What is endless disappointment if not the Kaaangz persevering? I am still nearly at a loss for words after what was literally a last-minute loss to the Charlotte Hornets from Sunday night. The Sacramento Kings never fail to surprise me with the new, ridiculous, and unthinkable ways they come up with to lose a basketball game. The Kings are still disappointing, Luke Walton is still on the sideline, and I am still going to be overly dramatic about how awful this all feels.
If we use the Kings' last 10 games as an indicator of how things are going, it's bad, even for the Kings. They have allowed their opponents to score an average of 125.2 points per game and have been outscored by a total margin of 91 points (1,252-1,161). They have allowed an average of 32.6 3-point attempts per game and 44.2% accuracy on those attempts. All these numbers are just to say that the Kings are very, very bad on defense. And we will all continue to bicker amongst ourselves about who is to blame (it's Luke Walton), but the depressing bottom line is that the Kings will never win whilst playing defense this badly.
The Backdrop
The Sacramento Kings entered this game 13-21 and seeded at the 13th spot in the Western Conference.
The Los Angeles Lakers entered this game 24-12 and seeded at the 3rd spot in the Western Conference.
With how bad everything feels, it's hard to believe that the Kings haven't reached the bottom of the Western Conference yet, or the league for that matter. (Bless up for Minnesota & Detroit *prayer emoji hands*). Meanwhile, the reigning NBA champions are still respected as championship contenders, despite an Achilles strain that has sidelined Anthony Davis for a few more weeks. Without Davis, Lebron James has quickly stepped up to remind everyone that age is just a number. At 36 years old and motivated by his MVP snub from last year, Lebron leads his team in minutes, points, assists, and free throw attempts.
Lebron James will be taking a much deserved break tonight. It will be his first night off of the season and on the back end of a back-to-back after losing to the Phoenix Suns where he had 38 points in 37 minutes. This all makes sense - Wednesday night, off of a back-to-back, against a small-market team who has the worst defense in the world, with the All-Star game coming up - Lebron has no reason to give the Kings a second thought. Marc Gasol and Alex Caruso will also be nursing injuries tonight. Although this may all seem like a blessing for the Kings, real Kings' fans know that this just leaves Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Dennis Schroder as viable candidates for the "who is going to drop a career-high against the Kings tonight" ticket.
Quick Stats
Because numbers make things make sense.
Outcome: Kings win, 123-120
Sacramento Kings: 123 PTS, 60.0% FG, 48.0% 3 PT, 32 AST, 13 TO
Los Angeles Lakers: 120 PTS, 53.8% FG, 44.4% 3 PT, 26 AST, 11 TO
Buddy Hield (SAC): 29 PTS, 7-11 3 PT
De'Aaron Fox (SAC): 23 PTS, 8 AST
Dennis Schroder (LAL): 28 PTS, 9 AST
Montrezl Harrell (LAL): 26 PTS, 11 REB
Recent heartache has taught me to never expect the Kings to win, so I went into this game with the worst expectations. And up until Kyle Kuzma's shot hit the front rim, I strictly steeled myself from expecting the Kings to win. Even still, my emotions are trying to catch up to the fact that the Kings did indeed win this game. As I am writing this, I can feel my hard exterior cracking and my inner illuminance is beginning to shine through as I come to realize the fact that the SACRAMENTO KINGS BEAT THE LAKERS!!! Yes, it was the Leftover Lakers, and yes, the Kings still struggled to do so, but HEY, any day the Kings beat the Lakers is a damn good day.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Because all three are consistent parts of Kings basketball.
The Good:
Double-Digit Scoring: All five Kings starters ended with double digits tonight along with 13 points from Cory Joseph. Despite his usual Flenderson flukes (we'll get to those later), Cory did step up on the offensive end tonight hitting 3-4 on his 3-pointers and racking up five assists. We must give credit where credit is due. Without his contribution, the Kings would have lost. Similarly, another big night from Buddy Hield and a team total of 32 assists meant everyone was able to get involved. When Buddy is shooting well, things open up for his teammates to score, mainly for De'Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes.
Saved by the Vet: The final minute of a Kings game now puts me into high-risk heart attack territory. As we all remember from Sunday, no Kings' lead is ever safe. So as the Kings were up by just one point with 1.3 seconds left, my blood pressure reached a dangerous level. We all knew what was to come - the Kings had to make free throws. And we all knew what happened last time - the Kings did not make said free throws. But tonight, Harrison Barnes took this young and wounded team under his wing and showed them how to get the job done. Barnes nailed his two free throws to seal the win and saved this team from another night of despair. Beyond this final nail in the coffin, Barnes also punched in 18 more points earlier in the night with his fundamental game, something we can never take for granted.
The Bad:
Comparison is the Thief of Joy: I didn't have much to spare, but my emotional wallet is now completely cleaned out of joy. I couldn't help but compare the differences between defenses tonight. The first thing that stood out to me was how loud the Lakers are on defense. They are all constantly chirping at each other, communicating on screens, and directing each other on recoveries. They were so loud that it was distracting over Doug Christie & Kyle Draper in their commentary. I have never heard any of the Kings be loud enough on defense for me to take notice. The Lakers also defend on-ball screens down to a science. You'll never see anyone go under a screen and you will rarely see drop coverage from their bigs. Instead, it's a big hedge and quick recovery. Meanwhile, the Kings are constantly going under screens, dropping back on the ball, and allowing a handful of options for the ball handler to choose from as he comes off of the screen. Seeing the Lakers play real defense next to the Kings' weak attempt at it is painful. And having to say this many good things about the Lakers makes me sick.
The Ugly:
Foxless Flailing: De'Aaron Fox was turning on his usual 4th quarter burners as he was doing all he could to carry his team across the finish line. Trading baskets with Dennis Schroder, Fox made two field goals in a row to keep his team up by one point with 50 seconds to go. Unfortunately, there was a TERRIBLE call on the next play (fine me, I don't care) that gave Fox his sixth and final foul and sent Schroder to the line. The Kings were down by one with 42 seconds left and their leader sidelined. The setting for the Kings was bad, and what they did next was even worse. After Schroder's free throws, the Kings came down the other way, needing to score. There was still a lot of time and a very good option to play through on the court in Harrison Barnes. Instead, all five Kings wandered aimlessly above the 3-point line, confused as to where to go and forced Luke Walton to call a timeout. He probably should have called one on the made free throw anyways, but it was haunting to see how lost this team immediately became once Fox was taken out.
Royal Court Jester
Because someone is always actin' a fool.
For the first time in King's Landing history, we have two fools that get to share the title of Royal Court Jester. For their own separate terrible plays, along with a joint display of foolery, Cory Joseph and Marvin Bagley III will be passing the cap back and forth between their dumb heads. Let's start with the classic CoJo turnover. In his first play of the game mid-way through the 1st quarter, Cory got the ball on the inbound and dribbled to the right side of the half to direct the offense. His interpretation of this was to dribble in the same spot for 10 seconds, telegraph the entire time where he wanted the ball to go, and then attempt a weak 17-foot bounce pass to a cutting Bagley. Of course, the ball didn't make it to its destination and the Lakers quickly stole possession.
Equally frustrating was another classic Marvin Bagley III defensive lapse as he turned his back on Montrezl Harrell to watch as Talen Horton-Tucker attacked the basket. THT missed the layup but Harrell forcefully threw the ball back down before Bagley even had a chance to blink.
And lastly, even more infuriating to me than either of these dumb plays was their behavior during Nemanja Bjelica's free throws in the 1st quarter. Nemanja nailed his first free throw and, in typical rhythm, stepped forward to receive high fives from his teammates. Instead, he was met with a distracted Cory and Bagley bent over with his hands on his knees. Nemanja quickly stepped back to the free throw line for his second shot without any daps. This disgusts me. As cliche as it sounds, the little things matter. The Kings can't expect greater success without doing the little things that build the foundation for it.
The King of Kings
Because at least one person does at least one good thing, usually.
He's back! Buddy the Builder is here to claim his second game in a row as the King of Kings. After claiming his title as the fastest player to 1,000 3-pointers, Buddy Hield used this confidence boost tonight as he shot 7-11 from the 3-point line and finished with 29 points. Although he got a slow start, going scoreless in the 1st quarter, he found his stride as he scored 16 points in the 2nd quarter. Along with his consistent shooting, Buddy the Builder showcased some ball handling, left-hand finishes, and mid-range pull ups. I also took notice of him playing better individual defense, keeping Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in front of him. Seeing Buddy shoot well AND add more threats and value to his game warms my heart.
Up Next
Thursday, March 4th @ Portland Trailblazers @ 7:00 P.M. (PT)
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