Happy Friday, Kings fans! The Kings are coming off of a loss, but the sky isn't falling and the ground is still sturdy beneath our feet. Nobody likes to lose, but going 3-1 against four of the top teams in the league is something I never would have predicted for this team just a few weeks ago. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm finding it difficult to be dramatically upset about a close loss to the #1 team in the Eastern Conference in a game filled with De'Aaron Fox highlights and a surprise showing of Marvin Bagley III's defense.
Now, of course, if the Kings were to turn these next four home games into a slump similar to their last home stand, I'm sure I will be able to find the words again to describe the collapse of this season, team, franchise, and ultimately, my life. But let's not go there. Let's keep believing that the last game was just an inevitable loss that comes with a shortened, but compact season and that the Kings are going to continue their progression.
The Backdrop
The Sacramento Kings entered this game 12-12 and seeded at the 10th spot in the Western Conference.
The Orlando Magic entered this game 9-17 and seeded at the 13th spot in the Eastern Conference.
Due to their recent success, the Kings have entered a limbo state where playing against the Philadelphia 76ers and playing against the Orlando Magic are both important tests for them. Where thoroughly competing with the #1 team in the Eastern Conference earned the Kings a solid B+ despite the loss, the Kings now have to prove that they are for real by beating the heavily injured Orlando Magic. Anything less than a win tonight would warrant a failing grade from me.
The Magic are suffering from a massive plague, with nearly half of their team nursing varying injuries. Notable absences include their point guard, Markelle Fultz (ACL), Jonathan Isaac (ACL), and most recently, their powerful power forward, Aaron Gordon (ankle). Without these three major players, the Magic are relying on big production from Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross. Game time decisions for the Kings have De'Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III both sitting out tonight with minor injuries. This will be another interesting test for the Kings, as they will have to find a way to compete and win without their floor general and 4th quarter phenom in De'Aaron Fox.
Quick Stats
Because numbers make things make sense.
Outcome: Kings lose, 112-123
Sacramento Kings: 112 PTS, 51.8% FG, 36.4% 3 PT, 33 AST, 18 TO
Orlando Magic: 123 PTS, 50.5% FG, 44.1% 3 PT, 24 AST, 10 TO
Buddy Hield (SAC): 19 PTS, 5 3-PT
Hassan Whiteside (SAC): 16 PTS, 7 REB, 7-7 FG
Nikola Vucevic (ORL): 42 PTS, 9 REB, 6-8 3 PT
Michael Carter-Williams (ORL): 21 PTS, 7 AST, 7 REB
Is there a grade lower than an F? Against the ailing and fatigued Orlando Magic, the Kings proved that they are not for real. Without De'Aaron Fox, this team becomes reminiscent of pre-Fox days where we were led by Darren Collison and Tyreke Evans. The Magic are not a good offensive team - they rank 28th in the league in offensive efficiency and average 104.7 points per game. The worst version of Sacramento Kings defense was on full display tonight and pairing this with a disgusting total of 18 turnovers, my night is officially ruined.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Because all three are consistent parts of Kings basketball.
The Good:
Ball Movement: Demonstrated by their 33 assists for the night, the Kings found success on the offensive end when they moved the ball around to dislodge the Magic's defense. There were a lot of inside & out sequences, where the ball moved quickly on passes and drives until it eventually found its way to an open look. This ball movement contributed to Hassan Whiteside's perfect field goal percentage tonight and ultimately kept the Kings from losing by 30 points.
The Bad:
Vuc3vic: Just thinking about this makes me want to scream. Nikola Vucevic leads the league in top of the key 3-point percentage. Yes, THE LEAGUE, meaning he is even better than Stephen Curry at this spot. Tonight, Vucevic got EIGHT wide open looks from this very spot and nailed six of them. After hitting his first two in the 1st quarter, I thought surely that the Kings would have an "oh shit" moment and remember that they cannot let him shoot from there. Instead, the Kings showed zero recognition or respect and suffered greatly for it. Vucevic embarrassed the Kings and ended with 42 points.
De'Aaron Fox is an All-Star: All night long, I had this burning desire in my heart for De'Aaron Fox to check in, take over, and wake us up from this nightmare. By his numbers alone, De'Aaron has clearly been playing like an All-Star. But another perspective on this argument of De'Aaron Fox for All-Star is to understand what this team looks like without him. Hint: it ain't pretty. The Kings sorely missed De'Aaron on both ends of the floor, in just about every facet of the game. They needed his ball-handling on offense, his quickness and tenacity on defense, his ability to break down the defense by getting into the paint, and his individual scoring capacity. If it wasn't clear before, it is now - this team is nowhere near .500 without De'Aaron Fox.
The Ugly:
No Defensive Strategy: It is very unclear what the defensive game plan was for tonight, or if there even was one. In the 1st half, Nikola Vucevic got to work early and quickly began to dominate for the Magic. Without sending any secondary coverage on Vucevic, it seemed that the Kings were aiming to focus on stopping everyone else. However, they failed to do this as they allowed Terrence Ross and James Ennis to get their runs in and eventually ended the half down by five points. To start the 2nd half, the Kings showed some signs of adjustment by sending early double coverage on Vucevic. To the Magic's credit, when the Kings began to hone in on Vucevic, others stepped up. Michael Carter-Williams had 19 points in the 2nd half and created himself as another threat that the Kings had to worry about. The Kings proved that they were unable to handle more than one threat at a time and dropped all the balls when it came to juggling the limited defensive responsibilities that the Magic presented tonight.
Royal Court Jester
Because someone is always actin' a fool.
With so many injuries on both teams, tonight was weird for a lot of people. One of those people was Glenn Robinson III, who got his first start of the season. For what could possibly be explained by a combination of rust and nerves, GR3 is tonight's Royal Court Jester for his disappointing debut as a starter.
Glenn has been valued on this team for his defense and athleticism. He was able to showcase some of this tonight, but it seemed that his nerves got the better of him. On two separate plays, he fumbled the ball on breakaway opportunities. Once, he got a great passing lane steal at the top of the key and was ahead of the pack, but was unable to secure the ball and eventually bounced it off his knee out of bounds. The second time, he received a pass from Cory Joseph in transition for what should have been an easy basket, but again lost the handle and it resulted in another turnover. I still have hope for more minutes for GR3, especially when we need some more defensive presence, so I hope he can shake these nerves off from tonight and get back to the bench spark we need.
The King of Kings
Because at least one person does at least one good thing, usually.
I almost got emotional when I saw this guy check into the game. Tonight's King of Kings goes to Nemanja Bjelica, who stepped on the court for the first time tonight since January 9th. It hasn't been made abundantly clear what pushed him out of the rotation entirely, but Nemanja has seemingly handled his reduced role with the utmost professionalism and humility. After being a starter for this team just in the last season, to now being at the end of the bench, it would make sense for someone to feel bitter and like his coaching staff has given up on him. No matter how he truly feels, Nemanja played like a professional tonight, scoring 15 points, grabbing nine rebounds, and racking up six assists in 28 minutes. In a league that centers around an emotional game that requires a lifetime of passion and dedication, to remain humble and compete in any opportunity given is something I will always admire and respect about Nemanja Bjelica.
Up Next
Sunday, February 14th vs. Memphis Grizzlies @ 7:00 P.M. (PT)
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