Four games in and the Sacramento Kings have yet to put together a complete game and as a result the Sacramento Kings are still winless. Seven Memphis Grizzlies finished in double digits, led by Desmond Bane’s 31 points, and the Kings fell 125 to 110.
Sacramento got off to a great start. Their new starting lineup featuring Keegan Murray was playing well on both ends of the court and got out to a 23-13 lead with 4:58 to go. However it got a little messier for Sacramento as both teams went to their bench. By the time the quarter was over, the Kings found themselves down by four and would never lead again.
Defense was supposed to be the team’s calling card this season but for the third time in four games, the Kings allowed their opponent to shoot over 50% from the field and 40% from three. While the effort seems to be there, the execution is sorely lacking for the most part. Memphis seemingly got whatever they wanted on offense, either in the paint where Sacramento’s lack of a rim protector has never seemed more glaring, or wide open from beyond the arc when a switch gets miscommunicated. To make matters worse, you have guys like Desmond Bane going 6-8 from three even when he was guarded closely. Sacramento’s lack of defense meant that every time they made a run or had a cool highlight like the back-to-back Kentucky connection, the Grizzlies were able to reset and reestablish their lead. They kept the Kings at arms length for the rest of the game.
Sacramento’s depth is also looking a lot shallower than it was in the preseason. The Kings bench had just 5 points at halftime and if you take away Malik Monk’s 15 points (who played much of the second half with the starting unit as Kevin Huerter dealt with a shoulder injury sustained in the end of the first half), they scored just 12 points compared to 35 for Memphis.
De’Aaron Fox had yet another good game overall, leading the team with 27 points, but he can’t do everything himself. The team needs more offense from Domantas Sabonis. Yes, he had a near triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists, but he took just 6 shots the entire game. That’s too few for your second best player. Still, Sabonis finished the game at a team-high +7 in 31 minutes. So much of the gameplan seems to revolve around his passing and setting up things that it’s tough when the team doesn’t really have anyone else that can replicate that.
Yes, the Kings have played probably the toughest schedule in the league so far. Yes, the officiating has felt very one sided at times during these games. But at some point the Kings have to stop making excuses and go out and win ballgames. Playoff teams can win these games. Playoff teams don’t let double-digit leads evaporate in two minutes.
Right now the Kings aren’t playing like a playoff team, and the schedule won’t do them any favors as they try to figure things out. Next up is a very good, veteran Miami Heat team that comes into town on Saturday night.
Operation M.C.N.A.I.R.
Tonight’s Operation: M.C.N.A.I.R. donation of $10 goes to The Child Abuse Prevention Center (@CAP_Center)!
If you’re donating tonight, please feel free to post yours below!
Link: https://t.co/IDMD3dgS3m#SacramentoProud #OperationMCNAIR
— Will Griffith (@WillofThaPeople) October 28, 2022
Random Observations
- Mike Brown certainly wasn’t kidding when he said he was going to be experimenting with the rotation tonight. Almost every single available Sacramento King played tonight, with only Trey Lyles not seeing any action. Chimezie Metu, who has barely played this season at all, was the first sub off the bench. Chima Moneke saw his first real rotation minutes. KZ Okpala, who had been a starter, only came in during garbage time when the game was decided. The starting unit has been good, but Mike Brown hasn’t figured out what works from the bench yet, and that’s mostly because the bench has not been playing to expectations.
- One highlight was Malik Monk who scored 15 points to go with 7 assists in 22 minutes. He helped spark a mini-run in the second half that nearly got the Kings back in the game before Memphis once again put them at arms length in seemingly no time. If Monk can be a consistent sparkplug that would be huge.
- Davion Mitchell is in a funk and has not had a good start to his sophomore season. He scored 7 points in 12 minutes, but was a -13 and only had a single assist. The team needs him to do a better job of creating for both himself and others when he runs the second unit.
- Keegan Murray was exactly as expected in his first start. 18 points, 7 rebounds and was seemingly the only King who could hit a wide open three in the first half (he finished 3-8, although one of his two-point makes was a toe on the line three, and he had another three called back because of a moving screen from Sabonis). The Kings got a good one here. He is unflappable and consistent. He had some rookie mistakes too, but I’m not worried about him figuring things out at all. He’s already operating at a high level.
- Memphis just has a bunch of quality players. Desmond Bane was on another level tonight, hitting multiple daggers after the Kings would get the crowd going. Brandon Clarke is a phenomenal bench big and just supremely efficient. Tyus Jones is a steady hand as a backup point guard. Rookie Jake LaRavia had some nice moments as a stretch four. Ja Morant wasn’t even that great (he may have been dealing with an illness) and Memphis didn’t really need him. They didn’t buckle once whenever the Kings made a run. They’re young, but they play like a veteran team.
There is a coach who preached defense
And has rotations that make no sense
Need I say more?
I feel so sore
Our Kings frustrations just deepens
But there’s a dude named Wembanyama
Who needs to play in California
So let’s go winless
Then trust the process
In 2023, boom shaka laka!
This is the story of the 2022 Kings of Kangz
Defense they preached, but defensive players they lack
The effort they gave, but nobody could pick up the slack
The offense was ok, they came out to play, but that’s only half a workday
We just aren’t good, it doesn’t help that we play every game 8v5.
Such a loser mentality. Blame the officials instead of realizing that the team just isn’t very good.
Are the refs missing defensive rotations?
Are the refs missing open shots?
Are the refs making errant passes and passes in to traffic?
Are the refs acquiring poor talent and making weird substitutions?
The answer is no. The team us losing because they just aren’t talented enough. That’s its.
Hey, constantly blaming the refs is a time-honored tradition among perpetual losers.
Refs didn’t allow the Grizz to shoot 53% from the field and 42% from 3. The Kings did.
Couldn’t agree more. Refs calls even out over time.
The refs have blown some calls, but the only game they really helped determine the outcome of was the Blazers game.
Worst part of being a Raider fan is reading other Raider fans blame every single loss solely on the refs.
You don’t get Wemby by winning games
.
I thought baseball was boring
And I was right!
I do actually think things will get “better” and the Kings will be well out of the Wemby race, possibly even in the play-in. I have mixed feelings about this
But why? What are they building here? If the ceiling for this team is a play in?
They certainly don’t look like a playoff roster. Especially, when you look at the West.
if mediocrity is the goal. Have at it.
Fox is playing out of his mind. Maybe, his trade value continues to climb. He’s definitely not the problem. Probably not the solution either.
It seems a bit early for “trade Fox”. If they’re 15-18ish at the trade deadline, let’s talk about that. If they’re 20-13 or 6-27, let’s not.
Really good post with several good points. I think management is living in blissful ignorance thinking they have the roster to be playoff competitive.
This all speaks to my wondering and fear that the insistence in chasing playin rather than full rebuild will doom the Kings. And yes this is a Vivek thing ultimately.
Rather than do what Utah is doing-trade Fox rather than Hali for pics etc -they’ve gone all in with non shooters and iffy defenders.
At the least, looks like they need 2 more players.
We will have to give it more time but the decision to not rebuild is very very questionable
I sure agree with that. I was screaming from the mountain top that this was the wrong course. We need a franchise player and the only realistic way is through the draft and the more spins at the wheel the more likely we’ll score the franchise player. When the time comes trade Sabonis, Fox, Holmes, and Barnes for a load of draft picks and some salary fillers.
A lot of us are on that mountain top with you. We’re the choir.
I would gently suggest you do whatever it takes to join the many of us who have come to the realization this proper tank will never happen.
I can’t believe I’m going to say this again, a real voice from the past….
It takes courage to tank correctly and this franchise doesn’t have it, you win Vivek.
Unfortunately you’re probably correct.
I agree.
I pegged the first 10 games as being really tough. Nothing has changed.
I think the rotation will tighten up and the Kings will start winning games at a clip that most people projected.
I didn’t think the Kings were title contenders. Still don’t.
I didn’t think the Kings were among the worst of the worst. Still don’t.
So basically, after four games, my mood is … “meh and Keegan looks as expected!”
We are much improved, they said.
The Grizzlies got worse and will be without JJJ the first part of the season, they said.
We have a much stronger bench, they said.
We finally have a good coach, they said.
With better talent around him, Fox would win, they said.
Our D would be much improved, they said. (Duh, our D was dead last the previous season)
We don’t need good defenders, Brown would fix it with schemes, they said.
It’s positionless basketball, we don’t need a real SF, they said.
Rim protection is overrated, just keep guys from penetrating, they said.
If only Keegan would start, they said.
If only Barnes would have a decent game, they said.
Pick & Rolls are boring and predictable, who cares if Sabonis is good at it, they said.
The schedule is brutal, they said.
Give it more time, they said.
Not yet time to panic, they said. The coach was just having fun with experimenting lineups, they said.
Rec’d.
Sounds like something Kayte spews, look at her tweets.
it’s no different this time. The roster has no elite talent which means at best mediocrity and more likely under .500
Playoffs my arse.
I agree 100. This team is quick exit in the play in. If that.
I was down on hiring Brown in the first place. Is there a particular reason no team was interested in bringing him on in 7 years.
Wacky substitutions. Playing Metu more than 5 minutes a game is too much.
Look what Will Hardy is doing in Utah. Ridiculous.
Ainge is hell bent on tanking this year, he’ll make sure it happens. Guessing Lauri and Conley are eventually traded.
I’ve been in on Lauri since he was drafted constantly hoping we’d trade or sign him. If he stays healthy he’s a damn good player.
I
The Kings are also hell bent on losing, just not intentionally.
Yeah this organization has a really difficult time thinking out of the box. Browns never did anything to distinguish himself as elite. Having said that, we have to stop looking for coaches as the savior. We need a roster.
I’m sick of our broadcasters talking about how our coach is still figuring out the lineup and substitutions. Yeah, Brown’s substitutions have been all over the place.
They are such idiots aren’t they?!
The good preseason play was probably the worst case scenario for this team. It raised everyone’s expectations out of the gate.
I meant to change that last sentence to
It raised their expectations.
I feel like some of the things you are mocking are true though.
We shall see.
I guess that makes my pronoun “they?” 😉
You are what your record says you are..but but this season is different lol.
Kangz 0-4 (trying to make the playoffs)
Jazz and Spurs a combined 7-3 (intentionally tanking.
yes these records will revert to the mean, but still pretty damning.
Spurs yes. Jazz not so sure. They got some serious ballers. Markanann is really turning into a unicorn there. He’s young and if he stays healthy, the Kid can be special. Clarkson. Vanderbilt. Conley. Kessler, Sexton. No stars. But a lot of talented players that play hard 48 minutes and most of their wins have come against playoff teams. If the Jazz don’t blow it up. I would definitely say they are a play in team.
They are fun to watch.
at least the free throw shooting was good. sort of
3 days off to gameplan resulted in this.
Bango!
Oh dear. I was listening to the Grizz broadcast.
Who says Bango???
Agreed. This loss I’m laying at Brown’s feet. 3 days of planning to bring Chimezie off the bench after 6 minutes? Wtf?
Too many guys that don’t factor into the game.
Desmond Bane is a sniper, geez. I counted three separate occasions in which the Kings had made a run, and Bane would just hit nothing but net on a tightly contested three. Hats off to the Grizz, they’re a tough bunch.
You know in-person it was a pretty good game, I enjoyed myself.
Murray got an incredible ovation at introductions, it was noteworthy.
I actually liked the way the Kings looked, they just have a noticeable lack of talent. As basic as that sounds, it sure was obvious tonight.
That’s the scary part, the most “talent” this team has had in years not resulting in anything close to a playoff.
So play-in is possible you say 🤔
“Let’s hope so!” –
Is that sweat I see beading up on his forehead?
The talent gap has really stood out to me against the Clippers, Warriors Grizzlies. Even without Ja, the Grizzlies were probably a top 5 team in the West last year. It isn’t too surprising that they are this good without JJJ right now.
Jake LaRavia is going to be special for them.
This. This team just doesn’t have enough talent. There’s a reason almost no one picked this team to win more than they lose.
There’s nothing wrong with Mike Brown, and McNair made decent to good moves in the offseason. The jury is very much out on Sabonis vs Haliburton long-term, but that move is not hurting this team today. Other folks have said it – you can get better and backslide in the standings because the rest of the league doesn’t stand still.
They Kings are not as good as three of the four teams they’ve played, and maybe not as good as the fourth either. Their record is indicative of their talent **against those teams** and probably isn’t going to start looking better for a while.
The Kings always seem to give the appearance that the other teams players are better than ours, which is probably true anyway.
https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1585853089386577920?s=46&t=8RvmGl0Fj_UT-e0b4JyVng
Would love to see Vivek in that costume come Monday.
We need that puke guy back!
.
Wait, what???? It was? Don’t you have to have players who can play defense for it to be your calling card?
No, and nobody I can recall thought or said it would be.
I heard a lot of chatter how a so called defensive minded coach whatever that is like Brown would make a big difference. This franchise needs a major rebuild and I’d be moving Sabonis, Fox, Barnes and Holmes at the mid season trade deadline of off-season.
This is why I don’t understand Kayte talking about this defense failing. It’s the offense that isn’t functioning at a high level right now.
You’re a fan. You’re not supposed to understand (according to Kayte).
If we have been saying for years that the team sucks, and she keeps telling us that we don’t understand, yet they continue to suck, should she really be analyzing basketball?
Kayte is paid to be an advocate for the team. I’d like to see her in a different position where she can freely express her real feelings.
But not to this degree, it’s embarrassing, and hence, not very effective.
Morgan Reagan is paid by the Kings, and does a much better job of it. Acknowledging the problems while putting out some hope for the fans.
Not true. Plenty of other teams announcers call out their team for shitty play.
I know what her job is. And it’s lame as hell. I would bet she rolls her eyes at half the shit she says. It’s hard to be reasonably intelligent and not. The commentary is absolutely horrific and it’s not likely to change anytime soon. At least as long as the current dynamic and status quo exists.
It’s sad but that’s how ownership sees this fanbase.
Personally I just think sports commentary sucks. I don’t think Kayte is meaningfully worse than anyone else. The good ones are very few and far between. The best is the mute button.
I would like to agree, but I don’t. I think it’s a reflection of expectation, not ability. Some guys suck at the broadcasting side of things but most do not. If that were the case, I’d agree with you.
At this point I have no real expectations for the broadcast because ownership clearly has mandated this type of broadcast for fans. Will anyone able to prove it? Not likely. Proof is in the pudding, though. I think fairly highly of the on air talent. (And I had no issues with Grant Napear, either.) But you’re only as good as what you’re allowed to say and what’s not being said speaks volumes IMO.
This team’s offense is not good enough to play that sort of defense.
Do we still have reason for optimism?
Funny you mention there was bad defense because as the clock was winding down and Kayte Christenshill was asked what she liked from the Kings tonight, she pointed out that she thought the Kings played really good defense. I looked at the final tally of 125-110 and thought to myself, “I’m a fan. I guess I just really don’t understand.”
Kayte is just an awful talkathon.
Try muting the volume, works for me.
I have league pass since I live in the Bay Area and just love watching hoops in general. I NEVER watch the kings feed anymore. Really makes me miss Grant and Jerry. So far, the clips and grizz have the best tv announcers.
I really miss Jerry, not so much Grant. Jerry was always insightful, had so many tidbits to offer every single game.
Grant on the other hand….much like we give Jones and Draper crap for, every game it was the exact same catchphrases to the point where you could basically predict what was going to be said and when. He had reached a point where he was basically phoning it in.
I listen to the opposing team’s broadcast. It’s less frustrating.
Whenever I turn the game on, it takes about 30 second to a minute for Kayte to say something ludicrous, so I do turn down the volume, and then try again in a couple of minutes.
But I’m sure Draper corrected her and criticized the players and coaches?
What ifs that could have changed Kings history:
If we took Giannis or Damian Lillard
If we made a bet on Kawhi Leonard
Then Donovan
Paired with Keegan
Or that wonderboy Slovenian point guard!
I’m not sure if the Kings could’ve developed Giannis or Kawhi into the players they became.
This ^^^
I’d bet against it, actually. It’s a reason (although not the main one) I’m more positive about De’Aaron Fox than others. This environment the Kings have created is arguably the worst development spot for all young players in all of basketball.
Luka was the unforgivable one and that was when I checked out for the most part. Have only watched a handful of games since they took Bagley. Not even watching this year, just staying in on things via TKH.
yes,, very unforgivable.
F__k Vlade and Ranadive
Same here. I watch now and then but can’t really get excited about the games. Luka looked good last night.
Luka with 41 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists in an away win against the Nets.
With a supporting cast that is worse than the Kings’? Wow.
That’s my point when I posed my question below.
Luka scores and rebounds and makes plays for his teammates. Fox does not. He plays like he wants to win by himself. Always hell-bent on ISOs or attacking the rim. Keegan is our best shooter but Fox doesn’t look for him.
Even if Fox scores 40-50 per game but doesn’t get his teammates involved, a win is not gusranteed.
Haliburton is obviously a better facilitator
than Fox
The Monta Ellis comp is real.
Not impressive defensively, not a great passer, a very one-dimensional skill set.
I’m not so sure he has a worse supporting cast.
I think I saw somebody on twitter say that at the moment teams are shooting 65% on open threes against the Kings this season. Last season, the best a team shot on wide open threes was 43.5%. The Kings are also allowing the fewest open threes in the league thus far. So while their defense still isn’t good, they have actually been pretty unlucky so far. I’m the last person who is usually positive about this team but chances are, teams won’t all shoot like the best shooting team in NBA history against the Kings all season.
That said, if they don’t win a game soon, the team is almost assuredly going to check out.
Thanks for pulling this stat. It had certainly felt like teams were shooting exceptionally well against us, so to see this number really puts it into context.
As much as the Kings are letting people score, a lot of points have come off of shots with a hand in the face. A whole lot of “what can you do?” buckets early this season.
Same as what JWalker said FKC. Great comments as well (both of you).
Yeah Desmond Bane hit a couple shots last night with guys right in his face. The variance in shooting against one team to another can swing pretty wildly.
A couple years ago when the Knicks made the playoffs in Randles first year, there defense numbers were good, but it was in part because teams shot like 30% against them in wide open situations. Usually those numbers even out over the course of a season but sometimes they don’t.
Kevin Pelton was actually talking with Zach Lowe a couple months ago about this and how the Kings has been in incredibly unlucky last year with teams shooting way above expected against them. They were bullish on the Kings because regression was almost inevitable. So far, it’s actually been the opposite for the Kings. Teams are shooting at a completely unsustainable clip against them and their perimeter defense should be producing around a league average defense. Their interior defense is really poor because they have no rim protection but the three point shooting is an outlier.
The best NBA team shot 43.5% on wide-open 3’s last season?! That seems incredibly low.
It seems that way because we view three point shooting through the lens of Steph Curry or other great shooters. But most teams have guys like Russell Westbrook jacking up threes and missing everything more often than not. In that context, 43.5% is actually pretty high IMO.
Vivek’s positionless basketball is turning into winless baakerball
spell check. Lol
No, I think that works. Because what they’re playing definitely isn’t basketball.
I laughed at that.
“Pointless” basketball.
Serious question
Does Fox make his teammates better?
My answer is no.
He does not.
Fox does not lead and is an individual contributor. He is putting up great numbers.
Put Fox on a team that has a leader and a real team culture he wins. Fox on the KaNGZ puts up great numbers and loses.
If only they had drafted a point guard who makes his teammates better. Oh wait, they did and traded him in favor of Fox.
If only they could’ve drafted a transgender talent that brings his team to the playoffs. Oh wait, they could have. But they chose fox instead.
This team is weighed down by vivax insistence on believing his basketball intelligence. Of which he has none.
Ha. Transcendent. Though transgender would work too.
I’m happy I took the OVER on the Kings this season.
I was right!
After Saturday night, Kings will be 0-5.
And that’s it.The season is over.
We will miss your concise synopses.
Sabonis is turning into bagley
Sabagley
What an astonishingly dumb thing to say.
Umm ok? 😂
Kosta or Len are more accurate comparisons. Know what to do, just can’t do it.
He’s off to a poor start, but he’s still miles above Bagley. For starters, he makes it on the floor every night.
I thought it was a fun game overall. But I love basketball, not just Kings basketball.
Bane is an absolute beast. He was trouble for us last year too and I like watching him play. Ja too.
I thought Fox outplayed Ja tonight and I I liked the Fox Monk minutes together. Monk’s spring is unreal. That block against the backboard should have been legit. Those back to back alley oops were hella cool.
Keegan looked good overall. I did see some shots he looked to have rushed with his rhythm a bit but he’s super solid.
Adams and their bigs were more effective than Sabonis IMO.
Someone else needs to step up. What happened to Holmes? He used to be a beast. Drop off has seemed steep. Barnes was marginally better tonight but. His moves are slow. His defense is bad.
Mitchell. Man I love the dude, but he needs to make himself a threat on offense to be effective for this team.
Huerter looked pretty good overall before going out. Crazy how much the Kings need him already
Someone else needs to step up though.
Bazemore seems like he would have been useful in a game like this.
If you are counting on Bazemore being useful, then we might as well be talking about draft prospects about now. There is a reason he is currently unemployed.
Maybe his game has fallen off a cliff. But it was just last year the Warriors had wanted him on their roster. I have a hard time believing KZ, Moneke, or Delle are more useful on this roster.
Yes, but this year the Warriors don’t appear to want him on their roster. Nor does any other team, for that matter.
Holmes must be spoon-fed everything he does offensively.
Holmes > Holmes+Glasses
The early losing steak may be a blessing in the long run, if it convinces the org that even a play-in bid is not realistically within reach. Given that the team clearly is incapable of defense, it’s best to pack it up and begin a real tank.
I don’t see any chance this happens after the Sabonis deal, his contract expiring at the end of next season and then dealing a draft pick for Huerter.
The only real possibility I see is if the Kings have an absolutely terrible season, McNair gets fired and a new GM comes in and starts dumping players. I really don’t think they’ll be bad enough for that to happen.
Agreed. Unfortunately this team will get just enough wins to convince the leadership that they can make a run at the end of the season for that playoff push. Only to go down in flames while simultaneously tricking themselves into thinking some hack who was terrible all season will string together some monster stats in the last 20 meaningless games, and be a star for us next season (I see you Davion!)
2nd verse, same as the 1st!
Exactly, the same script will repeat
Well, even unintentional tanks can be effective.
It seems that when Sabonis gets the ball near the paint, teams are immediately doubling or tripling him, forcing either a pass, turnover, or difficult shot. They need to find a way to move the ball quicker and make the defense rotate to create an open shot (and hit them at a higher rate, of course).
Any optimism and excitement I had for this season has disappeared quicker than Holmes’ push shot.
Yeah, where the hell did that shot go?
It left for Indy.
Comment of the thread.
The Grizzly are exactly what the Kings need to become . Sadly, have little hope of that happening . Oh well, arena is nice !
The NEXT time Kings swap out the players around Fox … that’s when he will figure it out.
🎵 Always look on the bright side of life 🎵
You come from nothing, you’ll return to nothing, so what have you lost? Nothing!
Crucifixion sounds lovely!
Sorry that you got drafted to Basketball Hell. You seem like a nice person with a long career ahead of you. Let’s hope the Kings don’t derail that for you.
They need to trade KZ, Metu, Lyles for a Crowder level type of player. Consolidate the G league level players for real NBA talent. Same with Davion and TD. Upgrade the wing by flipping them, shorten the bench with actual impact players. This roster doesn’t have the high end talent to drag those types of players along and make them a winner.
You just elaborated on something I posted late last night. I appreciate it. Too many guys not contributing. Kz, Moneke, Davion, Holmes and usually TD all adding nothing to the game.
Yeah, no spark coming from anywhere. Very disappointing so far.
Find someone in the 2nd unit can play pick and roll with Holmes…and let his push shot be the main weapon for 2nd unit
These games are bad for my health.
That being said the back to back Kentucky connection oops were freakin awesome. Then Bane made another three…. lol
It just like the Clippers game, we went on a nice run, get the momentum going on our side, but then PG hit some tough shot…and stopped our momentum……….
I hope Mike Brown can see there is really something for that Kentucky Connection, and Mike Brown should pair them together more !
Monk is not that good. It’s fools gold. He’s a ball stopper and plays very similar to Fox.
Monk had a great scoring year with the Lakers last year. It’s only because of the plithora of injuries the Lakers we’re dealing with and the Lakers had very few scorers.
Monk would be the number one option on some nights.
He’s a career backup. One good year with very skewed numbers on a decimated Lakers team doesn’t change that.
I’ve watched almost every game since about 1990, and I was the most negative person on STR many times prior to the Herald. We’ve been subjected to some of the worst players, coaches and schemes in NBA history. The Jason Thompson John Salmons era almost ended me. That said, I think last nights starting five the best this team has had in maybe 20 years. And Monk is a great role player. This could be a very good team very soon, however players like Mitchell and Metu are possibly more a liability on offense than they are critical to the defense, and when your second group is a team of professional brick layers, you’re in trouble.
I was always skeptical or critical of Fox but he seems to have improved by leaps and bounds. That alone is very exciting. Murray could have been the best pick in the draft, Sabonis and a very good NBA center and Huerter is a brilliant 3 point shooter with some other skills as well. I like this team for the first time in decades. The defense and the losses are a puzzle that need to be fixed.
The second unit issues might have a lot to do with Brown. For the life of me I can’t figure out why they aren’t running PnR with Holmes. That was one of the most successful plays the Kings ran last year and while Hali was the best at running it, both Davion and Fox were also successful. I don’t think they ran it once yesterday. This read and react approach may not fit with that second group because they just don’t have the individual playmakers. I’d argue that the team only has one real individual playmaker at this point and when he’s off the court, the offense looks lost.
The group just looks lost in read and react offense.
The first group has been much better, primarily because of Fox. He’s really good at getting by guys and either finishing around the rim or dishing to an uncovered teammate. Domas hasn’t been all I hoped so far. A few nice plays but I don’t get excited when I start to see him go to work as I feel like he’s not maximizing opportunities when he’s doubled. Keegan is already good and has tons of untapped potential. Huerter has been solid all around and Barnes will find his way. I think he’s deferring too much and trying to find where he fits. His “the ball will find you” mentality has limited his productivity so far.
Here we go. The coach blaming is going to start again. I never had any illusions Brown was going to make a significant difference but let’s understand he’s dealing with an inferior roster like his predecessors.
But everyone said this is the most talented roster in years!!
The tastiest shit sandwich in the world is still a shit sandwich.
Not everyone, not me. The roster is a little better but far short of playoff competitive
It is both the most talented roster in years, as well as a roster really lacking in the talent department.
We have starters who would be better served as rotation players off the bench, rotation player who would be better served as 10-12 men, and 10-12 men that would be better served doing another line of work. On the bright side, in rosters past those 10-12 guys may have actually been starters or at least been given 28 minutes a night.
Baby steps?
I have never mentioned Brown. Even though. I never thought he was the right hire.
Playing Metu any important minutes is just flat out mind boggling. Metu is at best a 10-11 guy off the bench.
it seems as if he has some kind of favoritism going on with his former players that he coached on the national team.
The rotations were completely non sensical.
McNair needs to scour the trade market for a 3rd forward & backup big. Murray is obviously #1, Barnes can still be a serviceable #1, but Okpala, Lyles, Metu, Moneke should not be regulars in a NBA rotation. It also seems that Holmes magic disappeared the moment he signed his contract, as he’s ceased being a positive contributor since then.
That said, I can’t really see holding my breath for improving either spot, as we are in the unenviable position of having next to nothing to offer a trade partner in return.
Moneke and Okpala can’t be traded until Dec 14th. But they need to go, along with Metu and Lyles. Not sure what. Maybe Moneke can stay around as he is new to the league and has not had a chance to show much. He looked fine yesterday.
The question is what can they get for those players?
would this year’s Kangz beat last year’s Kangz? if so, at least there is finally some forward progress being made because (still somewhat inconceivable to me that in the midst of the longest ever NBA playoff drought, this is the first time in many years that i actually feel like the current team would definitely beat the previous year’s team)
Top ten teams in the league have a top ten player and the contenders have a couple in the top 20 usually. We don’t have a top 20 player on the roster and the Kings will never attract one as a free agent. Only shot is the draft, pretty simple really. Also good teams have good defenses and defenses actually do win championships. The Kings need to get some bonafide superstars and two way players.
Murray may be one.
Murray will be very good. Star. Most stars in the league have elite creation skills or Unicorns.
Not sure if Murray will be that. He certainly looks like a core piece on a playoff team.
Alpha Dog 1a. Not sure. He really can’t handle athletic 1-2s as we saw last night.
There’s a solid basketball argument that Murray does have (or could have) elite creation skills, with his constant motor and his ability to find the right space at the right time for the next play, offensively or defensively. He’s a high IQ player. His stroke is quick. He scores efficiently.
In any case. Too early to put a ceiling on Murray.
The Monk/Fox alley-oops was how I remember their UK team in the finals. Just a ridiculous display of skill and athleticism.
Kayte’s comment right after the game that the final score failed to illustrate how great of a game it was and how close the game was is a pretty bad homer take.
Sabonis is not like Boogie who creates his own turnover/shot. Somebody (who’s the point guard on this team?) needs to pass and set him up to finish and get that “more offense”.
That somebody is playing in Indy, unfortunately. Fox is not that kind of facilitator. He is a “scoring” guard, not a point guard.
They are not running much P&R so there are not many opportunities for Sabonis to finish as a roller. I think last night was the first time I saw that they ran 2 consecutive P&R possessions between Sabonis and Fox.
At this time, it is by design that they keep running the Sabonis high post read and react offense. It is probably the best way to extract the most value out of Sabonis. It is also the best way to involve movement shooters like Huerter and Keegan. However, it does diminish Barnes who likes to have the ball a little longer, and Mitchell and Holmes who are much better in P&R.
Once Barnes, Mitchell and Holmes are up to speed with this high post offense, I am sure Brown will institute a more balance mix between high post and P&R. But Brown does not seem to worry about the offense. All about defense right now.
Which might be smart if you expect the players to figure it out. And they might. Or might not.
I don’t see how the Kings can realistically be better than an average defense regardless of scheme, player attitude, coaching or what have you.
Interested to see how the game goes tomorrow night. It’ll be the closest thing I can remember to a must win on the 5th game of the season in, maybe, ever.
I would disagree that we have played poor defense vs grizzlies. There were multiple times that shots were heavily contested and Grizz were just still sinking them. It was actually kind of crazy. It felt like the kings actually did have improved defense last night for a good portion of the game, but still got heavily outscored despite the defense.
Sabonis didn’t have a bad game, he did well considering he was under a perpetual double team. He fed teammates and scored when he could. Only adjustment maybe is rotation wise and giving Sabonis less floor time with the second unit. Second unit aren’t good enough to take advantage of his passing.
There are and have been positives this year over last year. Felt like they played some pretty good basketball tonight just the other team was on fire and despite contesting their shots they still made them.
The problem, if there even is one, is the bench scoring. For whatever reason the bench can’t protect a lead, prevent a deficit from growing, or score. Whenever Fox sits things seem to go to shit. We can’t play fox 42 min per night so we need a plan on how the bench doesn’t suck. I think that is why coach was experimenting so much, he needs someone to step up on the second unit and score some damn points.
Monk was atrocious in the first two games but has been better since then, but no one else seems capable of providing a scoring punch from the bench. Monk and TD swapped placed between games 1-2, and games 3-4. Huerter being out for a good chunk of that last game hurt us.
Holmes, Mitchell, Oakpala, Moneke, Len, Trey Lyles, Metu, have all produced next to nothing. Lyles seems like he is in coaches dog house. Holmes had one good game.
HB similarly has only had one good game.
Fox is not the problem. You all are a little over the top on the bashing here. He is playing really well. Yes it hasn’t produced wins but that has largely been a failure around fox and not because of him.
He’s not the problem. He’s not the solution. Elite players make other around them better. Period.
It just feels like deja vu…
Badge Legend