The Kangz rollercoaster never ends. After winning 7 of 8, the Kings have now dropped 4 in a row after a 136 to 125 loss to the visiting Brooklyn Nets. To make matters worse, all 4 of those losses have been at home, although that doesn’t mean as much this year with no fans in attendance.
The Nets made a whopping 27 three-pointers, including 9 of 11 from Kyrie Irving alone. Nearly every single Net who played made at least two threes, with Bruce Brown and DeAndre Jordan being the only ones who missed out on all the fun. The Kings on the other hand only made 12 of their 33 attempts, with Buddy Hield having half of them. Yes, Brooklyn made nearly as many threes as the Kings attempted. That’s how you lose by double-digits despite making the same total number of shots and making 4 more free throws.
Tonight’s loss doesn’t look nearly as bad as it really was, as a late run by a lineup featuring Cory Joseph, Tyrese Haliburton, Glenn Robinson III, DaQuan Jeffries, and Hassan Whiteside made it semi-interesting, but as usual, it was too little too late. Joseph and Whiteside were perhaps Sacramento’s two best players tonight. Joseph scored 22 points on 10 of 13 shooting, and Whiteside had a team-high 26 points to go with 16 rebounds and 5 blocks. It was a rare poor performance from De’Aaron Fox tonight, as he failed to reach 20 points for just the 7th time this season. Harrison Barnes was also a relative non-factor, scoring just 4 points in 28 minutes. Barnes has played well for much of this season, but the tendency to disappear at times is still there.
Sacramento was without Richaun Holmes and at times it showed, as the Kings were missing the energy and hustle provided by their starting center. Marvin Bagley III made the start at center in Holmes’ absence and score 12 points to go with 7 rebounds.
The Brooklyn Nets were without Kevin Durant tonight but it must be nice to have two other superstars in Kyrie Irving and James Harden to fall back on. Irving scored a game-high 40 points and Harden added 29 points, 14 assists, and 13 rebound triple-double.
The game didn’t really get out of hand until the third quarter. Sacramento entered halftime down just 6, and after a Buddy Hield three-pointer with 7:20 left in the quarter, they managed to get within a possession at 82-80. It was the closest they’d ever get again, as Brooklyn opened up a 20-0 run, spearheaded by Irving and Harden. The Kings weren’t able to recover from that onslaught.
The Kings will get two nights off to try and figure things out before taking on the Miami Heat (11-5) on Thursday evening.
When Whiteside and Cojo are your two best players it says you are not a good team and do not have a bright future ! Wish broadcast team would stop with this it is a young team crap ! It is NOT !
Yes, all the idiotic excusesDoug saying Bags is rusty -Katie blaming Kings up an down season on odd season. There are no more excuses. This smacks of the heavy petty little hand of the the Owner.
Toe the line. Let him meddle
It’s weird how Katie can say with a straight face that the Kings have had a tough season because of the Pandemic…..as if no other team has faced the same circumstances.
The Kings are literally like one team who hasn’t really been negatively impacted by the pandemic. For her to say that is insane.
To twist it, the Kings HAVE been negatively impacted. They got extra days of practice time and rest after a stretch of awful basketball which allowed them to go 6-1 and take them out of a top 3 lottery pick.
If we think Kayte is secretly a part of the tank then she’s a genius for sure. She’s playing chess y’all.
Seen this broadcast complaining in multiple threads. I am not sure what else one would really expect from the broadcast crew of a local team? This isn’t a national broadcast. Their check depends on the team they are broadcasting! Watch any other local crews in basketball and baseball. The vast, vast majority of them get on and try to oh I dunno, sell the product of the company that employs them. WTF do you want them to say?
Mark: “Here chopping it up with Doug Christie tonight folks. In all likelihood the Kings are going to get F’in shellacked in this one. Did I mention Bagley is starting at center tonight. Yikes, gonna be a rough one on the defensive end huh Doug?”
DC: “Well just like Hassan Whiteside, I give zero Fox about this game Jonesy….what about you Kayte?”
Kayte: “Doug if I see Buddy Hield dribble the ball off his foot one more time on the break I’m going to look into his medical records to see if he has an 11th toe.”
Their job is not to be some impartial arbiter of the truth. Their job is to try and create a positive public image of the team and it’s future and to keep fan interest that eventually sells tickets, merchandise and advertising.
That said, I don’t love this crew though I can live with Jones and Christie. Draper just sucks all around, but mostly as the play by play.
Many of us hate Grant’s schtick on radio and his personal views on many issues, but we were spoiled for many years with him and Jerry. They were quite good compared to most of the league. Around the NBA it is definitely not a ton better and some are worse than what we even have now.
Not accurate. I’ve heard/seen plenty of local broadcasters who criticize their team and tell it like it is.
Not accurate…it’s not that common especially for a brand new crew.
I’ve heard many broadcast teams calling out their players. Not this irrationally positive bullshit.
Lakers, Clippers, Portland, Houston, Knicks, Spurs……theirs more.
There’s. And just because other broadcasters go with irrational bullshit positivity doesn’t mean Sac should.
Of course it doesn’t mean it should, but that’s reality. They are new or relatively new employees.
Many of those teams you named off, have long time announcers and duos. Is it possible they sounded different their first year on the job? Generally when folks start a new job, they don’t go looking to shit can the company on the regular…maybe once employees build rapport with owners and a community over years they might feel more free to speak out.
Again I don’t particularly like these announcers, but it feels odd to get really irritated by how employees talk about the company that pays them.
Its what they get paid for. Selling the team.
Clippers? Clippers broadcast crew? they are the absolute worst when it comes to local team love. That one dude with the chuckle ‘ho ho look at that jam’, for a rather tame dunk. On the other end Fox does some acrobatic impossible shot that goes in “there’s two for Fox” you can almost hear the yawn. LOL
Yeah, they can be irrationally positive. Not gonna argue it. But when the team isn’t playing the right way, Doug does call it out. And he’ll point out specifically what the Kings should be doing to be more effective against certain Defenses, Offenses or players. He doesn’t talk about how much a certain player sucks, but he doesn’t pretend they’re playing the right way when they’re not, either.
Can they not be 75% Homers instead of 100% Homers?
I don’t necessarily disagree and I would like it if they called shit out more too.
But for a new Duo, one new to entire region and Doug in second year, I just don’t think it’s likely you will get that. Or would from most people put in those same circumstances. Grant definitely said less back in the early 90s than he did after he gained some gravitas in the region. It could come with time, but the way some make it sound like this is a direct link to Vivek being thin skinned is weak and there is no real evidence to conclude that. Especially when it is not uncommon around the league. It’s possible, but we don’t know.
Like I wrote below, Jerry managed to be positive without spewing propaganda.
How does this comment have any thumbs downs? That dialogue was fantastic. And I agree, Peaches is what he is, but he was entertaining for game commentary. And at least Doug and Mark know basketball. I’ve listened to local broadcast on a lot of road games, and it can be pretty rough.
Listen to the G Man if you want to hear real talk, the disgust in his voice when they go into KANGZ mode is beautiful to hear.
There were plenty of times that Grant & Jerry criticized the Kings during and after blowouts (though I don’t remember Grant criticizing the Kings once Doug took over).
Never said they didn’t…It is possible that they developed that ability more over the 30 years they did the games though, no? To compare current crew against Grant and Jerry with this particular group of fans is unfair.
I’m not saying Jones and Christie are great, but expectations should be tempered at this point.
I agree that the fawning media personalities are unbearable, but I actually think of this team as young despite the average age of the team as a whole, because the players who run the plays are young. If the core players going forward are Fox, Hali, Bags, that’s pretty young. I’d like to see how the Kings compare to the rest of the league in terms of heavy rotation players only average age.
Did they hold the groundhog event in Texas this year? All snowed in over there
No power in many parts as well.
We can count on a Luke Walton coached team to be wildly inconsistent and uncannily streaky.
Barnes finished with 4/3/1 in 28 min in a game where we scored 125 pts against the worst defense in the league… I don’t really know what to say except his disappearing act is getting old.
When Barnes misses, you’ll never see him shoot the same shot again. He missed a corner three that was halfway in, got the exact same shot the next possession and passed it up to drive.
He doesn’t realize that he’s probably the 2nd best offensive player on this team and he and the team need him to find his offense every game. We’re something like 10-3 when he scores 20+.
Barnes is who he is, a 3rd option with a 4th option mindset. Trade him to a playoff team so he can do just that.
He missed 3 corner threes tonight, two from literally the exact same spot, according to shot chart. I digress on that.
Thought experiment: Player X has scored 20+ points in 1/2 of team games this year and team is 10-3 when he does that. 2-12 when he does not score 20+
Do you…
A) Figure out a way to maximize Player X through coaching (new coach?) and strategy
B) Trade Player X for likely unknown future assets
C) Rant on Kings Herald about how shitty Player X is
Hmmmmm….
I get we are all frustrated. Just having some fun ; )
Very disappointing to see a productive vet with championship experience, completely disappear in these last few games.
This team is unbelievably good at building false hopes. After 20 years of this, they somehow duped me again. Oh well, back on my Tankathon shiiii
Also, as any good Kings fan, my instinctive knowledge of the records of all sub-500 teams at any given time tells me that the Miami Heat are not 11-5 as posted above
Easy to get fooled, but until the GM is running the show the Kings are rotten at the core.
it is so clear that this team should be building, tanking, and identifying a coach worth a shit. Not to mention allowing Haliburton to run the show 1/2 the time or second most to Fox….learning, growing.. Get a top 5. Keep Hali and Fox, maybe Holmes.
I hate being trapped in shitsville simply because the owner can’t see past his ego.
Well Hali is playing 30 minutes a game, most of the 4th quarter every night and other than Fox, running the most pick and roll possessions on the team. Would indicate the team is giving him a lot of decision making practice. It would certainly seem they are giving him a good crack at “running the show”.
They are giving him a chance but not enough. Should be 1/2. How many times did Cojo run the show tonight? A lot.
Good to see you cherry pick the one game he started all season to state he has high usage and is hurting Hali’s development.
Haliburton runs twice as many pick and rolls per game than Cojo does per NBA.com – Fox runs more than the other two combined. Hali really isn’t far behind LaMelo Ball who is the other rookie getting a lot of meaningful run.
Fun part…Cojo gets the most points per possession out of his pick and roll plays than the other two (though it’s close).
The season is 1/3 in…they haven’t become sellers yet (could be coming soon). Hali is still a rookie and is learning, though he is quickly. The idea they aren’t giving him enough on his plate so he can develop is ludicrous.
Looking at the roster, there’s no reason that winning stretch should have caused hope. It’s still a bad team being coached by bad coach, that will find it very difficult to win 30 games.
I wish I could read Fox’s mind when he locked up Kyrie for about 16 seconds with the score still at 82-80 just to watch Buddy Hield turn the ball over on the fast break.
This is not a shot at Buddy for today’s game, he shot the ball well, but just a reflection of Buddy overall.
Judging by the box score, those 16 seconds were about the only ones that Kyrie was locked up.
i guess it’s better than some random bench player scoring a career high on us, or Klay scoring 37 in one quarter.
Kyrie was gonna get his regardless and I accepted that we probably weren’t gonna win, so this game was about analyzing play and moments.
Fox got a big stop as the Kings were on a run and had an opportunity to tie. That was a big play. Ups to Fox for that. My point is, Buddy has consistently shown a penchant for missed 3s when we need it this season and bad plays on any given drive or pass. Players will never admit it, but I kinda just want to dive into their minds in those moments.
That sequence started that 20-0 run. That one play by Buddy ruined the quarter. This team isn’t good enough to overcome mistakes like that.
One play doesn’t allow 20 unanswered, that’s a ridiculous statement
Well the comment I replied to was questioning what was going through Fox’s mind on that play and I definitely view it as a major turning point in that quarter. If you believe in momentum you would understand where I’m coming from with this. A one-on-one defensive possession against Kyrie Irving that ends in him getting ripped is a rare. For us to not be able to at least get a shot up after that because Buddy tripped over his own feet is clearly deflating and a defining point in the quarter, as things only got worse from that point on. The game went from being competitive to a blowout after that play. For a team with our talent level against players with the offensive output of Harden and Irving, sequences like that can take you out of the game in a hurry.
The point is the Nets were coasting and that play lit a fire under Kyrie’s ass because he doesn’t get ripped like that by anyone. If we scored off of that turnover, it gives you energy that would match Kyrie’s and by extension, the Nets at that point. Instead, we ended up being deflated playing against a now motivated Kyrie/Nets. I don’t think I need to go into detail about what happens when our team doesn’t play with energy.
THIS.
Kings were going to lose regardless in my mind, but Fox made a big play and 95% of NBA players will make a downhill layup, draw a foul, or dribble it out on a fast break, not clamp up and travel. 1 play did not lead to 20 straight pts, but an easy opportunity to tie the game was missed, a 6-0 run by the Kings ended and a 20-0 run followed. There’s correlation.
It was 100% a momentum killer.
One play does not create 20 to zip runs !
He was probably thinking “man, that’s a shame but I guess I can’t complain too much since I’m in the middle getting cooked all game on defense and putting up a sub-par offensive game against two famously poor defending guards on one of the worst defensive teams in the league .”
(+) Buddy was shooting well today.
(+) I liked what I saw from Bagley. Saw some good things.. (ducks)
(-) Im not sure this team has a gameplan sometimes. Or they follow it.
Ex:Going under so many screens or not playing the roll man.
(-) Bagley literally just runs around to the person with the ball trying to set screens lol
(-+) Surprised by no Metu tonight. I thought his mobility would work well here.
Next week… The Kings play in Brooklyn with Durant. I predict a new NBA record of 3s made and the Nets will threaten the all time record for points scored in a game.
Kings play with ZERO consistency or pride. Doug and Kayte are tools. Nothing More. I would have preferred the Brooklyn League pass feed. Please Fire Doug and bring in someone competent. Mitch Richmond or Ron Artest.
I agree, when a journeyman center and a lifetime backup are your stars of the game, it’s a joke.
I am starting to suspect Monte is being castrated by Vivek at this point. This team needs to blow up top to bottom. Keep Fox/Hali. That’s it. Nothing else I see on this roster is considered Future Core.
Get multiple expiring’s, young prospects and gift cards.
Let’s see what we do at the trade deadline before shipping off Monte’s testicles, okay?
This is good
Have you watched Mitch on Pre and Post game ? Awful !
Yeah say what you want about Doug, but Richmond and MWP are not the answer
Kayte and Doug and everyone else the Kings put on television seem to be paid to spin things. Draper seems to be the only one who didn’t get that memo. But I’m sure even he will soon enough.
Well, that is literally their job…Comcast pays the Kings 35 million a year for broadcast rights to their games. Comcast wants the Kings to be good or at least have the appearance of being on the rise so they have viewers, which equals advertising.
It’s like getting mad at the company PR person for trying make the company appear good, even if it’s not.
There’s some truth to that, I suspect. Even so, there are shades of grey between the brutal truth and shilling/spinning. There are ways to be positive about components of the team without ignoring less positive things. There are things to be discussed that can be compelling even when a team is not winning.
Jerry Reynolds comes to mind. He managed to be mostly positive without spinning matters.
Your totally right, there is a way to do that. I think that takes time, experience and continuity within the community to gain trust. My point is I think that is a hard line to follow and not a ton of local broadcasters successfully do it, especially early on I suppose.
That said I find Doug irritating at times and wish Jones would get off the Bagley hype train. I don’t feel the duo is some lost cause though.
Draper is just not a great listen for me.
I completely agree. When I tune in and see Draper standing next to Doug, it just changes my whole outlook on the game. lol. Just, oh boy, gonna be a long one…
I like Jones and think some fine tuning would be nice. He’s highly skilled for sure.
I like Draper in the studio and find him credible and authentic.
Never a fan of Kayte’s sideline, I must admit her studio has won me over and I find her credible and informative, although obviously long-winded. As my wife said last night, Girl, take a breath. I just think she gets defensive vs fans and maybe that rubs us wrong. Either way my opinion of her has changed and we are lucky to have her. She doesn’t waste time with nonsense like Webber and gets right to the matter at hand.
Doug is bad at his job, it’s as simple as that. Unwatchable for me so I sync the radio when I can. Nice guy, my second favorite king, but just like I can’t go into the the garage and remove my cylinder heads, he has severely lacking skills. You don’t need to grunt like you’re squeezing out a turd every…single…time…a…good…play…is…made. I dare you to listen for the grunts next game, it will ruin you.
I think the broadcast team is solid but we have the worst color guy I’ve ever heard in my life.
That’s why Kayte keeps pulling the “I’ve been covering this team for a long time”. It’s becoming the new “what the fans don’t understand is…”
I’ve noticed the amount of times she says fans just need to understand have really dropped off.
Thanks for reading TKH Kayte!
What evidence do we have right now of this?
Past meddling sure…but it’s entirely possible Monte a) doesn’t want to trade some of the players on the Kings Herald trading block b) Can’t find anyone who wants them for any kind of value c) thinks it’s only been 27 games and the trade deadline is a month and a half away. Deals are probably more likely to develop as you get closer to the deadline.
I don’t know if Vivek is meddling to try and keep this team in tact for playoff push…I don’t see a lot of evidence that supports that statement right now and we only have 1/3 of a season of Monte as GM to make that determination.
Yeah there’s 0 incentive for McNair to rush things. Pounce on the right deal when it comes and until then… well… we’ll just keep losing games like we have the past decade and a half. Oh well.
last time McNair was involved in a rushed process he lost out on DiVincenzo.
Anyone still thinking we need to keep the core of Buddy and Barnes intact for a playoff push?
If so, I’ll meet you in Temecula 😉
At least after this recent stretch the decision should be easy for McNair. This team plays well for stretches and collapses during others. They are who we all thought they were to start the season. Sigh.
Now that’s a phrase I haven’t heard in a while!
Man, I actually went to Temecula once. Sorry, I hope I don’t offend anyone, but I’d rather go there to fight people than to drink wine.
Just here to say that I bought into the hype last week and now look at us. I hate that I irrationally love this team.
Ranking the below transactions by importance:
1- Lose Alton gets fired
2- Cojoke gets traded
3- Barnes gets traded
4- Buddy gets traded
5- Bjelica gets traded
1 is first step. Need to see what we have with a competent coach
RandomMan
Playoffs or tank, so far they’ve failed miserably at both.
Turns out the shilling wasn’t all Grant after all. Jones is obviously getting paid to fluff up the pillows. It’s no real accomplishment Mark to get rebounds when the entire team vacates, it’s just a side effect of today’s game.
Something I read in the last game thread stuck me. Someone said blow it up and build around Fox, Hali, Holmes, and Bagley. For the life of me I cannot see how any rationale kings fan could look at Bagley’s game and think, Now that one 12ft hook shot from 1986, and those four put backs off of misses, and his endless handing off and standing in the corner, now THAT’S what we need to build around.
If McNair can flip this mess into a top 3 pick then all shall be forgotten.
I’m not upset at the losses. I’m upset they’re so far away from a good ping pong ball.
Same here, brother. Same.
I don’t agree with you on much but I’m with you on this. I feel like every season is an endless cycle of season starts and nobody really has any expectations, about a month into the season it’s “can this team make the playoffs?” and then two weeks later it’s “shit, we should probably tank” but at that point it’s usually too late
Well if you want losses and Bagley is so terrible…then isn’t he your kind of guy right now?
Absolutely. I have no problem with starter minutes for a backup center. It’s beyond this year that frightens me.
I say give Bagley as many minutes as he can handle to see if there is any hope there. Let the losses pile up and the evaluation of long term plans begin.
Are they so far away from good ping pong balls? They’re one game out of the 6th highest lottery odds and 3 games out of the 3rd best lottery odds. They’ve got one of the hardest remaining schedules, have had almost no injuries are playing terrible basketball. I think they’re a lot closer to the bottom than you realize. Plus with the lottery odds being flattened there’s not of difference between the 6th slot and the 3rd slot. All that is to say, I’m not super worried about where they end up.
This team needs trades and FA more than the draft to become more than a loser for another 3 to 5 years !
Well, my 2nd tankathon spin yesterday landed them at #2. My 3rd spin put them at #4. Who want’s to sponsor the online campaign to send me to the lottery?
Well, Bagley fits the same timeline as Fox and Haliburton…at 21 years old. For the life of me I cannot see any rationale Kings fan that thinks why we shouldn’t. Building around Holmes is what I don’t get. Talk about a backup. He’s a role player, and has no potential to be anything but a role player. He puts in effort and hustle…like role players should. But in no way shape or form should we be “building around” him.
because statistically he’s one of the worst players in the NBA. Other than that…
Oh dear.
Keep the tank rolling.
Still funny how fans actually got lulled in and thought this team was good. Just look at the roster, the proof is in the pudding.
I was just kinda happy they were playing well and happy for Fox but would never trust this org in a million years.
I’ve mentioned in previous comments that I would enjoy wins streaks and oh well the losing ones. We’ve learnt in the past to not get too high or too low. I do hope HB and Buddy start another fools gold rush in time for McNair to make a great trade. Go Kings
Monte should have all the info he needs on this team and players ! Time to make moves !
I am a bit surprised at all the vitrol here. The Kings team as constructed is extremely top heavy. With just one of our starters or closers out of the game there is little likelihood that the Kings are able to win a game, especially against the level of competition they faced in this game. The problem is that this roster isn’t deep, and when one of the starters or closers goes down it takes a massive toll. Good teams don’t have to give minutes to Jeffries, Guy, GR3, B Jelly, Metu, etc. Although B Jelly used to be worth some minutes that doesn’t appear to be the case this year. Our bench aside from Hali and occasionally Whiteside couldn’t find a bucket with two hands a map a compass and a paid guide showing them the way, and all the time in the world to find it.
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