Tag: De’Aaron Fox

Kings break losing skid with narrow, 117-113 home win over the Thunder

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By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO — Winning may be the ultimate goal, but for the emerging Sacramento Kings early wins have created expectations and differences of opinion that could in the short run derail the club’s still fragile chemistry.

The latest? A report surfaced prior to Monday’s game against Oklahoma City that the Kings’ management would consider dismissing Dave Joerger because he’s awarded playing time to the club’s veteran players at the expense of the playing time and development of the young core, specifically 2018 first-round pick William Bagley III.

Both Joerger and general manager Vlade Divac dismissed the reports prior to Monday’s game, but no denial could more effective than the Kings dispatching the Thunder, and putting an end to their two-game losing skid.

And that they did, holding on to beat the Thunder, 117-113 at Golden 1 Center.

Buddy Hield scored 25 points, and Iman Shumpert added 23, as the Kings led most of the night only to have the Thunder rally late behind Russell Westbrook in an attempt to steal the ballgame. However, Hield, Shumpert and Bogdan Bogdanovic combined for 13 made threes, including Hield’s trio of threes late that helped the Kings seal it.

“In the first half we played maybe as fast as we’ve played since at Miami (a 123-113 win on October 29). We like to play that fast but we got tired,” Joerger said. “But we kept at it and kept battling.”

Prior to the game, Joerger explained that the Kings caught the league’s attention with their five-game win streak that ended November 1. Now, teams are far more conscious about their transition defense against a younger club that would prefer to move at the NBA’s fastest pace. Then on their most recent trip out of town, the Kings saw the Rockets and Grizzlies, a pair of clubs playing at a high level.

“It is about when you catch teams at a part of a season,” Joerger said in response to his teams’ recent struggles. “We caught two teams that are locked in right now. You get to that 20-game point, and everything is get into a rhythm, and both of those teams have found their rhythm.”

According to Joerger, the five-game win streak created expectations, and the stretch of five losses in seven games that followed, created questions. The report that Bagley’s playing time is an issue is a part of that, but not one Joerger was willing to address.

“I’m not going to get into that,” he said.

Against Oklahoma City, Bagley did see a spike in his time, playing 26 minutes off the bench and coming up with 15 points, 13 rebounds, the first double-double of his NBA career. Nemanja Bjelica–the veteran whose extended playing time was referenced in the report–started for the Kings on Monday, but only played 23 minutes. Still he was effective with 12 points, eight rebounds on 5 of 6 shooting.

De’Aaron Fox struggled with his shooting, going 1 of 10, but he contributed a career-best 13 assists in a team-high 35 minutes of action.

The Kings (9-8) face the Utah Jazz on Wednesday at 6:00 pm PT in Salt Lake City.

Rockets work from downtown to beat the Kings 132-112 on Saturday night

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Hou score

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings faced a Herculean task on Saturday night. First, they had to go for a win in the second game of a back-to-back set on the road for which the odds are against the road team. Second, the team they would have to defeat would be the Houston Rockets–one of the most talented “Tier One” teams in “the Association.”

This would also be the Kings’ fourth back-to-back set of games this season, which is just 16 games old for Sacramento. For a league that wanted to reduce the number of back-to-back games, the NBA seems to be doing a poor job of it when it comes to the Kings.

After losing to the Grizzlies on Friday night, the Kings came up short in Houston losing to the Rockets 132-112. The Rockets have won seven of their last nine games and have now won four games in a row. Simply put, the Rockets are on fire!

The Rockets’ plan was to slow the Kings down

Hou starters

Everyone in the NBA now knows the Kings’ plan is to run their opponent out of the building. The defense that appears to be the most effective against that plan is to slow down the Kings pace of play and force them into a half-court game. Sacramento appears to be unable to adjust when having to play at a slower pace.

The Kings shot 45.1-percent (46/102) overall for the contest. They hit on just 11-of-35 (31.4%) 3-point attempts. Even more important, SAC only had 12 attempts from the free throw line and converted just seven of those shots. Having just 12 free throw opportunities indicates that the Kings were not attacking the bucket.

Sacramento had just 14 fast break points in the game while the Rockets posted 17. When the opponent has more fast break points, the Kings are in serious trouble which they were on Saturday night.

The Rockets played their game to perfection

Hou Capela = 88

Kings radio broadcaster Gary Gerould described the Houston game as “pick and roll, isolation and deep 3-point shots.” The Rockets did all three of those things to perfection on Saturday night.

The Rockets shot 56.8-percent (46/81) for the game. They converted 20-of-47 (42.6%) of their 3-point shots. Houston hit 20-of-24 (83.3%) of their free throw attempts. Chris Paul tied his career-high with six 3-point baskets made in the game.

Houston dictated the action by playing the game according to their game plan while forcing the Kings to play a style other than their uptempo–run them out of the arena plan.

Key Kings Numbers

  • Buddy Hield leading scorer with 23 points, shooting 10-for-17
  • De’Aaron Fox posted 19 points, going 2-for-4 from downtown
  • Marvin Bagley III played 27-plus minutes and put 16 points in the book
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 14 points and had 5 assists in just 20 minutes
  • Every King in uniform appeared in the game on Saturday night
  • The Kings are now 8-8 for the season

Houston Stats

  • James Harden was the game’s leading scorer with 34 points
  • Clint Capela posted a double-double with 23 points and 16 rebounds
  • CP3 put up 24 points with 6-of- his 7 buckets being 3-pointers
  • Gerald Green scored 17 points in just 13:40 of playing time
  • The Rockets biggest lead in the game was 26 points
  • Houston is now 8-7 this season

The Kings are in the midst of controversy

Hou Joerger

Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported that Kings’ head coach Dave Joerger could be on the “hot seat” for not playing younger players like Marvin Bagley III in favor of players like Nemanja Bjelica in order to get wins. Haynes premise was that Joerger was not following the script of developing young talent such Bagley, Harry Giles III, and Skal Labbissiere.

After the game, Kings general manager Vlade Divac issued a statement stating support for Joerger and his confidence in him.

Close but no cigar for Kings in Memphis; Grizzlies beat SAC 112-104 Friday night

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Griz Pix
Photo: @NBA

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings kicked off a two-game mini road trip in Memphis on Friday night as they went up against the rival Grizzlies. Why are they the rival Grizzlies you ask? Because Kings head coach Dave Joerger was the head man in Memphis before he became “the man” in SAC. That makes the Grizzlies an automatic rival for the Kings and a  must win for the men in “royal purple” every time they play the team from the city that “Elvis made famous”.

Memphis (9-5) showed the basketball world why they call the FedEx Forum “the Grind House” as they defeated the Kings 112-104. The Grizzlies opened up an 11 point lead just before halftime and they managed to keep that lead throughout the second half all the way to the final buzzer. Sacramento would make mini-runs and close up the score, but the Griz would then “bump and grind” their way back to a 10 point plus lead. 

Memphis used a combination of power basketball under the rim, strong rebounding on offense and well-timed 3-point shooting to beat the Kings (8-7). Both teams had four of their five starters score in double figures.

It was veteran – rookie combo that led Memphis to victory

Griz alt pic
Photo: @memgrizz

Jaren Jackson Jr. – the fourth overall pick in the 2018 draft out of Michigan State – was the leading scorer in the game with 27 points. The 6-foot-11 power forward hit on 11-of-16 shots from the floor including one 3-point basket. The big rookie also converted 4-of-6 opportunities from the free throw line. Jackson added six rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots in starring effort for the Grizzlies.

The key player for the Grizzlies was Marc Gasol – who is in his 11th season with Memphis. Gasol posted 19 points shooting 7-for-12 overall and hitting 2-of-6 from behind the arc. The Grizzlies big man made it a double-double game by grabbing 15 rebounds. Six of those rebounds came off the offensive glass helping to set up second-chance opportunities. 

Sacramento was paced by the usual suspects

Griz start 5
Photo: @SacramentoKings

De’Aaron Fox was the Kings, high scorer, and only player to record a double-double in the contest. Fox recorded 23 points and dished out 10 assists in the game. The second-year player shot 8-for-17 from the field but went just 1-for-5 from long range. Fox took advantage of free throw opportunities sinking 6-of-8 chances from the line.

Buddy Hield put 16 points in the book by hitting 50-percent of his shots (6-for-12). Hield buried 2-of-4 3-point attempts. He also added four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one blocked shot.

Bogdan Bogdanovic came off the bench to put up 12 points in just under 24 minutes of play. He hit 5-of 10 shots from the field and scored on 2-of-4 3-point opportunities. Bogi also added two assists as he continues to look stronger in each game since returning after an off-season knee procedure. 

Other notable Kings performances: Shumpert 12 points, Cauley-Stein 11 points, Bjelica 8 and Bagley 7. No doubt MBIII would have liked to have performed better versus his fellow draft class member Jackson, Jr., but he will have another chance this season to match up against the number four draft selection.

Joerger’s perspective

“We ran into a very good team. They were focused and ready to go. After they played at our place a couple a weeks ago, we knew this was coming. They were locked in. They were physical. They got after us. They forced 21 turnovers which is way too many for us. Mike (Conley) and Marc (Gasol) set the tone for the game. They’re playing well. 

It’s all in the numbers

  • Memphis outscored SAC 54-42 in the paint
  • The Grizzlies won the battle of 2nd Chance Points 15-8
  • The Kings outran the Griz scoring 37 Fast Break Points to just 13 for Memphis
  • Memphis shot 50.6% (43/85) for the game
  • The Kings had 23 assists and 21 turnovers (17 Memphis points)
  • 24 – the number of Free Throw Attempts each team had in the contest

Up next for SAC

The Kings will wrap up this quick two-game road trip on Saturday night in Houston (7-7). Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM PT.

 

Foxy and Fast: Kings end 14-game losing streak to the Spurs

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sacbee.com photo: Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic passes to a teammate as San Antonio Spurs forward Rudy Gay, right, defends Monday at Golden 1 Center. Bogdanovic led the Kings with 22 points in a 104-99 victory

By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO — If one element stands out–and all of them were on display Monday–in the Kings’ NBA resurgence, it’s De’Aaron Fox’s ability to shoot the basketball.

Fox’s 3-pointer with 4:38 remaining was the first of consecutive 3-pointers that put the Kings up 98-90, propelling them to a 104-99 win over the Spurs, their first win after 14 consecutive losses to the traditional Western Conference power.

Fox finished with 19 points on 7 of 9 shooting, and again was the pace leader in the Kings’ high-octane attack that kept the San Antonio defense on its heels for the majority of the night. Six of the 10 Kings that saw action scored in double figures led by Bogdan Bogdanovic with 22 points.

The Kings improved to 8-6, winning after a disappointing home loss to the Lakers on Saturday, and for now, kept their name above the line in the conference playoff stack, one-half game ahead of the Jazz, Lakers and Pelicans.

“We have to defend home, you know? We slipped up and missed one last game so this one was a must-win mentality coming in,” Willie Cauley-Stein said.

The Spurs were without Paul Gasol, Lonnie Walker IV and Dejounte Murray, but saw the return of former King Rudy Gay, who had missed the previous three games with a heel injury. The Spurs missed 21 of 31 3-point attempts in a game that was statistically even in most other categories.

“We’ve got to be able to fight through and win on the road,” Dante Cunningham said.”

Fox turned heads nationally with his triple-double on November 1, making him the youngest player in NBA history to record one with 30 points and 15 assists or better. But quietly, his overall consistency shooting the basketball may be a bigger story. After shooting 41 percent from the field, and 30 percent from three last season, Fox has seen those numbers take a significant jump (49 percent, 41 percent from three).

With Fox’s superior speed, the improved shooting makes the second-year point guard a matchup nightmare. Matched up with Bryn Forbes and Patty Mills on Monday, Fox was too much to handle for the Spurs, who fell to 7-5.

Lakers ruin the Kings’ Saturday night, winning game in Sacramento 101-86

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LAL vs SAC

By Charlie O. Mallonee

SACRAMENTO — The Kings lost the second game of a back-to-back set to the Los Angeles Lakers 101-86 on Saturday night. The loss dropped the Kings record to 7-6 for the season. The Lakers improved to 6-6 for the year. The 15-point loss was the largest margin of defeat at home for Sacramento this season.

Charlie O has the wrap up of the game:

 

Kings head coach Dave Joerger was still proud of his team in the loss:

Team leader De’Aaron Fox was very subdued when talking with reporters after the game:

Frank Mason III quietly tried to explain his team’s performance in the game:

Marvin Bagley III had a calm and mature reaction to the loss:

Charlie O has the Lakers’ stats, which were not all that impressive:

Charlie O also has the Kings’ numbers and final thoughts:

Game notes:

  • The Lakers had a season-high 59 rebounds in the contest
  • LakeShow also had a season-high 17 offensive rebounds, which led to 17-second-chance points
  • The Kings are now 4-2 in back-to-back games
  • Willie Cauley-Stein posted his fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds
  • After the game, the Kings announced that Harry Giles III has been assigned to the Stockton Kings of the G-League and will play with Stockton on Sunday. That really is not a surprise. The Kings have used their G-League team to get rookies playing time in the past when they have not been able to get significant minutes with the big club. This most certainly is a temporary assignment.

Kings Press Row Podcast NBA Week 4: the road trip ends, the homestand begins!

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Bogi's back
Bogi is back Photo: @SacramentoKings

Hosts: Jordan “Chape” Chapin and Charlie O

  • Kings go 3-1 on tough four-game Eastern Conference road trip
  • SAC ends road with a tough loss in Milwaukee as the Tier 1 Bucks dominate
  • Toronto welcomes the Kings back to SAC with a 114-105 loss
  • The Raptors are the real deal – they could be the Eastern Conference Champs
  • The key to the Toronto victory was stopping the Kings runs

Bucks Hield
Buddy Hield scored 24 versus Toronto but shot 9-for-23 Photo: @SacramentoKings

  • The Timberwolves are 0-7 on the road – that makes them very dangerous!
  • LeBron and the Lakers circus is coming to town on Saturday, November 10th
  • You can’t relax on this homestand – the Spurs are in Monday, November 12
  • Still to come in November OKC, HOU, GSW, UTA X2 and LAC
  • This and much more on this week’s edition of the King’s Press Row Podcast

Kings’ winning streak comes to an end in “Brew City”: Bucks beat the Kings 144-109

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Bucks Kings 5

By Charlie O. Mallonee

There are three tiers of teams in the NBA. Tier One is comprised of teams that are shoo-ins for the playoffs and one of those teams will eventually be the NBA Champion. Tier Two is made up teams that will make slots 6-8 in the playoffs and teams that will “just miss the playoffs by a game or two.” Tier Three is populated by teams that will participate in next year’s Draft Lottery without a doubt.

On Sunday in Milwaukee, the Kings faced an Eastern Conference Tier One team in the Bucks. The Kings are trying to become a Western Conference Tier Two team and are off to a good start having won five games in a row.

The Bucks did not take the Kings lightly
The Kings jumped out to an early 14-7 lead, but the Bucks were not going to have it. With 6:03 remaining in the first quarter, Milwaukee took a 17-15 lead and they would never trail again in the contest.

At the end of the first quarter, Milwaukee held a 39-30 lead. The Kings would not win a quarter in the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKm60o8n9xI

The Kings simply ran into a team with more talent than they have on Sunday. That is going often this season. This edition of the Sacramento Kings (6-4) is more talented than they have been in many seasons. They are fast, enthusiastic and positive. All indications are that this will be a very enjoyable season, but the Kings are still a Tier Three team that is trying to make the jump into Tier Two.

Kings have a surprise leading scorer
Justin Jackson came off the bench to score 22 points in just under 25 minutes of playing time on Sunday. Jackson who has been having trouble shooting from the floor shot 9-for-12 overall for the game. He made 4-of-7 from 3-point land. The Kings have been struggling at small forward and Jackson’s performance versus the Bucks had to make coach Dave Joerger very happy.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOuR_jHxOZc

Top SAC performers

  • Buddy Hield: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 8-for-15 shooting (2/5 3-pointers)
  • De’Aaron Fox: 15 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 6-for-14 shooting
  • Two-way player Troy Williams: 11 points in 15-plus minutes on the floor
  • Marvin Bagley III: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 1 blocked shot
  • Also seen on the floor for Sacramento: Harry Giles III (4 points) and Skal Labissiere (2 points)

Kings Team Numbers

  • Field Goal Shooting: 44.2% (42/95)
  • 3-pt Shooting: 38.9% (14/36)
  • Free Throw Shooting: 50.0% (11/22)
  • Rebounds: 44 (8 offense)
  • Assists: 24
  • Turnovers: 15 (21 points)
  • Steals: 6
  • Blocked Shots: 4

Key Milwaukee (8-1) Performances

  • “The Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo: Triple-double: 26 pts/15 reb/11 ast
  • Eric Bledsoe: 17 points, 6 rebounds
  • Ersan IIyasova: 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
  • Nine players in double-figures
  • 56 team rebounds
  • 30 assists
  • 7 blocked shots
  • 6 steals

It’s back home for the Kings
The Kings returned to Sacramento after the game and will be off until Wednesday night when they will host the powerful Toronto Raptors (8-1) at the Golden 1 Center. The Kings next four games will be played on their home court.

Kings Press Row Podcast NBA Week 3: The blistering pace continues

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Byelly drives
Photo: @SacramentoKings

Hosts: Jordan “Chape” Chapin and Charlie O

  • This four-game road trip could have been a killer

  • The Magic game could have been a “trap”

  • Sacramento will win more than 25 games this season

  • The Fox-Hield backcourt connection is near perfection

  • Free throw opportunities and conversions are up

  • The Kings are becoming an assist machine

  • Tough schedule ahead with Milwaukee, Toronto, Minnesota and the Lakers on the schedule over the next seven days

You Can’t Run With Us: Kings’ fast pace cools the Heat in 123-113 road win

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By Morris Phillips

Apparently, you don’t want to get into a track meet with the run-and-gun Sacramento Kings.

The Kings needed a quarter (they trailed 28-17 after the first) to get completely revved up, but once they reached warp speed, the Heat, playing in front of their sparse crowd at American Airlines Arena, were made to capitulate.

Sacramento put up 106 points over the final three quarters–making 12 3-pointers in the game along with a slew of fastbreaks–and raced past the Heat, 123-113. The Kings outscored Miami by 22 points in the second and third quarters alone. They led 82-65 after Marvin Bagley III buried a 3-pointer with 4:17 remaining in the third quarter and coasted from there.

“It’s fun to play like this–playing fast, everyone getting the touches, everybody sharing the energy,” said Willie Cauley-Stein, who had 26 points and 13 rebounds. “It’s just fun to play.”

“We like to play at pace, but it has to be on our terms. That was fully on their terms,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra admitted.

The Kings have won three straight, and four of five. Picked 30th–out of 30–by most NBA prognosticators, and thought to be too young and inexperienced to challenge for a playoff spot, the Kings are the surprise team so far in the Western conference.

Putting the ball in the hands of De’Aaron Fox and watching him go, was a major component in Monday’s gameplan. That and having Fox accept the challenge posed by Goran Dragic, a similar point guard in style and demeanor.

On both counts, advantage Fox.

The second-year Sacramento point guard had 20 points, eight assists, four rebounds and two steals in 34 minutes on the floor. Fox is averaging 18 points, seven assists through seven games as the unquestioned ringleader of the Kings’ fast-paced attack.

The Kings head to Orlando, Fla. to take on the Magic on Tuesday at 4:00 pm PT.

Kings have won two in a row after beating the Wizards 116-112 Friday night

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Wizards 2

By: Charlie O. Mallonee

The Kings won their second consecutive game at home downing the Washington Wizards 116-112 on Friday night. It was a wild and crazy game. Charlie O has the wrap-up and interviews for you.

Dave Joerger is always a little tougher on his team after a win.

Marvin Bagley III was happy about the team’s win and his performance

Bjelica is humble and quiet after a great performance in the victory.

Here’s Charlie O’s 2:19 wrap of the Kings’ win