The Kings are undefeated in 2025! Big game from Fox, Monk, and Sabonis. Great defense down the stretch. What a win. Full recap to follow, but for now let’s see those gifs!
Postgame Thread: Kings 113, 76ers 107
Light the Beam!
By Greg Wissinger | 111 Comments | Jan 1, 2025
Jan 1, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis (23) dribbles the ball against Philadelphia 76ers forward Caleb Martin (16) during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images
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In the postgame, Domas twice mentioned DC telling them to “not think”, to basically just play in the flow, and allow their natural ability to shine.
It could be nothing, but it could also be a hint that MB was indeed asking too much, making things too complex, and getting into some of his players’ heads a bit.
It’ll be interesting to see, as weeks go by, if Huerter and Murray in particular start to shoot better. It may lend some credence to the idea that MBs approach may have been leading to some of the shooting issues we’ve seen this season.
I think we have to indeed be careful to ascribe too much to those things and to coach Doug after only 3 games and two wins against middling, injured opponents.
I remember since the days of Joerger complaints by coaches that they had to dumb down their schemes for the players, so maybe we should get more players with higher BBIQ?
The one apparently clear difference on a small sample size is the increased playing time of Keon (although Keegan’s injury will have influenced that a bit tonight), and a lesser reliance on Huerter and DDR in the 4th quarter. I hope that trend continues.
Dumbing down the scheme is one thing. Getting players to “not over think” or to trust that they know what to do are two different things.
Much of sports psychology is about just reacting and trusting that you have already done the work to get you where you are at this point in your career.
I think Brown may have been over coaching/micro managing many aspects, and Doug is trying to get them to trust themselves and just play basketball (maybe?)
It is insane to expect an NBA player to play man defense and not foul a shooter at the three point line.
That sounds like potato-potato to me, but ok.
100% on the difference, I’m a somewhat high level varsity hs defensive coordinator and getting my players to play fast without too much thought but in a diverse scheme is key. A player can be physically slower than another but play faster because he isn’t overthinking things.
That makes me think of the interview after his 12 3-pointer game.
“It kind of reminded me of last year and college when I would get hot,” Murray said of his third-quarter flurry. “You kind of just black out for a little bit, and it just feels like everything you put up is going to go in.”
‘I think we have to indeed be careful to ascribe too much to those things and to coach Doug after only 3 games and two wins against middling, injured opponents.’
I agree with this however this is exactly the type of game we had seen them lose over and over with MB. I will take it.
Liberty Cowbell Dance! Kings Win!
I am a big fan of the Ox, but he had 7 turnovers (at least) and missed enough at the rim shots to make me recall Jason Thompson. Coulda would shoulda had 20+ points to go with his 20+ boards.
The 22/24 from the FT line saved them from their poor 3FG% (29%)
Ugly wins are wins. Beam lit, so I’ll speak no $h!+
Yeah, can’t complain much about the refs tonight, although i’m sure some will.
I was going to write the same about Domas. I NEVER question his effort but he needs to clean up the turnovers and finish better at the rim. Some of the turnovers were mind numbing.
I thought the team looked its best in the 2nd quarter stretch with Lyles out there instead of Derozan, same in the 4th. Makes me wonder how much better the team would be if they traded Derozan for John Collins.
Why would the Jazz want DeRozan?
Who knows but try anyway.
IMO I too would like it. As much as Derozan is a great player he doesn’t fit into what Doug wants and as much as I like him he can’t do it. He doesn’t fit into the pace. And the biggest negative asset is he can’t play defense. What he did last night was great but doesn’t do it enough. Collins would bring what we are lacking, a big rebounder physical player that can defend those players that right now Keon has to defend. Aside from that he is a very good rebounder, weakside defender and he also shoots the 3. If you want more offense then go after Cam Johnson. If you want more defense then go after Herb Jones. I think Collins would be the better fit.
Collin’s a great fit for Kings but feel there will be no takers for an old scorer on a big money contract for 3 years . Only way to move him is take back an even worse contract .
The nice thing about Demar’s contract is that the 3rd year is a partial guarantee. I don’t how much counts against the cap that final year, but it could make him easier to move.
I think while DDR is here just lessening his role/lowering his minutes a bit will help. That would save his legs a bit. Also, like with any player, play to his strengths and try to minimize his deficiencies. At this point in his career, he should not be getting 20 shots a game.
There are times in every game where he just looks old.
His ability go get to the line as the season has gone on makes me think that he is a bit fatigued. I have seen him slow down on drives, and the lift that was there at the beginning of the season appears diminished.
He does need some rest on those old tires that have many miles on them.
His foul hunting is ridiculous at times. He hits (flops) to the ground a lot.
That’s them old bones. Happens to me when I turn wrong in the kitchen.
Same, LOL
I love it when my knee gives out for no apparent reason
Liked the hard traps on George/Maxey in 4th qtr . Got them out of sync . Also going with small lineups worked since Domas rebounded so well . Fox was an offensive weapon all game . Good win
Yeah, the defense in the 4th was good. Even DDR!
Nice to see Keon getting big minutes.
One of the most efficient games of Fox in a long time.
Keon should get more minutes. Without Keegan he is the only consistent defender out their although IMO it was one of Fox’s better defensive games. I don’t know about Huerter. Starting to play a little better defense but does not impact the games much at all. Same with Lyles. Got blown by last night guite a lot. We really need two players to make this team really better. We all know who they are.A bid #4 who can rebound protect the weakside rim(Keegan does that pretty well) and shoot the 3. The other is someone who can spell Sabonis at center. Someone better than Len.
100% on all
Totally agree. Fox in attack mode and taking less 3s is a good thing.
I was looking for a few things heading in to this game.
Did they hustle? Yes
Did they fight and not give up? Yes
Did Keon develop? Yes. I think he showed why he needs to be a bigger part of the rotation moving forward. He sets the tone with his hustle and defense. Hell, he even got Demar and McDermott to give a shit defensively.
And he shot the biggest 3 of the night.
Team wide the hustle and effort has improved.
Hopefully, it sticks and is not just a ‘we got a new coach so he have to play hard’ short term boost.
Grinding out ugly wins against depleted teams is at least stable. Hoping we can put something together and make ourselves a respectable team.
Another sloppy win against a depleted team, so… Yay?
Missing one guy isn’t depleted negative Nancy
Yeah, whatever.
Good one haha
If you’re going to be dismissive like Vivek, at least get your facts right.
They were missing Embiid, another starter in Oubre and KJ Martin (who averages 20 minutes off the bench). On top of that, McCain, who was in the running for ROY, is out for the season.
We can of course celebrate the win, but ignoring that this was against a depleted team is a choice.
Refusing to give any players on this team credit is…a choice.
If this is addressed to me; what’s your point?
If this is addressed to RPO; I don’t know. I was only responding to the discussion around the original statement (Another sloppy win against a depleted team, so… Yay?) and specifically the term “depleted”, then this doens’t contribute to the discussion at all.
If it’s another iteration of the positivity police movement, F that.
And sloppy doesn’t fit either. Go to Bleacher report for today and look what C. Dave posted. No team has done what the iKings did in the last 3 and a half minutes in the last 20 years.
Still 44+ minutes to be sloppy, no?
The problem is the other 45 minutes. Always has been.
The team was depleted . Fact Kings got the Win and several players played well. Also fact .
At the beginning of the season, and in seasons past, the complaints we all discussed was that the Kings can’t beat teams when their starters/rotation players were out with injury/rest. We saw that several times this season already.
They beat the Mavs and Sixers with key players out, and there are complaints that they are hollow or meaningless wins. I get it that the team is underperforming and the record isn’t where it needs to be, and some think that success is too late already this season (I have had these thoughts as well).
This team needs positive play to help build confidence, whether that leads to play-in/playoffs this season, or it transfers in to next season, etc.
Digging down a little, Embiid is obviously the big absence. Oubre leads this team in minutes, so he is probably as important to them as Keegan Murray is to the Kings. Martin is 9th in mpg and 8th in total minutes, so he’s not the kind of guy whose absence should tilt a game, other than his chance to be the “next man up” with Oubre out.
I saw the Sixers with Maxey and George as being on a level of the current Kings level of play, and they eked out a win. Certainly not a reason for a ticker tape parade, but it is better than a lot of the games that we have seen at G1C this season.
So to project that on the Kings, they would be without Fox (or Domas, if you will), Keegan and Lyles. Sounds depleted to me.
Lower your expectations enough, and you never get disappointed.
Am i wrong in remembering that you also said in pre-season that anything short of a play-off series win would be underwhelming?
This is not about me, Rik. Breathe.
Do you see the current level of play from this Kings roster as being the rough equivalent of a George/Maxey-led team, or better, or worse? I thought that the absence of Embiid leveled the playing field last night, Murray and Oubre were a wash, and Martin is not much of a determining factor. Not much more to it than that.
???
I was responding to a post by you. And asking you a question. So in a sense, it was about you.
And I am breathing just fine, thanks.
Do you see the current level of play from this Kings roster as being the rough equivalent of a George/Maxey-led team, or better, or worse?
You see Murray and Oubre as a wash?
They are both 5th on their respective teams in FGAs, they are both low usage players (17.7% for Oubre, 15% for Murray), Murray is the 2nd best rebounder for the Kings while Oubre is 4th for Philly, they are both big minutes eaters. So yes, as it pertains to their unavailability for last night’s game, I see them pretty much as a wash.
Interesting take.
I see it as a rough equivalent of a team without their big star and just outside the play-in in the weaker East, and that is a big problem, IMO.
Now, if you would be so gracious to also answer my previous question: Am i wrong in remembering that you also said in pre-season that anything short of a play-off series win would be underwhelming?
I’m waiting with bated breath, and really want to breathe again.
I do not understand why my pre-season comments would have anything to do with a conversation about last night’s game. But if you insist, I would say that this team has been perhaps the biggest disappointment of any Kings team that I have ever witnessed.
So we agree that this disappointing Kings team won a game last night against a similar-talent opponent, even with Embiid out. As I stated in my original comment, not a reason for a ticker tape parade, but a lot better than a lot of the games that we have seen at G1C this season.
Because I like to see things from both a micro-perspective and macro-perspective.
And what I find interesting is that plenty of Kings fans (not just you) have the ability to and seemingly let go of the macro (this team should be firmly in the play-off conversation) in order to find solace in the micro (a lot better than a lot of the games that we have seen at G1C this season).
On the one hand, I wish I could do that. On the other hand, I find it hard to understand. Maybe I am wired differentky.
So am I to understand that I should preface every comment with “As much as I am disappointed in this team…”? This is a post game thread. I commented on the game.
Plenty of Kings fans (not just me) have the ability to focus on the conversation at hand (in this case, a convo about last night’s game) without having to re-state their disappointment in the season overall. It has nothing to do with being wired differently or finding “solace” in the micro.
But if it helps, feel free to imagine that every one of my comments begins with “As much as I am disappointed with this team…”
I’m not telling you what to do. I was just having a discussion, and offering my perspective. You can do with it whatever you want.
Breathe!
Looking at reality and wanting a team to compete in the playoffs is not ok.
Actually 2. Embiid and Kelly Oubre . Both key guys .
Neither of the last two games has me thinking this team has somehow turned a corner. Rather, we’re harming our draft position. If I had any confidence that this team could turn their season around, I’d be happy for the win, but the roster is just too unbalanced and the org management is just shitty, so these hollow wins don’t bring me any excitement. Glad that the Sixers’ decision to rest Embiid against us so he could be fresh for the Duds game came back to bite them in the butt, though.
It is easier to ignore reality.
Perhaps not. But, they came back in the last few minutes to pull a win out instead of losing. Look at how many times recently they have done the opposite! It could be a good sign. Maybe. Of course, too early to tell, but at least they have pulled out or held on for a win the last 2 games where they were losing games like this before the coaching change.
My hopes are they are turning it around and beating depleted teams is a start. We have seen them lose many, many of these type of games in the last two years. So winning a couple is a little progress. Also, playing with some defensive intensity and hustle is some progress. Maybe they can turn it around.
My fears are the roster is too wonky and flawed, they are too inconsistent and Monte will fail to rebalance the roster in a meaningful way. The season is too far gone. And this is a short term, we got our coach fired so we better play hard, unsustainable boost.
Feels much better than close losses to fully healthy teams.
This is true.
Ooooohhh look at the shiny little w…..ignore the season and future drama.
How many game in this situation have we lost this year? Quite a few. So, its a positive to win one!
Yes, it is a positive. A shiny little positive.
Better than a shiny little negative.
If you imply that laying down and losing for a draft pick is what to do then you don’t know players in any sport. I played basketball half my life and coached it for 48 years. If you told me to play to lose I had a wood shed behind our barn. I asked every team I coached at the beginning of the year what were some of you goals? Do you want to win or just go out their for the fun of it. I got the same answer from every team. Coach we want to play to win and have fun doing it.
Jack, this is not just about the players. This is about what is better long-term for the team.
What is actually better long-term is another discussion, but in general, tanking is done by FO’s, not by the players and coaches. So nobody will be telling the players to lose.
I agree with Rik. See his response.
I’m probably misinterpreting your previous comments, but I thought you believed that winning is the only thing to take into consideration.
Winning is what matters. Read my post about a series of rough wins is at least stability.
Winning record, winning playoff series, winning a ring….
Why is not ok to think that good team can and should exist here?
Because history tells us that Sacramento is doomed and there is no god?
That is a trend that has almost become a biblical truth.
Last night was not a sloppy win. Some really good defense especially the fourth quarter where that defensive gave them the win. IMO not sloppy at all.
Better than losing against a depleted team. We saw that a few times….
Nice win against a well-coached team.
So DeRozan can actually play okay defense? Why doesn’t he do that more often?
BOOM.
Five games behind the 4th seed Denver Nuggets, with 48 games to go.
Just when the league is writing the Kings off, Christie sets the hook and the team starts to reel in the home court advantage.
I hope the Beam enjoyed its rest the last few weeks, its gonna have a heavy load the next couple of months.
Sarcasm font engaged:
Man, if only De’Aaron Fox was less selfish and less of a me first player maybe he wouldn’t have missed those three shots. Also, too bad Doug Christie doesn’t deserve to be a head coach cause of Vlade Divac and Peja, or something.
I watch because it is exciting, and I want to see “my team” win. But man, they sure make it hard sometimes. I must’ve yelled at my television (yes, it is an inanimate object) that the team makes so many dumb mistakes. Yes, I am sitting on my ass, not on the court, making these comments, but jeez Louise, this is a frustrating team to watch. I don’t know how many times I just thought, man, this team just really sucks! It was a sure loss and all on the poor defense (no stops), dumb decision making, foolish sloppy, careless turnovers, and another game of poor shooting. Somehow, though down most all the game they were able to pull out a win with a 15-0 run.
Rant over.
Win is a win.
This team needs front court depth. Alex Len looked out of his element. I don’t think he’ll be signed to stay on this team, or in the League after this contract. Dougie McB came in to score and hit back iron after back iron. Huerter? same. The bench needs to be better.
Same stuff we’ve been saying since Pre-Season. Pre-Season.
They had some really bad turnovers on basic passes. Inexcusable at the NBA level. Players were not in position to make good entry passes in the post. DHO passes were sloppy that led to turnovers. Dribbling in to multiple defenders and trying to pass out amongst the long arms.
Len looks like he aged several years this offseason. He did not look like this season. Slow, poor lateral movement, slow to get off the ground, etc.
Doug gave some effort defensively, and only played because Kevin was really bad and Keegan was hurt. I hope both of them are relegated to the bench when Carter comes back. Use your strengths Christie, just go small and run, play swarming defense.
Agree with Len, looks older and slower. And that was against Drummond who should be a decent match up for him.
Also, I think we are seeing DDR age before our eyes as well. There are times every game where he looks like just does not have the legs to do it anymore.
“Swarming Defense” = “Spray Threes”
One interesting takeaway for me at this point of the season is that the Kings have the 7th best point differential (+1.3) in the Western Conference but sit in 12th place, 4 games under .500. The Lakers, with their -2.4 point differential are 4 games over .500 and in 7th place.
Also, I wonder how much that W/L discrepancy is driven by crucial foul calls? After all, the Lakers’ differential on free throw attempts is tops in the league at +5.1, while the Kings’ differential is -0.4. The Heat are second at +4.5. The Lakers’ differential on fouls is -4.4, with the Celtics and Spurs well behind in second with -2.8. The Kings are +1.0.
The Kings have been swept by the Lakers this season. The average number of fouls called on the Kings in those 4 games is 21.25 vs 15.5 for the Lakers. On average, the Kings are 14.75 for 19 from the stripe, while the Lakers are 21.5 for 27. When you lose 4 games by an average of 7.75 points while giving up 8 more FT attempts per game, how much does that affect the record.
To be clear, the Kings have deserved a couple of those losses. I’ve just lost faith in NBA officials and their ability to apply foul calls objectively. There have been so many games where the team’s composure has clearly been affected.
Also, f*ck the Lakers. The league is clearly wanting to ensure that LBJ is in the playoffs at the end of his career. If the Lakers’ FTM differential was more like +1.0, their overall point differential would be worse than -5.0, which would certainly keep them out of the playoff picture.
I don’t think foul discrepancies are the reason the Kings are in their current pickle, but I can’t brush off that nagging feeling, either. Something’s rotten in Denmark, imo. Same as it ever was.
I don’t know. You have a team in the Kings that is shooting 33.8% from 3 while giving up 37.9%. The Kings are -8.4ppg from beyond the arc, -0.2ppg from the line. They get 0.5 fewer free throw attempts per game.
The difference at the arc is massive. And it is no longer a small sample size. If something is rotten in Denmark, the three point line must be the city limits for Copenhagen.
I’ve acknowledged the huge 3P problem elsewhere. I don’t disagree even a little bit.
But the problem can involve multiple factors, yes?
Yeah, I just don’t think that the Kings are good enough or important enough to warrant a league-wide conspiracy.
LOL
I guess I didn’t make the point clearly enough. I was mostly complaining about the Lakers in general and our head-to-head matchups with them more specifically. We lost four games to them by an average of nearly 8 points while giving up nearly 8 more FTAs. That leaves me frustrated.
I am very aware that the 2024-25 Kings have committed an immense number of stupid – and blatantly obvious – fouls. At the same time, there have been so many times that Domas has been obviously injured in the paint with no call, among others. I don’t generally spend a lot of time complaining about ref calls because I don’t think this particular Kings team commands respect.
I didn’t allege a conspiracy theory against the Kings and there’s no need to attribute words to me that I didn’t speak. We’re sitting at +1.0 in terms of fouls on the season and that actually feels about right to me.
Thanks for clarifying.
I think that LeBron and AD have always been among the league’s FT leaders, regardless of geography. LeBron is actually about 3FTAs per game lower than his career, but I think that he’s taking it to the rack less. AD is about 1 more per game. Giannis, Harden, SGA – these are all guys that historically draw foul calls. It was fun when Kevin Martin did it here, not so much when someone else does it.
The Kings have three players in the league’s top 30 for FTAs: Fox (12th), DDR (20th) and Sabonis (29th).
All fair points. But the chasm between the Lakers and the next closest team is stark. With the Lakers only being 9th in the league in points in the paint, I suspect some generosity on the part of the officials.
Amick taking Vivek to the woodshed –
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6032859/2025/01/02/deaaron-fox-kings-mike-brown-firing/
It’s a subscription, so if you can’t get it open, the article basically refutes the unsubstantiated rumor that Fox had anything to do with Brown’s firing, and that ownership’s inexplicable decision not to take the responsibility and defend/protect one of their franchise players – you know, the guy that is STILL HERE.
Whether or not you buy into what Amick is saying here, the fact of the matter is that the Kings are doing themselves no favors when it comes to either (a) retaining Fox or (b) putting themselves into the best position for a return package should Fox be dealt. And that all starts with the dismissive little chap that holds the master key for the (dis)organization.
Can’t access the article, but I agree completely. This entire debacle is an absolute own goal on the part of the FO, with Vivek (once again) in the center of it. The guy hasn’t learned from his mistakes and I don’t expect he ever will.
NO CLASS, NO BALLS
I saw Sean Cunningham on a podcast and he said immediately after the DET game before the media session in the hallway he saw Mike Brown, D Fox and Recee all talking calmly and then hugged it out.
So unless Sean is lying or Fox is a sociopath I don’t think Fox got him fired.
IMO, it was a panic move by a dumb owner handled in horrible way. I am happy MB is getting Vivek’s $20M or whatever it is. And I don’t have a problem with MB being let go as much as how he was let go. NO CLASS, NO BALLS
The funny thing is the panic move might actually work, we will see if the renewed intensity and hustle is sustainable.
I think it was natural for us Kings fans make snap judgments after Brown’s firing. Fox was beginning to make public demands that the team improve, or else. Rich Paul sits with Monte at a game. Brown gets fired. It felt pretty linear.
Since the first day or two after Brown’s firing, it seems clear that Fox was not a factor. It may be damage done between Fox and the fanbase, but I haven’t seen anyone blaming Fox for a few days. Unfortunately, it looks like the same old FO dysfunction.
The people that don’t like Fox are going to find fault in Fox.
The people that don’t like Vivek are going to find fault in Vivek.
The people that don’t like McNair are going to find fault in McNair.
It’s how things are. It’s confirmation bias.
I don’t like myself. I’m still choosing Vivek.
I am finding more and more, that the arrow of blame has to be shared with Matina AND Vivek. Too many Glory Day Kings for too long. The firing of Mike Brown after a 5 game losing streak during Christmas is impulsive and puts a former broadcaster, who was placed on Luke Walton’s staff (Luke didn’t chose him), then Mike Brown’s staff (Mike Brown didn’t chose him). Then, Doug Christie over Jay Triano and Luke Loucks.
Vivek is a Warriors guy (Michael Malone, Luke Walton, Mike Brown – all former Warriors coaching assistants), Matina goes back to the Maloof Glory day Kings.
Vivek needs to go, and Matina as well. Wipe that Kingdom slate clean.
I choose all three for each individual’s contribution to the collective failure.
Yes, plenty of people contributed.
I believe that he wasn’t lobbying to fire him or demanding to fire him.
But of course he was a factor, in the sense that his podcast remarks and the discussion between the FO and Rich Paul influenced the decision. In that sense, he influenced his firing.
I agree in that sense that he was an indirect factor.
Klutch was a reason to hide behind bringing your guy (Doug Christie) in for Matina and Vivek. A costly one ($25.5M) but hard to paint over that outcome.
Oh yeah, should have made that clear, initially I thought Fox got him fired too. Based on the actions and events that occurred it was the logical conclusion.
Rich Paul has firmly planted himself in the decision making of the Kings front office. Rich Paul is not Fox but Fox pays him. The separation of the two is by design and it works.
At the game last night. Give it up to the crowd. I really felt like the 76ers felt the pressure from the noise. Credit to Malik too for his energy!
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