sactownroyalty.com photo: The Sacramento Kings Skal Labissiere (7) asks “what gives” as teammate Harry Giles III (20) looks on in the Kings’ 30-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night at the Target Center.
On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:
#1 The Minnesota Timberwolves had just too much fire power on Monday night for the Sacramento Kings. The Wolves’ Andrew Wiggins led all scorers with 17 and the Kings’ Bobby Hield topped scorers with 21 points.
#2 Kings head coach Dave Joerger had 13 players even players who have not played in a long while come off the bench and get minutes. Was this because the Wolves were piling on or because he thought he could right the ship with a rotating lineup?
#3 Skal Labissiere–it was his ninth time playing and he got some minutes. While Labissiere was happy to get in the game. he hasn’t seen much action at this season.
#4 The Kings were in over their heads at the Target Center against the Wolves in the 30-point loss. With Wiggins, the top scorer with 17, is it an indicator that all the players in this one were all shooting the lights out no matter who they were? Did they find a weakness in the Kings’ game plan?
#5 The Kings host the OKC Thunder on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center. Will the Kings need to put their shoulder into this one much like the game in Minnesota? How does Charlie see this one?
sacbee.com photo: Kings guard Buddy Hield, defended by Robert Covington (33) of the Timberwolves, scored 16 of Sacramento’s first 17 points Monday night, Dec. 17, 2018, Hield’s 25th birthday. But the Kings were routed by Minnesota 132-105
By Tony Renteria
It was just too much Minnesota Timberwolves for the Sacramento Kings as the Kings fell in their second game of this two-game road trip. This time, a135-105 loss to the Wolves at Target Center. The Kings appeared to be gaining on the Wolves in the second quarter.
Kings head coach Dave Joerger used all 13 of his players, including the bench in this battle. For a number of Kings players, it’s been a long while since they played and it showed as the Wolves ran away with a 30-point win. For Skal Labissiere, it was only the ninth time that he has seen game action.
Labissiere entered the game with less than three minutes left in the second quarter. Labissiere had not played in the last nine Kings games, but did appear for eight minutes when used. Labissiere has the lowest point totals on the team with just 5.1 points on average during his eight minutes.
What was so surprisingly was Henry Giles III averaged 9.7 minutes, on Monday had 13 points in 21 minutes. Ben McLemore, who had been used sparingly, worked 17 minutes had 7 points and the appearance marked his 11 minutes was more than his average of 11 minutes.
After halftime, the Kings came back to the floor with Yogi Ferrell, Troy Williams, Justin Jackson, Labissiere and Kosta Koufos. The Kings only used under seven minutes Willie Cauley Stein 7 minutes and 1 point, De’Aaron Fox 6 minutes and 0 points, and Nemanja Bjelica 5 minutes and 0 points.
The Kings will give it another go this time against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden 1 Center. Morris Phillips has your Kings coverage at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
The road can be a harsh mistress in the National Basketball Association. Road teams — even strong, veteran squads — suffer humiliating upsets as the visitors in NBA arenas every season.
Sacramento experienced a heartbreaking loss on Friday night as the Golden State Warriors went on a late 17-2 run to defeat the Kings 130-125 on their home court. The Sactown team would have no time to pout about the loss as they had to head out on the road for a tough back-to-back set in Dallas and Minnesota.
First meeting with Dallas of the season
Graphic @DallasMavs
The game on Sunday was the first of three games between the Mavs and Kings in 2018-19. The next game will be played March 21 in Sacramento and the final game will take place on March 26 in the DFW Metroplex.
It was the first time the Kings would face the rookie they passed on to draft Marvin Bagley III — Luka Doncic. Early on, draft experts were convinced that Doncic was going to a King because of his European pedigree. They were wrong.
Even now, NBA reporters are criticizing the Kings for not selecting Doncic. The fact that he is averaging 17.8 points per game along with 6.8 rpg and 4.5 apg may have something to do with that criticism. His 13 20-plus point games may also contribute to that chatter.
The Kings had to play shorthanded
Marvin Bagley III was injured in the Warriors game on Friday night. The Kings rookie star suffered a deep bruise on his left knee and is out for an indefinite period of time. The last word on his condition has him being re-evaluated in 10-14 days.
Iman Shumpert injured his hip in that same game on Friday night and his availability versus the Mavericks was considered a game-time decision. The decision was Shumpert would not be available to play in Dallas.
The first half was a draw
Photo@SacramentoKings
As the teams hit the locker rooms at halftime, the Kings held a 61-58 lead over the Mavericks. The half featured seven lead changes and the game was tied six times. The Kings biggest was nine points while the Mavs’ largest lead was seven points.
Dallas won the battle in the paint 30-28. Sacramento outscored the Mavericks 19-9 on Fast Break Points.
The Kings shot 46.9% (23/49) in the half while Dallas hit 22-of-52 (42.3%) of their shots. Each team connected on four 3-point baskets in first 24-minutes.
Buddy Hield paced the Kings scoring with 17 points while De’Aaron Fox added 14 on his own.
The Mavericks scoring attack was led by Luka Doncic who put up 13 points. Dirk Nowitzki added three points. The significance of those points is they came in his first appearance before the fans in Dallas this season.
SAC increases its lead in the third period
The Kings outscored the Mavericks 32-25 in the third quarter. Sacramento shot 13-for-24 (54.2%) from the field in the third while Dallas hit 8-of-22 (36.4%) from the floor. Buddy Hield was the Kings leading scorer with nine points while Luka Doncic led the Mavs with six points.
With 36 minutes in the book, Sacramento held a 93-83 lead over the team from DFW.
The Mavs kept it close in the fourth
Doncic scored nine points and Jalen Brunson added eight as the Mavericks outscored the Kings 30-27 in the final period. De’Aaron Fox scored eight points for the Kings who added 27 to their total in the last quarter.
When the final the buzzer sounded, the Kings had won the game 120-113.
The Sactown backcourt duo combined for 56 points
Photo@SacramentoKings
Kings guards Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox each scored 28 points in the game (season-high for Hield). Hield shot 12-for-23 for the game while going 3-for-9 from long distance. He also grabbed four rebounds and added two assists.
Fox went hit 11-of-19 attempts while going 0-for-3 from behind the 3-point line. He hit 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Fox dished out five assists and made three steals.
Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica each posted 15 points for the Kings. “Byelly” made it “double-double” by hauling in 10 rebounds.
Mavs scoring
Luka Doncic (remember that name) was the Mavericks leading scorer with 28 points. He also had nine assists. Former Warrior Harrison Barnes recorded 15 points.
The “Monster of the Boards” DeAndre Jordan hauled in 23 rebounds (10 on offense) and scored eight points. The 23 rebounds is a season-high for Jordan.
The standings
The Kings (16-13) are now tied for sixth place in the Western Conference with Memphis and Portland.
Dallas (15-13) is in sole possession of ninth place in the West.
Up next
The Kings will be back in action on Monday night in Minnesota versus a team that just lost four games in a row on the road. The T-Wolves are going to be hungry to get back into the win column so they will be a very dangerous opponent for Sacramento.
The Mavericks will head out on the road and will face the Nuggets in Denver on Tuesday night.
SACRAMENTO — The Golden 1 Center was hopping on Friday night as the Warriors traveled in to Sacramento looking to bounce back after a 20-point loss at the hands of Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors. Entering play, less than 20 days from the New Year, and the Sacramento Kings are over .500, currently in the eighth spot in the Western Conference. The Kings haven’t been this well placed to contend for a playoff spot since Ron Artest was on the team in 2006. The Kings looked to keep the Cinderella Story alive and keep the Warriors in the loss column.
The Warriors only had Dubs on their mind as they jumped out to 9-4 lead early. The lightning fast Kings are second in the league in pace, but had trouble hitting on all cylinders in the opening quarter. Kevin Durant led the charge for Golden State with 11 points, and the Baby-Faced Assassin Steph Curry was right behind him as he poured in 9 points. The Kings we able to keep it close. They were able get the Warriors in foul trouble early, scoring 10 from the line. Nemanja Bjelica led all Kings early with 10 in the first, and the Warriors would have a 4-point advantage, 42-38 going into the second.
It was much of the same in the second and the Warriors would take a 12-point lead into halftime. But things began to heat up in the third quarter, as the Kings starts started to gain some momentum. Fox had 11 points in the third quarter, and Hield Bjelica both dropped in 8 in the quarter as well. This is when the Kings started to play their brand of basketball, but they were not help out at all by the refs. There were several atrocious calls against the Kings, which slowed their progress. In the stand’s fans roared with fury watching the replays. It’s a sight that’s become all too familiar in Sacramento. Even still the Kings would close the gap to 6, 103-97, going into the final quarter.
The Kings came out in the fourth with a purpose. Finding their stride, they came out with a 15-2 run to start the fourth and playing solid defense. They would begin to hit on all cylinders and they would take the lead. With 5 minutes to go in the game they would have 10-point lead. However when you have 4 All-Stars on your team, as the Warriors do, magic just seems to happen. The Warriors would steal this game from the Kings on a 17-2 run to end the game.
SACRAMENTO — I said in late October that if the Kings remained at or near a split record through November, I would be excited about this season. Well, the Kings have not disappointed! Monday night’s win over the Chicago Bulls improved the Kings’ record to 14-12 this season. I had an idea this was possible, but didn’t truly believe it would happen. The Kings aren’t the best team in the Western Conference. The Kings aren’t even the best team in their respective division. However, the Kings are much better than last year and dramatically more entertaining. The Kings and their fans headed into Wednesday night’s game looking to build off of their 3-1 road trip. The tip-off was set for 7 PM PST against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Golden 1 Center.
The Kings started the game out the game on a high note. After about 2 minutes of play, the Kings led the Timberwolves 8-4. Through the first quarter, the Kings would be in control the majority of the time. The Kings finished the first with De’Aaron Fox leading the way with 9 points. Andrew Higgins led the T-wolves with 12 in the first quarter of play. After one, the Kings led the T-wolves 35-31.
The second quarter was more of the same. Sacramento wasn’t playing around when they decided to score 28 more points and hold the T-wolves to 19. The Kings clearly had momentum on their side going into halftime. Nemenja Bjelica led the Kings in scoring going into the half with 12 points. Andrew Wiggins led the T-wolves with 14 first-half points. Notably, the Kings shot at a 57.1% FG clip while the T-wolves shot 50% FG.
Going into the third, the Kings came out of the locker room with a 13-point lead. That came into jeopardy when the T-wolves scored 11 unanswered points to bring the game to a score of 63-61. For the rest of the quarter, the game stayed relatively the same. Both teams traded back to back baskets. When the third was all said and done… The Kings led 96-92 going into the fourth.
In the fourth, the Kings would go on a terror early on. That run would ultimately propel the Kings to victory by the score of 141-130. Nemenja Bjelica led the Kings with 25 points. Amongst others, Buddy Hield, and Bogdan Bogdanovic had notable performances with 20 points apiece.
Up Next: The Kings stay home to face the Golden State Warriors on Friday night at 7 PM PST.
photo from sacbee.com Kings guard Iman Shumpert (9) loses the ball as he’s defended by Bulls forward Wendell Carter Jr. (34) in the first half, but Sacramento roared back in the second half to beat Chicago 108-89 on Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, and finish their trip with a 3-1 record. Shumpert says the Kings are now “a professional ball club.”
On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O:
#1 The Kings got a lot of key help at the United Center on Monday night De’Aarron Fox led Kings scorers with 25 points Charlie talks about Fox’s offense and how he worked his inside game to help keep ahead of Chicago.
#2 Fox told the media post game that if he makes the first three he know he’s going to have a good game and it’s something that he even told Kings head coach Dave Joerger.
#3 It’s been said by the Kings players that their more than just a team their a brotherhood. The Kings have won four of their last five games including their win over the Bulls Monday 108-89
#4 Willie Cauley-Stein has been big on assists pulling down rebounds on Monday he led the team 16 rebounds.
#5 The Kings tip off against the Minnesota Timerbwolves this Wednesday night at Golden One Center a 7:00pm start.
It’s not the simplicity of fantasy sports, but the Kings’ real-life, off-season roster moves turned out like those of a random dude seizing control of his fantasy basketball league solely based on a brilliant draft pick.
GM Vlade Divac and the Kings wanted the Bulls’ Zach LaVine, and convinced the super athletic, shooting guard with a significant injury in his recent past to sign an offer sheet worth $78 million over four years.
The Bulls, who traded Jimmy Butler to Minnesota for a trio of younger players, highlighted by LaVine, weren’t ready to live without the former Slam Dunk champion after seeing him in a Chicago uniform for only 24 games following his return from surgery to repair his ACL. So 48 hours after the Kings offered, the Bulls matched, keeping LaVine in Chicago.
And the Kings were forced–or satisfied–to turn back to Buddy Hield, their key acquisition in the DeMarcus Cousins deal, a credible shooting guard without the eye-popping athleticism or size of LaVine.
Fast foward to a cold, blustery Monday night in the Windy City, and the Kings couldn’t be happier with Hield, while not yearning for LaVine.
The Kings slept walked through the first half, trailing 53-45 at the break only to outscore the woeful Bulls by 30 in the second half of their 108-89 victory. A microcosm of both teams seasons in a ballgame, the Bulls soared early, then self-destructed while the Kings stayed patient until their moment to seize control materialized, and they pounced on the Eastern Conference’s worst team.
“I thought their energy went up and our energy went down as the game went on,” said new Bulls coach Jim Boylen. “That’s something we talked in there as a team, and that’s something we need to fix.”
Of course, the ebbs and flows of the ballgame closely mirrored the contributions of LaVine and Hield, as the Bulls struck first, behind LaVine’s 19 points, including a crowd-pleasing dunk in the first quarter. But LaVine’s night in the scoring column would end with 5:45 remaining in the third when his 3-pointer put Chicago up, 66-57.
That’s when Hield, De’Aaron Fox and the Kings took over.
Sacramento would end the third quarter on a 24-8 run that would give them the lead, and of their 51 points in the game’s final 18 minutes, Fox would contribute 22, and Hield 11.
“After those two steals, the whole momentum of the game just changed,” Fox said of his momentum-changing plays that came 90 seconds apart in the third. “After that, we never looked back.”
LaVine has proven his worth by averaging 23.8 points per game on 45 percent shooting over 35 minutes of floor time per game. But Hield has averaged 18.6 points on 47 percent shooting across 31 minutes a game. The biggest difference between the two? Hield is clearly a better shooter from distance converting 42 percent of his attempts while LaVine has struggled, shooting 31 percent.
And of course, the Kings have a future in their present, sitting ninth in the Western Conference, currently a game behind eight-place Portland. The Bulls won’t arrive anytime prior to 2019-2020 after losing 22 of 28.
The Kings (13-11) finished 3-1 on their four-game road trip to Phoenix, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Chicago. They open a stretch of 13 of 18 at home with the Timberwolves on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center.
The Sacramento Kings knew going into Indianapolis they faced an uphill battle with the Indiana Pacers. The upstart Kings handed the Pacers a 111-110 loss in Sacramento last Saturday night and the Indiana team was ready to revenge that loss.
The Pacers are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA and they win by controlling the pace of the game. Indiana had no intention of allowing the Kings to run and gun like they did in Cleveland on Friday night.
Indiana did slow the Kings down and the Pacers won the game 107-97.
Back-to-backs This was the second game of a back-to-back set on the road for the Kings. Some statisticians place the chances of the visiting team winning the second game of a back-to-back schedule on the road at under 33 percent. That means the Kings were at a great disadvantage before the opening tipoff of the game in Indiana on Saturday night.
Battle of the Tiers
This was a battle of two teams that are in different NBA tiers. The Pacers are a solid Tier Two team (a consistent playoff team) that may be ready to jump into to the lower end of Tier One in the Eastern Conference. The Kings are a Tier Three team (Draft Lottery participants) who are trying to become a lower Tier Two team that battles for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
The fact that the Kings split the season series (1-1) with an accomplished team like the Pacers shows the kind of improvement they are experiencing this season.
The Pacers “D” suppressed the Kings’ offense
After posting big team numbers versus the Cavaliers, the Kings team stats dropped dramatically against the defensive-minded Pacers:
Field Goal Shooting: 38-for-90 (42.2%)
3P Field Goal Shooting: 28.1% (9-for-32)
Points in the Paint: IND 56 SAC 46
Second Chance Points: SAC 24 IND 19
Fast Break Points: SAC 22 IND 18
The Pacers outrebounded the Kings 52-43
A Check of the Book
Photo: @SacramentoKings
The Kings played the game without Iman Shumpert who was inactive due to an injury that was categorized as “load management”. Joel Embiid has been kept out games for the same reason a number of times.
Buddy Hield was the Kings top scorer with 20 points shooting 8-for-20 from the field
De’Aaron Fox started slow but stepped up in the second half to put 18 points in the scorebook along with six assists
Willie-Cauley Stein put up 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds
Bogdan Bogdanovic and Justin Jackson each scored 11 points in the game
Nemanja Bjelica scored six points and hauled in 12 rebounds for SAC
The Pacers were still without their star guard Victor Oladipo (sore right knee). Indiana still has no definite date for his return to active status.
Photo: @Pacers
Thaddeus Young led the Pacers scoring attack with 20 points
Bojan Bogdanovic added 18 points converting 7-of-7 from the free throw line
Former King Darren Collison scored 14 points and dished out six assists
Miles Turner put nine points in the book and grabbed 13 rebounds
With the loss, the Kings record drops to 13-12 for the season and they fall to ninth in the Western Conference. The Pacers improve to 16-10 on the year and are now in sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Up Next The Kings will wrap up this four-game road trip on Tuesday night in Chicago versus the Bulls. A win would give Sacramento a record of 3-1 on the trip which they would be very happy to finish with for a December road tour of the East.
The Sacramento Kings won their third game in a row and the second game of this four-game road trip on Friday night as they took down the hapless Cleveland Cavaliers 129-110 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. It was the Cavs’ second loss in three days to a Northern California team as they were beaten by the Warriors at the “Q” on Wednesday night.
Sacramento was coming off a convincing win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night and knew they had a chance to add to their win total on this road trip if they just focused on playing their type of basketball.
On Friday night, the Kings taught the Cavs what Sactown basketball is all about.
SAC ran CLE into the ground
The Kings outscored the Cavaliers 72-42 in the paint
SAC had a 57.1 FG% (56/98) and was 13-for-29 (44.9%) from 3-point land
The Kings recorded 19 second chance points to the Cavs’ 8
Sacramento had 35 rebounds — 10 were offensive rebounds
Cleveland also booked 35 rebounds, but only 7 were on offense
The Kings outscored the Cavs on the Fast Break 12-5
SAC had 30 assists and just nine turnovers (12 CLE points)
CLE dished out 20 assists, but turned the ball over 18 times (31 SAC points)
Outstanding individual efforts by Kings players
Photo: @NBCSKings
De’Aaron Fox was the game’s high scorer with 30 points and he made it a double-double by dishing out 12 assists (some of which were Top 10 worthy)
Buddy Hield recorded 25 points, sinking 9-of-17 shots (5-of-8 3-pointers)
Marvin Bagley III returned to action after missing two games and put up 17 points in just over 25 minutes on the floor
Jordan Clarkson was the leading scorer for the Cavs with 26 points
Guard Colin Sexton put up 23
The just added Alec Burks put 22 points and 7 rebounds in the book
It has to be said
The Kings record now stands at 13-11 for the season which gives them sole possession of eighth place in the Western Conference. Yes, that means if the season ended today the Kings would be in the playoffs. That cannot be ignored.
Dwelling in the cellar
The Cavs record is now 5-20 after the loss to the Kings. They are now tied for 14th or last-place in the NBA Eastern Conference with the Atlanta Hawks.
The Cavaliers made big news before the game
Photo:@Cavaliers
Cleveland took part on Friday in a three-team, five-player trade that involved the Cavs, Bucks, and Wizards. Some well-traveled veterans went to new teams while others went home to places where they have played before.
The Cavaliers sent veteran guard (and former King) George Hill to the Milwaukee Bucks along with forward Jason Smith.
The Cavs received Matthew Dellavedova — who was a very popular player in Cleveland before leaving in free agency — and center John Henson from Milwaukee.
The Wizards get Sam Dekker from Cleveland via Milwaukee along with draft picks.
The Cavs end up with the 2021 first and second-round draft picks from the Bucks. They also get a 2022 second-round pick from the Wizards.
Milwaukee winds up with a 2021 second-round selection from Washington.
Finally, the Wizards get a 2021 draft pick from the Cavs.
All of these draft picks have conditions tied to them. If you want the complete details, go to NBA.com transactions.
Up Next
The Kings will be back in action on Saturday night in Indianapolis when they will take on the Indiana Pacers. The Kings beat the Pacers 111-110 last Saturday night in Sacramento and Indiana will have revenge on their minds.
The Cavs will host the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
sactownroyalty photo: The Phoenix Suns DeAndre Ayton (22) and the Sacramento Kings Marvin Bagley III (35) faced each other Tuesday night in Phoenix
Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O:
#1 Despite having a 4-20 record the Phoenix Suns have home floor and the Kings come in with a shaky defense after the game with Indiana a 111-110 win for the Kings Saturday. Then got the win over the Suns 122-105 Tuesday night.
#2 The Suns are absent a lot of help so much so that they have holes in their line up that could leave them in the Arizona desert of winning for awhile, out Devin Booker, T.J. Warren is day to day.
#3 The Kings last played Saturday giving them two days off and with the rest they should win this game with the Suns two best scorers out of the line up.
#4 How did you like that match up between centers of the Kings Marvin Bagley and the Suns DeAndre Ayton. Bagley was listed a game time decision Bagley has been suffering from back spasms. Bagley and Ayton went to school together.
#5 The Kings head to Cleveland for a December 7th at 4:30PM. No more LeBron how does Charlie see the Kings going up against the Cavs at Quicken Loans Arena.
Today’s podcast is sponsored by Hana Zen at San Francisco’s Pier 39 for fine Japanese Cuisine don’t miss the great sushi and fine Japanese food at Hana Zen.
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