Sacramento got off to a decent start thanks to Tyreke Evans (15 points, 5 rebounds) and DeMarcus Cousins (17 points, 10 rebounds) but faltered to end the first half and could not get anything going after Philadelphia came out blazing to start the 2nd half on a 11-0 run. It was pretty much game over after that. Jimmer Fredette started for the injured Marcus Thornton and did not play well at all, scoring 7 point on 2-7 shooting and generally looking like he has no confidence in himself, deferring to teammates and passing up open looks.
While Philadelphia was hitting a lot of shots (56.6%), the Kings defense as a whole looked awful, allowing Philadelphia to penetrate at will, and getting lost on switches or staying stagnant when guys would cut off the ball. Philly did a great job of moving the ball and finding the open man (30 assists on their 47 made field goals), and they did a great job of denying the Kings those opportunities on the other end. The Kings have a big problem with spacing, and it doesn't help when our wing players can't hit their shots. John Salmons, Francisco Garcia and Travis Outlaw, our main rotation players at that position, shot a combined 7-27, including 1-10 from three. That's a third of our shot attempts going to the wing and almost nothing coming of it.
Special shout-out to Jason Thompson for having another good game in Philadelphia, where he always seems to play well. I still don't understand why J.J. Hickson is ahead of him in the rotation.
The Kings need to play with more energy and poise on the road, especially with so many coming up. They will get another chance to get that elusive road win tomorrow in Toronto.
0 Comments
Badge Legend