The Sacramento Kings played quite the game against the Phoenix Suns last night, nearly coming back from down a 24 point margin. However, close doesn’t count in this league and the final result was just another tally in the loss column.
Tim and Greg join the show to talk about the resilience we saw from this Kings’ team. Aside from blowout victories, Sacramento has been a part of close games every night. After scoring just 12 points in the third quarter, the Kings held Phoenix to 11 in the fourth to give them a chance to win.
So, we start by giving our thoughts on how much their fight really matters. In the end, it was all for nothing, but does this show that this team is different this season?
The three of us break down what we see going wrong during these extreme highs and lows in the 2021-22 season, starting with the lows. The halfcourt offensive struggles are familiar and apparent throughout these lulls.
How much of it has to do with a lack of shooting on the roster? How much of it is caused by the lackluster start for De’Aaron Fox? How is the defensive inconsistency affecting the offense?
On the other side, there have been some phenomenal offensive quarters this season as well. What is going right in those moments?
Harrison Barnes has been the Sacramento Kings’ best player this season. He is averaging 22.5 points and 8.7 rebounds on 49.7/43.5/86.4 shooting splits with a substantial jump in attempts across the board.
Now that we’ve seen the Black Falcon manage this level of play for a notable stretch of games, do we think this is sustainable? To put it bluntly, can Barnes average 20+ points per game this season?
Other topics that we touch on include:
- Our thoughts on the ultimate green-light of Buddy Hield
- Terence Davis receiving playing time once again
- Chimezie Metu playing over Marvin Bagley
- After 11 games, does this feel like a play-in team?
In closing, we point out how important the upcoming road trip is for the Sacramento Kings. Their opponents include San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Detroit, and Minnesota. That’s four games that the Kings will likely be favored going in, and taking care of business is essential.
OT Question: What TV show should have run for one more season?
My parents watched Seinfeld, Greg.
Just confirmed that my parents watched Seinfeld as well. My grandparents have not seen it.
I take very little from that fourth quarter. I don’t see resilience, I see fools gold.
The Kings got trucked. The time for resilience was in the third quarter and no one stepped up.
Unless we are relying on the Fox, Ramsey, TD, Metu, Jones lineup to be our “resilient” rotational line-up going forward!
Agree that macro>micro. I don’t read a lot into a team playing hard for 48 minutes eleven games into the season. The Kings lost at home to a Phoenix team that was missing DeAndre Ayton, a night after losing to a 3-7 Pacers team that was missing Malcolm Brogdon.
The basketball is entertaining, and I am enjoying the team and the broadcasts. But I’m not seeing anything yet to convince me to clear my late Spring calendar for playoff basketball.
The entire game changed after Jahmi’us Ramsey checked in… just saying
I see resilience in the fans that continue to watch after 15 years of drought.
1951- Perfect summation. This is like the Kings winning 4 of 5 to end the season when they are eliminated from the playoffs and people getting all excited. Its all empty calories. The comeback was against the PHX scrubs, and Monty waited too long to put his starters back in so they could finish the game out. Our max player was a non-factor until the 4Q and he was a big reason the team got down by 20 in the 3rd.
Fox played well in the first half and was hitting shots
I think people are forgetting, but they did that all the time last year. I think Tim mentioned that they had the most close games last year, and it was for that reason.
Santa Clarita Diet needed at least another season.
Good call. Great show and I wish they had gotten a chance to wrap it up.
Oh man, Timothy Olyphant is hilarious. Incredibly versatile leading man.
He was so damned intense on Deadwood, and then I started seeing him in comedy roles, and he handles it like a pro.
Exactly my thought. Deadwood and Justified. How the heck did he get so funny?
If you ever watch him on Conan, he’s the funniest guy.
Excuse my nerdiness for a moment, but the fact that the Expanse is ending the show after 6 seasons when there are still 3 books to make more seasons off of is an absolute crime.
Second, while I certainly can’t talk much about knowing all the references the other TKH authors throw out there on a daily basis, the fact that neither Brenden or Tim got the Sienfeld joke was hilariously sad and expected. And I don’t even like Sienfeld that much!
I’ll try and find some way to fit Seinfeld episodes into my schedule… and Tombstone.
If next season is the end of The Expanse, I’d have it high on my list, but I’m not sure if it’d be at the top of my list. However, I’ve heard rumors that the final 3 books will be made into films since the studio that’s ending the show doesn’t have the film rights.
OT Question: What TV show should have run for one more season?
Sledge Hammer
I really would’ve liked to see more PEEP SHOW but the British are good at not making shows longer than necessary.
Oh, and of course FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS.
Extras.
Ranks up there with Ricky Gervais’s best work and it had a way too short run.
I’d love some more of the cartoon versions of his podcast. Karl Pilkington? Absolute savant.
Perfect Strangers should have gone on for eternity.
Kings can compete but can’t close. Suns let up but Kings actually did not give up. Stepped up the energy and caught them un aware.
Turnovers were a killer- there was a series of points in the 3rd where they just threw it away- not good turnovers, like attempting a tough pass but stupid throw it away stuff.
and fluke would not call a time out.
When the game gets out of control, Barnes, as a pro, steps up but where the fuck is Fox?
Buddy tries in his Buddy way, Mitchell tries but dribbles too much.
Kings are 2 players short of relevance.
Cannot withstand any injuries.
The opponents do take away the first option and the Kings do not adjust. Holmes was standing around too much because first option blew up. More last night than ever that I remember.
Lots of butter fingers and hard pass in tight spots.
It appeared many players were using the bagley butter hand wash soap before the game.
I wish they would all use the regular soap or perhaps a handiwipe
I wouldn’t dispute that the team could use more shooters, but to talk about the bench options as only Davis & Mitchell completely ignores that one of the best volume shooters in the league is generally the first player of the bench: Buddy Hield.
Into the Badlands
Pushing Daisies.
We need more colors in our lives.
Good points all around.
How would you guys feel if the core rotational players were Mitchell, Haliburton, Hield, Barnes, Holmes and Simmons?
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