Since Friday, a few things have become abundantly clear: Firstly, the basketball gods don't give two hecks about my prayers. Secondly, the only consistent thing about Kings basketball is inconsistency. And lastly, the Sacramento Kings are still the bane of my existence. The most frustrating part of the Sacramento Kings experience is understanding what could be. They tease us with snippets of discipline, maturity, and talent but then suddenly flip the switch back to indifference and complacency.
Something needs to change. At this point, I would rather see the Kings fistfight each other on the court about defensive breakdowns than have to endure another performance like Friday night. I don't want to see high fives and back pats after someone gets blown by on defense. I don't want to see downward gazes at a timeout after bleeding to a 20-point deficit. I want to see people get mad. Yell at each other, push each other into the right spots on defense, just do SOMETHING that shows you care. If not for the sake of the team, do it for your damn self - have some pride in what you do and how you do it. You've made it to the biggest stage of this beautiful game and for you to waste your time on it with anything less than your best effort is an injustice to your teammates, your fans, and most importantly, yourself. So stop taking this time and this game for granted and start acting like you deserve to be here.
Well, that's what I would say to them at least...
The Backdrop
The Sacramento Kings entered this game 5-8 and seeded at the 12th spot in the Western Conference.
The New Orleans Pelicans entered this game 4-7 and seeded at the 13th spot in the Western Conference.
Sacramento is once again licking its wounds after an embarrassing 38-point loss on their home court to the Clippers on Friday. One could argue that a majority of those stab wounds were self-inflicted, so nobody should feel bad for them. In one night, they managed to reach two new lows (a feat I didn't think was possible - I thought we were already at rock bottom):
Tied longest streak in franchise history for allowing 120+ points (7 games)
Worst single-season defensive rating in NBA history (121.2)
If these two points aren't enough to ignite a fire on this team, I can't imagine that anything ever will. After a lot of post-game quotes about holding each other accountable and needing to find the fire within, the Kings have a lot of showing up to do to back those words up.
It's hard to believe that there are still three teams doing worse than the Sacramento Kings in the Western Conference, but the New Orleans Pelicans are one of them. Under new leadership from Coach Stan Van Gundy, the Pelicans are still trying to fit their pieces together amongst young talents in Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball. The Pelicans will be without their point guard, as Lonzo Ball is out with a knee injury. In their last two meetings during seeding games in the bubble, the Kings were victorious in both. And although the Pelicans are suffering from a five-game losing streak, everyone knows the place to go to break such a curse is the Golden 1 Center...
Tonight is the final game of the Kings' seven-game home stand and the 14th of their season. I truly cannot imagine finding the words to describe this version of the Sacramento Kings team for 58 more games. There are only so many words in the English language. How many times can I use the terms "disgusting", "awful", and "disappointing" before my two and a half loyal readers get sick of me? So, please, Kings, for the sake of this dumb blog, give me something good to write about!!!
Quick Stats
Because numbers make things make sense.
Outcome: Kings lose, 123-128
Sacramento Kings: 123 PTS, 51.6% FG, 33.3% 3 PT, 23 AST, 10 TO
New Orleans Pelicans: 128 PTS, 52.9% FG, 50.0% 3 PT, 24 AST, 13 TO
De'Aaron Fox (SAC): 43 PTS*, 13 AST, 4 STL
Marvin Bagley III (SAC): 26 PTS, 10 REB
Zion Williamson (NOP): 31 PTS, 13-15 FG
*Career-high
Well, they did it. The Kings ended the Pelicans' losing streak and extended their own for allowing 120+ points in a game to 8, which is now officially the longest streak in franchise history. They have solidified themselves as the worst defensive team in the league, and quite arguably, in NBA history. You can live with the 31 points from Zion and the 22 from Ingram. I get it - Zion is completely unfair and Ingram is the human version of a daddy long leg spider. But what you can't live with is the 21 from Eric Bledsoe, who is averaging 11.3 points per game, and the 11 from Jaxson Hayes, who averages just 3.4 points per game. Once again, the Kings scored enough to win a basketball game, but ended up beating themselves on the defensive end.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Because all three are consistent parts of Kings basketball.
The Good:
Dipping Toes into Defense: It was still very bad, but it wasn't as bad as we've seen lately. The Kings started the game with a more definitive focus on the defensive end. They didn't shy away from Zion, bodying up to him and meeting him at the rim (as best as they could). De'Aaron took a shot to the chest early in the 1st quarter for an offensive foul against Zion. Marvin Bagley took another big charge against Brandon Ingram down the stretch in the 4th quarter. Stepping up to the physicality of Zion and the Pelicans is the first wrung of the long ladder the Kings have to climb from the bottom of the league in defensive rating.
Responded to the Runs: The Pels got on their first run of the game early in the 2nd quarter where they extended their lead to 17 points. Too often we've seen this be the turning point of the game where the Kings lose their motivation and everyone knows the outcome of the game before the end of the first half. Instead, the Kings kept their chins up and closed out the half down by 9. In the familiar Death Quarter, the Kings once again found themselves down by 17, but again De'Aaron refused to go down easy and brought the Kings back to within 3 to close the quarter. It's refreshing to see the Kings throw some punches back after taking some on the chin.
The Bad:
Simple Offense: While the best offenses in basketball can be likened to a game of chess, the Kings are playing Go Fish. Aside from the creativity of De'Aaron Fox in his individual playmaking, the Kings are still failing to demonstrate any signs of a thoughtful offensive system. Too often half court possessions come down to a simple drive and kick for a contested 3-point heave to beat the shot clock. The Kings simply can't afford to settle for bad shots right now. If they're going to consistently allow their opponents to score over 120 points every night, they need to score. And to score, they have to take high-percentage shots, which contested 3-pointers are not.
Rebounding: The Pelicans capitalized on second chance opportunities tonight by grabbing 14 offensive boards. The Kings shoot themselves in the foot when they fail to close out a defensive set with a rebound. With how unprecedentedly bad they are on defense, any opportunity to end a possession with a missed shot needs to be valued like a PS5. Watching them lose on the glass is especially frustrating, because it's one of the things in basketball where effort beats talent every time. So to see them give up 14 offensive boards is watching them get outworked 14 times.
The Ugly:
Fox Island: De'Aaron had a career performance on both ends of the floor and the Kings still lost and still allowed 128 points by the Pelicans. While Fox was badgering on defense and assassinating on offense, the rest of his teammates failed to pick up on his flame. Fox came ready to hoop and everyone else left him stranded. And I mean everyone. Harrison was mediocre at best, Tyrese let his individual mistakes get to him, and Buddy was on another planet entirely. My only wish of Fox tonight was that he used this as an opportunity to become a vocal leader and not just a visual one. He often leads by example, like tonight, just turning his second gear on and busting his ass on both ends of the floor. But I want to see him get LOUD. Tonight would have been a perfect opportunity for him to get in some faces and verbally call them out for not pulling their weight. I don't care what kind of "accountability" is happening in the locker room and at practice - it's during the game when it matters.
Royal Court Jester
Because someone is always actin' a fool.
Oh, Buddy. Tonight's Royal Court Jester goes to Buddy Hield for how utterly lost he was on defense all night. He often had his back to the ball, overly focused on his assignment and missing his help side duties. He showed zero recognition of when doubles were happening and was way behind on his rotations for covering the spread. When watching the film, I think Luke & his staff will see a lot of Buddy Hield in the wrong place. I can think of two specifically that stood out to me:
Barnes went to double Zion, but Buddy didn't recognize this while he was on the weak side. Zion passed out of the double, and Buddy failed to react, leaving Barnes caught in the long recovery while Buddy did nothing. The play eventually led to free throw attempts for the Pels.
Fox got switched onto Adams. Adams set a pick on Buddy. Fox hedged the screen to allow Bagley to recover and switch back on Adams. Buddy failed to recognize the executed switch, stayed on Adams on the roll, and the ball got passed to an open Bledsoe for a made 3-pointer.
It's plays like these where someone needs to call Buddy out and wake him up to his mistakes. Because right now, it's impossible to tell if Buddy even realizes he's making any. Either way, he wears the cap for being an absolute liability on defense.
The King of Kings
Because at least one person does at least one good thing, usually.
Get this man in an ice bath, a deep tissue massage, and a quick x-ray to check on his spine because he singlehandedly carried this team on his back tonight. De'Aaron Fox is unquestionably tonight's King of Kings for his relentless effort on both ends of the floor. He kept his foot on the gas all night, constantly cutting up the defense and getting to the rim. We got to enjoy another Fox SLAM in the 2nd quarter, complete with a classic Fox yell. Just as impressive as he was on the offensive end, logging a career-high 43 points, was his tenacity on the defensive side. He bodied up to Eric Bledsoe on one possession and on the very next one stepped up on the toes of Brandon Ingram, demonstrating he wanted all the smoke tonight.
If we can get this De'Aaron Fox every night, and the rest of his team starts carrying some weight, the Sacramento Kings just may be able to win another basketball game this season.
Up Next
Wednesday, January 20th @ Los Angeles Clippers @ 7:00 P.M. (PT)
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