Well, they did it. It wasn't pretty, but they did it. The Sacramento Kings finally broke their nine-game losing streak by the skin of their teeth by defeating the Detroit Pistons. It was a long game and an even longer ending. It felt as if the final 90 seconds of regulation took nearly 30 minutes to resolve. An overturned Buddy Hield bucket, defensive breakdowns, missed free throws - it almost felt like the Kings were trying to find a way to lose that game. But, much to our surprise, they managed to NOT lose to the second-worst team in the NBA.
My emotions have been pretty spent since that win, as they've been in an intense war with one another for the past two days. Am I happy? Well, yes, because they won. Am I sad? Also, yes, because the defense is still bad and the offense is even worse. Am I psychologically traumatized from these constant polarizing emotions? BIG YES. Anytime I try to resolve myself on the bright side and think, "well at least they won," the sarcastic devil on my other shoulder quickly rebukes with, "but did you see that defense?" I am a tortured soul and it is all because of the Sacramento Kings.
The Backdrop
The Sacramento Kings entered this game 13-20 and seeded at the 13th spot in the Western Conference.
The Charlotte Hornets entered this game 15-17 and seeded at the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Charlotte Hornets are still battling their way for playoff contention, but have stolen some noticeable victories so far this season from teams like the Nets, Mavericks, Warriors, and Suns. The Hornets are led by Gordon Hayward, who signed a 4-year, $120 million contract to start this season. This big contract was met with a lot of skepticism, as Hayward was coming off of an abysmal two-year stint in Boston where he spent a majority of his time either injured or trying to recondition himself to his former All-Star status. Luckily for the Hornets, Hayward has found his comfort zone again, as he is averaging 21.5 points per game and 42.1% from the 3-point line. And luckily for the Kings, Hayward will be out tonight with a hand injury. Beside Hayward is LaMelo Ball, who some believe will be Rookie of the Year this season. I was really looking forward to this matchup, as it would be have been the first of two this season between LaMelo Ball, the crowd favorite for ROY, and Tyrese Haliburton, the small-market underdog and TRUE ROY. With Tyrese resting his calf again tonight, we will just have to wait until March 15th to see this long-awaited rookie battle.
As the Kings return to the Golden 1 Center, tonight's matchup is the least daunting of the three that stand between them and the All-Star break. After tonight, the Kings will need to face the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trailblazers before getting their week off. So I'm not calling it a "must win" for the Kings, just more like a "please for the love of God do not make me watch you lose three games in a row this week."
Quick Stats
Because numbers make things make sense.
Outcome: Kings lose, 126-127
Sacramento Kings: 126 PTS, 54.3% FG, 44.4% 3 PT, 32 AST, 10 TO
Charlotte Hornets: 127 PTS, 53.6% FG, 36.7% 3 PT, 30 AST, 16 TO
Buddy Hield (SAC): 30 PTS, 8 3-PT, 7 AST
Harrison Barnes (SAC): 28 PTS, 6 AST, 6 REB
P.J. Washington (CHA): 42 PTS, 9 REB, 5 3-PT
LaMelo Ball (CHA): 24 PTS, 12 AST, 9-10 FT
That was... unbelievable. That game felt like a late night Taco Bell meal - full of flavor, zero nutrients, and then the realization that you have once again been bamboozled by the fake ingredients. There was a lot of offense and little defense from both teams, but down to the final seconds, the Kings had the upper hand. For the Hornets, it was the perfect storm in Sacramento tonight as the Kings committed a series of unbelievable mistakes in the final minute of play that make me want to put my tin foil hat on and scream from my rooftop "THEY DON'T EVEN WANT TO WIN, THEY'RE ACTUALLY TRYING TO LOSE!"
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Because all three are consistent parts of Kings basketball.
The Good:
Offense > Defense: When analyzing Sacramento Kings offense and defense, the question is not which is better, but which is worse. Both have been consistently bad, but tonight, the offense was less bad than the defense. While the Kings still fell into their stagnant offensive form at times, most notably in the 2nd quarter, these instances were far fewer than in previous games. Most of this was due to the simple fact that they didn't have to play in the half court set very often. De'Aaron Fox set an early and fast pace that allowed for quick looks and left no time for his teammates to stand around and stare at the ball. As soon as bodies were down the floor, Fox was attacking and creating offense. It was also promising to see some recognition against the zone defense. In one instance, Harrison Barnes had a defender pinned on his front side, calling for the ball from Nemanja Bjelica on the wing. Bismack Biyombo was hovering on Harrison's back side, preventing the over the top entry from Nemanja. Instead, Richaun Holmes cut to the high post, pulling Biyombo out with him, received the ball from Nemanja, and made a quick dump pass to Harrison for the easy basket. It was smart, fundamental, well-executed, and a good sign of team offense.
The Bad:
Defenseless Performance: If it weren't for the jerseys, I could have sworn that I just watched the Sacramento Kings play against the Sacramento Kings. The Charlotte Hornets are ranked #21 in the league for defensive efficiency, comfortably above the bottom of the barrel where the Kings reside, but it looked like they left their defense in Buzz City tonight. I imagine LaMelo Ball felt transported back to his high school days, where defense is an afterthought for most teams, everybody eats on offense, and someone like P.J. Washington can easily drop 42 points. We knew the Kings weren't likely to learn how to play proper defense overnight, but we aren't used to seeing both teams on the floor be this abhorrent on defense. This makes the offense more fun, but lovers of the game of basketball are left feeling robbed after watching that performance.
The Ugly:
Final Minute: With 56 seconds left in the game, the Kings were up 123-115. Writing that sentence makes me want to vomit. What happened next could only be done by the Kaaangz. Terry Rozier hit a quick 3-pointer to bring the lead down to five points with 52 seconds left. At this point, I stupidly thought, "now we go into the foul game and SURELY the Kings won't mess this one up." When will I learn? Marvin Bagley III missed two free throws, Harrison Barnes fouled Rozier on a 3-point attempt, P.J. Washington hit another 3-pointer, Buddy Hield missed a free throw, Cory Joseph provided no resistance for Malik Monk, and Richaun Holmes foolishly fouled Monk for the and one that sealed the game for the Hornets. That was truly one of the ugliest minutes of basketball I have ever witnessed.
Royal Court Jester
Because someone is always actin' a fool.
It was only a matter of time before this guy was named as the Royal Court Jester again. For his consistent decline in his play, Cory Joseph has fully soured his relationship with Kings fans and is now suffering from what I call the Flenderson Flu. In the Sacramento Kings' office, Cory is our Toby Flenderson. We are quick to turn our heads and shrug our shoulders at any good he does, but are even quicker to bring out the torches when he makes a mistake.
It is because of this Flenderson Flu that I will have nightmares about two of Cory Joseph's blunders from tonight. After a Hornets' made free throw, there were just 2.9 seconds left on the clock for the 1st quarter. The Kings just needed to inbound, push the ball as close as possible to their half, and finish the quarter in the typical hail mary fashion. There were only TWO POINT NINE SECONDS left. But I forgot that's plenty of time for a classic CoJo turnover. Cory received the inbound, took a few dribbles down the left side of the court and bounced it off his foot for the Kings' fifth total turnover of the quarter. To start the 4th quarter, it took only SEVEN seconds for Cory to have another dumb turnover when he passed the ball to Nemanja Bjelica before he crossed the half court and caused a backcourt violation. Cory, why are you the way that you are?
The King of Kings
Because at least one person does at least one good thing, usually.
It was clear very early on who wanted the crown tonight. For being the best version of himself, tonight's King of Kings goes to Chavano RAINer, or more commonly known as Buddy Hield. Draining his first three 3-point attempts, Buddy finished the 1st quarter with 17 points and didn't stop there. He continued to let it fly and finished the game with 30 points on 8 made 3-pointers. I also loved his single turnover total for the night. Making 3s and not turning the ball over are the best parts of Buddy Hield and we got both tonight.
Buddy's crown gets an extra jewel on it tonight for becoming the fastest player to reach 1,000 made 3-pointers (350 games), besting Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Damian Lillard. The company doesn't get much better than that. I can't help but wonder how much further Buddy can fly if the Kings can develop a real offensive system that gets him consistently open looks at the basket.
Up Next
Wednesday, March 3rd vs. Los Angeles Lakers @ 7:00 P.M. (PT)
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