Thank goodness the Kings don’t have to play the Wizards any more this season. While this game wasn’t as disastrous as the one in Sacramento a couple of weeks ago, this Wizards team is a nightmare matchup for the Kings with their combination of length and shooting ability.

Sacramento actually got off to a good start in this one, scoring as many points in the first quarter (32) as they did in the entire first half the last time they played. A big part of that was George Hill coming out very aggressive. Hill scored all 16 of his points in the first half, and knocked down all three of his three pointers. It was the most aggressive and engaged we’ve seen Hill look all season, which is why it was so flabbergasting that the Kings went away from him in the second half, as he only attempted two shots the rest of the game.

Instead, the Kings seemed set on feeding the ball through Zach Randolph and Willie Cauley-Stein, who combined to shoot 7 of 24 from the field and do little defensively to stop Marcin Gortat (18 points on 7-11 shooting) or Mike Scott (15 points on 6-8 shooting). Cauley-Stein seemed to take his self-advice of being more selfish to a fault, and hopefully it was a wakeup call that he isn’t ready to be a first, second or third option on offense.

Aside from Hill’s first half and some decent shooting from Garrett Temple (11 points on 6 shots) and Buddy Hield (12 points on 5-11), the Kings offense was a mess. Washington’s defense really clamped down starting in the second quarter, led by Kelly Oubre Jr. Oubre was a pest and helped set the tone for the Wizards on both ends of the floor, creating turnovers and easy shot opportunities.

The Wizards didn’t really need much help getting easier shots however, as the Kings were glad to give those away all night. Sacramento really showed their youth with their lack of discipline on the perimeter, and the night might have looked even worse if guys like Bradley Beal and Markieff Morris (1-11 combined from three) had simply made their open looks. Washington as a team shot 51.8%, led by John Wall’s seemingly effortless 21 points on 8-9 shooting. Speaking of Wall, he seems to become the second coming of Ray Allen when playing the Kings. Over two games this season, he’s 9/10 against the Kings from beyond the arc, compared to just 5/32 against the rest of the league.

The Kings continue their Eastern conference swing on Wednesday with a trip against the Atlanta Hawks. For the opponent’s perspective, visit Bullets Forever.

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