fbpx

Kings Pulse: Notes from the preseason opener

With the preseason debut completed, we talked about the rookies, rotations, the revenge of Harry Giles, and more.
By | 14 Comments | Dec 12, 2020

Sacramento fans usually would be ecstatic to witness Harry Giles score 18 points, bring down 14 rebounds, reject two shots, and tally three assists. Last night, though, it was bittersweet with Giles putting up that line in his new number ten Portland Trail Blazers uniform against the franchise that drafted him back in 2017.

There is only so much that we can take from a preseason game, especially the first one, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

Cory Joseph could benefit from playing alongside Haliburton, Buddy Hield is going to put up some big-time numbers often, and maybe the Kings will start to implement a full-court press.

Nearly the entire roster seemed to be trigger happy from three and nobody could stop Carmelo Anthony (certainly not Nemanja Bjelica) or Damian Lillard. This team is probably going to be bad, and that is likely for the best in the long run.

The debut of Tyrese Haliburton, Jahmi’us Ramsey, and Robert Woodard II made that easier to stomach. We discuss what we saw from Haliburton and Ramsey’s time on the floor and how it is representative of them as players.

We also debuted our new introduction last night and awarded the first Pulse Performer of the season to one of the newcomeers.

The Kings Pulse Podcast is available on all major listening platforms.

Subscribe: iTunes | Spotify

Patreon Membership
* indicates required


To prevent spam, our system flags comments that include too many hyperlinks. If you would like to share a comment with multiple links, make sure you email [email protected] for it to be approved.
14 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
NowLoveThemOnceAgain
Comments
Comments
December 12, 2020 5:20 pm

Another losing season ahead…I have alot of fond memories of Kings games and enjoying Grant and Jerry on TV. NBA 3.0 under Vivek is not working out. This team appears to intentionally suck, there is no other explanation.

Gregoryl
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
December 12, 2020 5:49 pm

Getting rid of Grant was one good thing that Vivek has done.

RikSmits
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
December 13, 2020 5:44 am
Reply to  Gregoryl

Ehhhh.
Vivek only did that after DMC caused Napear to publicly shoot himself in the foot.

RikSmits
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
December 13, 2020 6:10 am
Reply to  RikSmits

To add; Vivek did very little beyond a little window-dressing when Darren Collison was faced with DV charges, allowed to bring on Matt Barnes, did very little when Rondo uttered racial slurs and DMC was threatening journalists in the locker room. There was an inquiry when the charges against Walton came out, but in general one can say he did no more than the bare minimum.

One could argue that was Vlade’s task, but I am sure that these are things that can impact the image of the franchise, the owner can step in.

So kudos to Vivek for what he did regarding voting and against police brutality, but he seems to pick and choose when to show social engagement.

Gregoryl
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
December 13, 2020 11:52 pm
Reply to  RikSmits

Athlete worship is a sad thing.

MidtownMike
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
December 12, 2020 9:09 pm

I think we are going to quickly see a massive defensive change with Whiteside on the floor

MaybeNextYear
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
December 12, 2020 9:19 pm

On an unrelated note, can you all believe Steph Curry shot just 2/7 from three tonight? And to think he’s owed $88,000,000 over the next two years. Clearly this dude is not a max player. Things are very bleak for the Warriors indeed.

GetOffaMyLawn
December 13, 2020 5:05 am

happy vaccination shipment day!

let’s not KANGZ this

rockbottom
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
December 13, 2020 5:53 am

Just hope that Cory Joseph is not the best Kings guard all season ! He was against Blazers-scary !

eddie41
Comments
Vote Up
Patreon Supporter
Comments
Vote Up
Patreon Supporter
December 13, 2020 8:56 am

Absolutely no conflict of emotions rooting for Harry Giles. I’m 100% behind him. Love the story on so many levels.

NorCalKingsFan
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
December 14, 2020 11:00 pm
Reply to  eddie41

I found myself rooting for Portland when Giles was making a play before I realized what I was doing.

BrazilianRare
December 13, 2020 9:37 am

Guys…thats my first comment here and I’m amazed by this forum, cause I used to follow Faecebook groups, and man, they are bad.
I have a humble question:
The fact that a lot of guys are playing for their next contract (Whiteside, Belli, Robinson, Holmes, Kaminsky) isn’t very encouraging?
I mean..wont they play with môre effort discipline…?

ImJoeKing
Comments
Vote Up
Comments
Vote Up
December 13, 2020 8:42 pm
Reply to  BrazilianRare

Welcome to TKH!

To your question, I do think it is part of McNair’s strategy. Get some guys on your team that are hungry for success. I hope they all put in career best seasons and we make the playoffs. It’s more likely that one or two of them do and they earn some more minutes.

But if it’s not enough to push this team into the playoffs, and since they likely won’t be on the team next year, then the best case scenario is that we trade them at the deadline for a draft pick. Which is cool and good roster/asset management, but “let’s hope this guy plays well so we can trade him for a pick” isn’t really something you cheer for during a game.

Gregoryl
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
Comments
Vote Up
Original Member
December 13, 2020 11:53 pm

Really enjoyed the podcast, thanks guys!

Badge Legend

Patreon Supporter Patreon Supporter   Registered On Day 1 Registered On Day 1   Published Post Published Post  Published Post Nostradumbass
Comment Up Votes 200 Up Votes   Comment Up Votes 500 Up Votes    1,000 Up Votes    3,000+ Up Votes

Comments 50 Comments   Comments 100 Comments    250 Comments    500 Comments    1000+ Comments