don’t completely sacrifice the future. Find some hidden gems that need a change of scenery to pop.
Agreed. Clean up the margins from the players who are not contributing and use the off season to figure out the best way to level up.
Oooohhhh boy!
I don’t like Grant the person, but what I would give to hear Grant and Jerry call a game for old time’s sake.
It would be a breath of fresh air. The telecast is just so boring and stale.
Having a focus by broadcast team on the action in front of them instead of needless long stories and name dropping . Kyle and Kayte worst in the NBA even worse than Cavs .
Here’s the thing about those two signings.
1) Sasha was signed with the room exception, which was a bit above $8M per year. There was really no one else the Kings could sign that would make an impacet, especially when you figure vet minimums are around $3M. It was a kick the tires signing and there is still plenty of time to evaluate Sasha.
2) Barnes was re-signed via Bird Rights. Had the Kings let him walk they wouldn’t have been able to spend above the cap to get anyone else. FWIR, they were around $6-7M below the cap had they not re-singed Banres. Who are you gonna get with that little cash to replace a starter? Also, by going over the cap to retain Barnes the Kings have increased their spending ability. This means that can continue to operate above the cap via trades. Basically, signing both of those players allows Monte to kick the asset can down the road.
Valid points regarding the signings of Sasha and HB. The Sasha signing makes sense, but HB at that number absolutely does not. I don’t care about what Kuz and Jerami got and the narrative that HB $18mill is value. He isn’t worth it and isn’t commanding a return on the open market. He’s salary filler at best. It was a dumb move imo.
He’s worth more at $18M per year and the flexibility to spend above the cap, the the $7M filler player the Kings could afford to replace him under the cap.
Remove the player and look at the contract and spending power. That Barnes deal may allow the Kings to acquire a better player at higher salary while also spending to compete.
Adding… Look at this way, if the Barnes contract allows the Kings to acquire a larger contract in package of someone like a Siakam, Wiggins, Kuzma, etc, then it’s well worth it.
Sometimes a re-signing is more about the contract than what the player is. Case in point: Detroit re-signed Bojan Bogdanovic to a crazy deal not to compete, but knowing full well they can likely cash out on it this season.
This is an important point. Contracts are really the new cap space in today’s game, and if the Kings are going to get any talent back, the dollar value of both HB’s and KH’s contract are going to be key.
In general, while I am quite disappointed in the play of HB and KH, I still feel like the easiest solution to the shakiness the team has showed is getting any sort of value and production out of the minutes played by Davion (who I really like but just doesn’t fit this team), Duarte (who barely looks like an NBA player at this point), and Ellis (who has done great for a 2-way player, but is still a ways away from a rotation player). If those minutes had been played by a capable bench guard such as Delon Wright, and we had any sort of back up wing (I wish Edwards could get some minutes, but he must not be showing enough in practice) like Tate or O’Neal or even Konchar, then I think it would be easier to address whatever issues HB/KH have had. There has been quite a burden on the core four to drag this team to victories.
MM made some bets that didn’t work out, I do not think they were bad bets, since as a fan I don’t have context to what actual options there really were. I am not a huge fan of moving big pieces mid-season, and wouldn’t mind fringe moves to clean up the zero’s we are getting from Duarte/Mitchell/Ellis.
I am not sure Brown has pushed the buttons as well as last season. He might be a great guy and “only” a good coach. I hope to see Sasha get some consistent time, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he was able to course correct Kevin. I am just not sure Barnes really fits anymore, he definitely does not as a starter. Something is off with the vibes though, I think that is becoming apparent to everyone, and it might be just growing pains trying to take things to the next level (they still have a great record after all), and if that’s it, it is likely to resolve to a certain measure.
It’s a weird season for the Kings, but really for the NBA in general. Philly lost be 36 at home with Embiid and Maxey killing it a week ago, Dubs crumbling, Boston looking like world beaters then getting destroyed at home, etc. Reading the box scores every morning, it seems like there is at least one weird game every night, if not several.
My only hope is MM doesn’t panic into taking a big swing unless he is absolutely certain that player fits with Sabonis, Fox, Keegan, and Brown.
Remember Bogi was let walk for nothing . Wasted asset .
well said
Most of the comments are doom and gloom… While I’ll agree that the team looks like a very bad team in most of their losses (and, yes, it’s hard to watch), look at their overall record. They are in a position to make the playoffs. The playoffs are a different animal and, frankly, I wouldn’t be too surprised to see them advance to the second round. Baby steps.
They haven’t played consistently all season. Boom or bust mostly.
The good record leaves me mostly optimistic that with some changes things could really click. They are winning in spite of having mostly nothing from 2 starters and an inconsistent bench. So adding 2 better players could really make a difference.
Point differential is a better indicator of future success than their actual record. Point differential says they are a very mediocre team. I give them almost no shot to get out of the first round without a trade or two. If they play the Pelicans or Clippers then they’re getting swept.
Great point. Point diff speaks more than W-L record does and they are basically mediocre when you look at it like that.
In this article https://www.si.com/nba/kings/news/kings-malik-monk-chase-money-free-agency Ham says Kings can offer around 20/4 but market value could be 25/30. Yes he is best buds with Fox, yes he loves it here; but would anyone of us take a 5/10M/year buddy discount? It is business after all.
If McNair gets nothing interesting for HB/KH/Davion/Lyles, and teams are asking for Monk, who would you want back in return?
the Kings are preparing for it by going after expiring players now, and why Barnes/Vezenkov etc moves were dumb
Yeah that’s tough because Monk is important to what the Kings do. I think if you get an indication that there’s going to be a big market for him then moving him might make sense. As for who I’d want back in return, I think if Monk is on the table you could go after Siakam without offering any picks. I know he may not want to re-sign but the Kings would be able to offer him the max while nobody else would. I think he’s good enough to justify that. I actually don’t think you need to put Monk on the table to get guys in the Wiggins/Kuzma range. I’m not sure regarding a guy like Grant what Portland would want but my guess is they wouldn’t want Monk with all their upside guard depth. I also wonder if you put Monk on the table, if you add picks could you go after somebody like Mikal Bridges? I sort of doubt it but the Nets aren’t going anywhere and he’d be a pretty big upgrade for them. I think they need wing depth so those are the places I’d look.
Monk doesn’t have too much trade value without his bird rights.
I am not sure what Ham is basing that on.
Keith Smith does a good job of projecting cap space for teams, and I am pretty dubious that the teams he lists that are projecting cap space for next year see Monk at a 25m+ player. Maybe, Free Agency can get weird, but Monk isn’t that different from Clarkson, Sexton, D-Lo, etc. His value to the Kings might exceed his value to most other teams.
Sorry, cap is going up, project what Monk is doing in starters minutes. There are several teams with a SG need.Orlando Magic twitter were even intimating going after him. 2024 nba free agent class is weak
You don’t rely on early bird
Pretty sure someone who makes a living studying payroll and the cap sheet knows it is going up.
Even early birds know there is a new bargaining agreement.
In a single stretch, you could win 3 games by 1 point each and lose a game by 30, you’d be 3-1 and have a point diff of (-27). Alternatively, you could lose three games by 1 point each and win a game by 30, you’d be 1-3 with a (+27) point diff.
Point diff is an excellent indicator of how well individual lineups work, but that’s about it. They have very little correlation to how “good or bad” an entire team is through the course of a season.
Power rankings are better than point diff but even they are entirely based on recent play and they’re completely subjective to the “ranker”.
This is why the league standings are based on W-L records…winning more games than you lose is what matters.
Actually point differential remains the most consistent way of measuring success other than win-loss record . History indicates that never has a team won 48+ games with a minus point difference . That is why concern is warranted .
That was my point, W-L is easily the best indicator of whether or not a team is good or bad. Worrying about the point-diff is meaningless unless it is also represented in the wins & losses.
BTW, 48 wins was good enough for 3rd in the West last year. Which was achieved with a .585% win% (W/L) versus the .605% win% this year that has the Kings in 5th.
Denver went 5-5 in their last 10 games (+59) while the Kings have gone 6-4 in their last 10 (+16). I’ll take a win in the books over points you don’t need any day.
Talking win margin . Kings currently +.5 which if at that margin will win about 42 games . Last year had a + 3.0 for a 48 win team . Almost no exceptions in history . Based on current +- Kings will be 7th in west .
I’m with you. It’s a long season and they are still maintaining a 60% win percentage.
Turn games off this year if the Kangz are down by 10 in the second quarter because this year no fight.
Lots of comments and passion.
My identity is too far attached to Kings success. I get depressed when they lose, like I have some influence, control or blame. Sports psychology.
This year is not an extension of last year- similar but not the same.
While the offense revolved around Fox and DS last year, there were peripheral contributors. This year that contribution has tanked- HB, KH and Davion. Addition of Duarte and Sasha has not helped. Keegan has improved but is too passive
Defense is sometimes better and impressive but overall, the same.
The window is closing. I would like to see a move towards more talent- could go on the periphery of the rotation, adding defense (Caruso, Okoro, Thybulle etc.) or could take a swing on offense for a big star. Teams are swarming DS and he is turning the ball over. Fox is being doubled. And too often the Kings lay 3 man keep away with Fox, DS and Monk. Keegan is not seen by them as an effective alternate, as KH was last year.
Monte tried on Siakem but if the guy will not commit to signing and even commits to not signing, that is not worth it.
Markenon would be perfect with a high cost and a reluctant trade partner.
LaVine is costly and injury prone.
That leaves either the out of the line-of-sight guy or Kuzma. The good- long, athletic, aggressive on offense. Would mitigate some of the NOP advantages.
The bad- expensive- who would match salaries- HB + what???? Wants to shoot all the time, won’t pass to Keegan, plays no D. Would cost a couple of picks.
He is better and more of a threat than HB. Is he that worse on D?
Kings used to covet picks. This year, dumped the first round one and will lose another for KH.
Some teams rarely have picks and rely on free agents and trade. Monte might be moving in that direction.
But after the recent slaughters and losses to Hornets and now Philly with 2 NBA players- I am a bit disgusted. Philly focused on Fox and DS- why did Kings not focus on Harris and Maxey?? or maybe they did.
The Kings don’t have the type of defenders to take on two guys like that. They have a 2nd year Keegan, and that’s about it. This team is a solid defensive piece or two away from making the team hum like last season.
An elite wing defender is a must right now. Getting defensive stops leads to an easier transition offense, which means the Kings won’t need to rely on the 3pt shooting as much. An elite defender who doesn’t need to score much can easily give a 10 point swing just on the defensive end. A Caruso/Thybulle type may only score 10 points but they are what they provide in defense and transition points makes them like a 20 point scorer.
Boy do I agree with all that you said. IMO we could get a Thybulle , Okoro or Caruso to start at SG. Don’t need to score 20(around 10 a game would surfice) I also think a solid 4 on defense but also helps somewhat on offense would do the trick. In my humble opinion Tari Eason could be had. Rockets have a over abundance of wings and maybe be willing to trade. Sitting at 16 and 16 isn’t a good place and might need some help. If not then Dorian Kinley Smith would be a good fit. Plays defense and shoots the 3. He is a little older than I like but would be a good fit. Just saw a hypothetical trade from Bleacher report that gets us Finley Smith for Mitchell, Duarte and a first round pick. That would still leave enough to go after one of those SG’s.
Like Eason but would be difficult to get . Feel Wendel Carter might be easier to get and a good fit . Plays both 4/5 and is being shopped by Orlando .
Eason currently has a “stress reaction” in his left leg, he’s been out since New Year’s Day and is expected to miss 2 more weeks at least, probably 3 if they take it slow. That means that the Rockets will be using lineups without Eason for the next 3 weeks right before the trade deadline when Eason is supposed to return.
If the Rockets find a combination of winning rotations while Eason is out, it only makes it more likely that he could be made available and alternatively, if the Rockets completely fall flat, they may be more likely to sell to acquire more assets.
Hot take Time:
what ails the 23-15 Kings?
Subpar performances from outside The Four (Ox, Fox, Spock(s), Monk).
HB40 went from being the third best player on the team last season to being …
a non-entity. He’s fine sometimes, he’s diminished most of the time. He’s gone from 82 games and 15 ppg/4.5 rpg at 32 min to 10.8/2.9 at 29 min. He’s no longer the third priority, that’s been handed to the future (Keegan). As a HB40 fan, I admit to being disappointed with his production. I don’t question effort.
Red Velvet has been more crumbs than cake. Again- not questioning effort but when your starting shooting guard isn’t a good shooter and is average at guarding, he can’t start. Huerter’s last season career highs of 15.2 (Team 3rd best last season) in 29.2 min is down to 9.5 at 22.9 min.
That’s 30.2 points per game that has decreased to 20.3. (Malik Monk is at career high 15.0 at 25.7 up from 13.5 at 22.7 min last season). Duarte is at 3.8 ppg at 13.5 min – career lows.
The Kings gambled on stability – Barnes and Huerter and Davion. They added Duarte, Vezenkov losing Terrence Davis, Chimezie Metu. It hasn’t yet worked well as they wait for Keegan to be a consistent contributor (he’s getting there). Lyles has been fine, ok.
I look at Minnesota two seasons ago, then last season and this season- Up (+23), then down (-4) and now (on track for 58 or (+16).
After one (1) fun competitive season – Are this season’s expectations killing my liver? Likely.
Will it take a Kuzma, Jerami Grant, John Collins? I don’t think so. That might bring in a highly paid ego who is paid to be a 2-3 best player but is asked to be a fourth option. (I am not including Markkanen as he would be the 1 or 2 best player IMO- and he isn’t going anywhere, anyway).
Up grade the bench this season. Trade or bench HB/Huerter this Summer. Shoot for the playoffs. Let Keegan blossom. Adjust, adapt, apply. And chill.
Thank you for posting a sensible comment (few and far between on this thread, IMO). Success doesn’t take shape overnight and after reaching the playoffs last year, it is even more difficult to repeat that feat yet alone get better as a team in a conference that has also gotten better.
Would people be happier if the Kings had a losing record but a positive point diff? This isn’t a video game, it takes years to build a consistently good team.
The key players on the Kings (Fox/Domas/Murray/Monk) are playing better this year than last year but the replaceable players are not, which is fine as they are the pieces that needed to be upgraded anyways. The core of this team is doing better despite the play of the peripheral players.
This is a really interesting piece from Ryen Ruesillo regarding blowouts this season in the NBA, covering a range of reasons and sources.
Ugly. Doesn’t bode well for getting past first round of the playoffs. We need much better defense at the 2, 3 and 4 positions. Coach Brown needs to call some plays for HB instead of just leaving him on the wing.
I do’t think that’s going to help. You can call plays for a player but that player needs to execuite those plays. IMO Brown needs to get Murray more involved.
Heh,Marvin Bagley on the move.
I bet this means the Wiz are moving Kuzma soon as well. They’d be smart to go into full rebuild
How do you think Avdija would fit on the Kings?
Kuzma is the more rumored name, but Monte never seems to do what is being rumored about.
I don’t see the Wiz moving Deni. If I were them, I’d be building around Bilal and Deni. Everyone else is trade fodder.
Deni has a great contract and can fit with anyone. No reason to trade him. Bilal is super versatile as well, both with great size. The rest of that roster? Yikes.
Deni seems too passive. another Keegan
This is why the Wiz aren’t done. Kuzma is definitely on the block. Barnes, an expiring McGee, and a future pick might get it done.
I would do that trade if I was Monte. Kuzma isn’t perfect but he is better than Narnes has been this year.
Salary dumped. Again.
Detroit was stupid to give him that deal in the first place. The dude makes more than Monk.
Gambling on potential can be expensive. Brilliant when it works – disappointing when it does not.
The Pistons still have the other #2 big man- former Golden State James Wiseman.
It’s a Darko vibe in the Motor City.
Detroit gets cap space for next year. Washington gets?????Livers-yikes and MB3= more yikes.
Washington may want to re-tool
Kuzma on the move? he is their biggest piece and they will want something.
They can’t move Kuz until…tomorrow!
They got 2nd round picks!!!!!!!! 😄 🤣 😂
Badge Legend