Photo credit: @SacramentoKings
On the Sacramento Kings Part 2 podcast with Charlie O:
#4 The Kings have three games left on this home schedule. What are you projecting for them in those games?
Charlie O does Sacramento Kings basketball podcasts each Tuesday at sportsradioservice.com
Photo credit: @imanshumpert
On the Sacramento Kings Part 1 podcast with Charlie O:
#1 The Sacramento Kings who beat the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night 127-112 and are now 28-25 and just a game and a half out of the final playoff spot.
#2 Sacramento has won three games in a row and seven straight at Golden One Center. They are 6-4 over their last ten games. What is making the difference in this team?
#3 The trade deadline is Thursday February 7th at 12 noon Pacific. Will the Kings make a deal?
Charlie O does Sacramento Kings basketball podcasts each Tuesday at sportsradioservice.com
By Morris Phillips
SACRAMENTO — The stoic looks on the faces of Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich and his assistants Ettore Messina and Becky Hammon said plenty, if not all.
The methodical Spurs and their experienced coaching staff have found few answers for the youthful and deep Sacramento Kings thus far this season.
Not on Monday night in the Kings’ 127-112 win, and similarly, not on November 12, in the Kings 104-99 win that broke a 14-game losing streak to the five-time world champions.
In winning the season series against San Antonio (which has one game remaining, March 31 at San Antonio), the Kings have delivered a knockout, getting positive minutes from the 11 players who saw action, and piling up the statistics along the way.
In the two games combined, the Kings have received 105 points from their reserves, not far of the 126 points from their starters. Seven Kings hit at least one 3-pointer, combining for 24 in all, a nice, round number that gets even rounder when coupled with the Kings’ 94 points in paint.
Of the eight quarters in the two games, the Spurs won one–Monday’s second quarter–a 34-point bounce back that still left San Antonio trailing at the half, 63-59.
“We just missed a lot of easy shots and didn’t have a rhythm all game,” said DeMar DeRozan, who paced the Spurs with 24 points. “And you can tell their comfort level was all the way on the 10. They had it going and we didn’t.”
DeRozan’s driving layup got the Spurs even in the third quarter, but De’Aaron Fox’s layup nine seconds later put the Kings up 78-76. The Kings would finish that quarter on a 22-10 run, and they never trailed in the game’s final 12 minutes.
Six Kings finished in double digits scoring led by William Bagley’s career-best 24 points. Starting point guard Fox added 20, and his backup Yogi Ferrell had 19. Ferrell finished 4 for 4 from distance.
“Yogi Ferrell was tremendous and that’s why I thought he had a hot hand,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “I did sit De’Aaron and Buddy a long time, but I felt like we had a rhythm.”
With 7:47 remaining in the game, Ferrell and Bagley delivered the game’s signature play, an alley oop that turned Bagley 180 degrees after the catch, and brought the house down upon his dunk.
“I made eye contact with Yogi and saw how I was open down there and in my mind I was just trying to go up and finish,” Bagley said. “He just threw it and trusted it, and I just tried to make the play and make my guy Yogi look good.”
The Kings captured the season series from the Spurs for the first time since 2002. The win was the Kings’ seventh straight at home, and it moved them within a half-game of the eighth-place Clippers.
The Kings (28-25) are three games above .500 for the fourth time this season. On the three, previous occasions, they lost the following game.
The Kings continue their homestand with a visit from James Harden and the Houston Rockets, Wednesday at 7:00 pm PT.
By Charlie O. Mallonee
The Sacramento Kings entered the game versus the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night as the underdogs. FiveThirtyEight.com projected them to be a six-point underdog with only a 28-percent chance to win. Vegas had the Sixers as the favorites minus three points. The Kings had other ideas.The Kings won their 27th game of the season as they defeated the 76ers 115-108.
Sacramento had a two-part game plan. The first part called for the Kings to use their speed and run with the ball. The Sixers were playing the final game of a long 10-day road trip. The second part of the plan called for the Kings to keep a big body draped on Joel Embiid at all times. SAC worked their plan, and their plan worked.
The Sixers were not able to stop the Kings 3-point shooting
Philadelphia beat the Warriors on Thursday night because they shut down the Golden State 3-point shooting game. The 76ers have become known for their very tough defense against the 3-point shot.
The Kings managed to hit 11-of-30 (36.7%) of their 3-point attempts on Saturday night. Buddy Hield led that charge sinking 7-of-11 chances from downtown. The Kings outscored the Sixers 33 to 21 from behind the arc.
It should be noted that Philadelphia played without their best 3-point shooter – JJ Redick – who was held out for rest.
Numbers tell the story of the battle
Kings leaders in the game
76ers top performers
Up next
The Kings will be back on the floor on Monday night when they will host the San Antonio Spurs.
The 76ers will be back on their home court on Tuesday when the will host their major competition – the Toronto Raptors.
Dave Joerger’s postgame comments
Willie Cauley-Stein talks about the win and how the team played together
MBIII talked about playing guys he had only seen on TV
By Charlie O. Mallonee
The Sacramento Kings returned to their home court on Wednesday night after going 2-6 on their longest road trip of the season. The team was in need of a rowdy home crowd and a big win.
Things started off rough
The Atlanta Hawks entered the game with a 16-33 record, but they did not start the game like a team that is in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks opened up a 20-10 lead at the 6:36 mark in the first quarter as they were shooting near 70%. It appeared that the Kings were going to be in for a real fight as they opened their longest homestand of the season.
The Kings second unit stepped on the court and put some life into the game. By the time the buzzer sounded at the end of the first 12 minutes, Sacramento held a 32-31 lead.
The Kings made a statement in the second quarter
The Kings decided not to lift their foot off the accelerator in the second quarter. The team came out kept the pace fast and continued to score at will. They outscored the Hawks 35-22 in the quarter.
Sacramento outscored Atlanta 24-4 in the paint. They scored eight second chance points to none for the visitors. The Kings won the battle of fast break points 7-0.
Marvin Bagley III led the Kings scoring with nine points while Yogi Ferrell added seven. Hawks rookie Trae Young pace his team with 11 points.
At the half, Sacramento held a 67-53 lead over Atlanta.
The Kings poured it on in the third
Sacramento smelled the victory and decided to put the game away in the third quarter. Harry Giles III led the way for the Kings as he scored 12 points in just over 10 minutes on the floor. Giles went a perfect 6-for-6 shooting in the period.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 10 points in just under eight minutes of playing time. “Bogi” hit 3-of-5 shots including one 3-pointer. He also went a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line to go along with his three assists.
The Kings outscored the Hawks 38 to 27 in the period and led the game 105-80 after 36 minutes of play.
The fourth quarter was “garbage” time
That is really not a fair description of the final 12 minutes because there were players who received an opportunity to play that have not had the chance to see the court for a while. All 13 active players on both benches saw playing time in this game.
When the final buzzer sounded, the Kings had won the game 135-113. Sacramento is now 26-25 on the season and is tied for ninth place in the Western Conference with the Lakers just two games out the eighth and final playoff spot.
Atlanta now has a record of 16-24 and is eight games out of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference.
Kings Top Performances
Atlanta leaders
Key numbers
Up Next
The Kings will be back in action on Saturday night when they will host the Philadelphia 76ers at the Golden 1 Center. Philly is 33-18 on the season and currently is in third place in the Eastern Conference.
The Hawks travel to Utah and will play the Jazz on Friday night.
By Charlie O. Mallonee
Have you ever had one of those days at the office when you show up and you feel that your rhythm is just a half a beat off? For you “old schoolers,” everyone in the workplace is moving at 45 rpm while you are dragging at 33 1/3 rpm. The was the kind of day the Kings had on Sunday in Los Angeles versus the Clippers as they lost 122-108 to close out their six-game road trip.
Sacramento never held a lead in the game on Sunday. The Clippers largest lead of the game was 25 points. LAC held a 16 point advantage — 67 to 51 — at the half.
The Kings came out in the third quarter playing with improved energy and appeared to ready to make a game of it. In the fourth quarter, Sacramento twice closed within five points of the lead, but the Clippers were able to go a scoring barrage that would allow them to open a lead as large 19 points in the final period to end Kings hopes of a comeback victory.
The victory upped the Clippers’ record to 28-22 for the season while the loss drops the Kings back to .500 on the year at 25-25. The loss dropped the Kings’ record on the road trip to 2-4.
Early Start
The Kings did have to battle an early start in the “City of Angels” on Sunday. Because the Lakers also have a home game scheduled on Sunday at the Staples Center, the Clippers always have to play the early game. That game has to tip-off by 12:30 so the second game can begin by 6:00 PM.
The early start may have been a problem, but then again, this is a young team that should be able to handle time diversity easier than older veterans.
Playoff Picture at Game 50
LAC holds the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference with the win on Sunday. They are 7.5 games behind the conference-leading Warriors. The Clippers have won three consecutive games and are 4-6 in their last 10 games.
Sacramento is in 10th place in the Western Conference 3.0 games behind the Clippers for the final playoff spot in the West. The Kings are now on a one game losing streak and are 5-5 over their last 10 games.
From the Game Book
Kings
Team Stats
Player Stats
Clippers
Player Stats
Team Stats
Up Next
The Kings return to Sacramento and will host the Atlanta Hawks for the only time this season. Hawks guard Jeremy Lin has been rumored to be a trade prospect for the Kings.
The Clippers will host the Hawks on Monday night at Staples Center.
By Charlie O. Mallonee
The Toronto Raptors handed the Kings their second consecutive loss in two days as they downed Sacramento 120-105 at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday night. This was the second game of a back-to-back set that began in Brooklyn on Monday. The Nets beat the Kings 123-94 on MLK Day.
Battle of the Tiers
The Raptors are a Tier One team. They know that they will be playing deep into the month of May and could be playing in the month of June for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Their 36 wins are the most in the NBA to date.
The Kings are a Tier Three team that is working very hard to become a Tier Two team. Becoming a Tier Two team does not mean that they would make the playoffs this season, but it would mean they would have very few ping pong balls in the barrel for the NBA Draft Lottery.
The Kings are just four wins away from matching their win total of the 2017-18 season, and they still have 34 games to play in the regular season. Sacramento is just 1.5 games out playoff contention, even after losing on Tuesday night.
Both teams played shorthanded
The Raptors played without Kawhi Leonard, who has been on an eight-day break. Leonard has now sat out 13 games this season and the Raptors are 11-2 without him in the lineup. That is what you call depth.
Toronto plays the Pacers in Indiana on Wednesday night, and it is believed that the Raptors felt it was more important to have Kawhi available for that game than to play against the Kings at home on Tuesday night.
The official reason for Leonard’s absence was “Rest-Load Management”. Some observers are beginning to ask if Leonard would be worth a long-term contract investment since he has needed to be rested 13 times in 49 games to date this season.
The Kings also held out three key players on Tuesday night. De’Aaron Fox and Nemanja Bjelica did not dress and did not play. That was listed as a coach’s decision. Iman Shumpert was also held out of the game for “Rest-Load Management”.
Coach Dave Joerger mentioned in his postgame comments that two of those players went through therapy on Tuesday without giving any details. It would be fair to project that Fox was one of those players since he has needed on-going attention for a shoulder he injured approximately one month ago.
The Raptors did not miss a beat without Kawhi
Six Raptors scored in double figures in the win over the Kings on Tuesday night (four were starters):
Toronto refused to let the Kings build a lead in this game. The biggest lead for SAC on the night was five points. There were seven lead changes and six ties. The Raptors’ largest lead of the game was 19 points.
The Kings had seven players score in double figures
Sacramento has some strong individual performances, but they could not put together the runs they needed to stay with the Raptors. Much like game on Monday in Brooklyn, the Kings kept things close in the first half then the game started slipping away in the third quarter. By the time the clock started in the fourth quarter, the game became a runaway for the home team.
Important Kings performers:
Key Numbers
Up Next
The Kings (24-24) will travel to Memphis on Wednesday to prepare for their game with the Grizzlies (19-28) on Friday night.
The Raptors (36-13) will face the Pacers (31-15) in Indy on Wednesday night.
Photo credit: @SacramentoKings
By Jessica Kwong
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The Sacramento Kings were in rhythm in the first half to beat the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and win their third straight game, but fell apart in the second half to lose 123-94.
“It was a tough game for us,” Kings head coach Dave Joerger said postgame. “I thought we had a nice rhythm in the first half. We made a lot of mistakes in the first half but we were making some shots.”
Buddy Hield scored a triple for the Kings to start but the team played poor defense, allowing the Nets to get off with a 14-7 lead with 12 of those points coming in the paint. Brooklyn’s young star D’Angelo Russell made a triple to put the Nets up 26-20 with a minute to go. Bogdan Bogdanovic made a driving shot but Russell hit another three-pointer to put the Nets up 29-23 to end the quarter.
Sacramento had a solid second quarter offensively, scoring 37 points.
Russell hit another three-point jump shot, but Justin Jackson answered with a triple of his own and Bogdanovic made a pulp shot to tie the game at 32 a few minutes into the quarter. Then Yogi Ferrell made a triple to give the Kings a 35-32 lead.
Brooklyn took a one-point lead halfway through the quarter when Alan Williams made a slam dunk. Bogdanovic followed up with a jump shot and the teams went back and forth with the lead until the final minutes. Buddy Hield made a triple to give the Kings a 60-55 lead to end the half.
“The last three, four minutes of the second quarter we were much better defensively and we just didn’t come out with that same intensity in the second half,” Joerger said.
He said the game started to get away from the Kings “about three minutes into the third quarter.”
Russell, who was named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week, made a pullup shot, then stole the ball, missed and running layup but rebounded and made a triple to put the Nets up 66-64. Sacramento called a timeout with just over 9 minutes left in the quarter.
It didn’t help much. At the halfway mark, the Nets were up 77-70 and seemed to have more hustle. By the two-minute mark, Brooklyn extended their lead to 88-78. Harry Giles III made a cutting layup but Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made a cutting dunk to give the Nets a 93-85 lead at the end of the third.
Sacramento failed to regroup in the fourth. A minute in, DeMarre Carroll made three-point jump shot to boost the Nets to 98-85, a 13-point and biggest lead of the game. The Kings took a timeout. Spencer Dinwiddie made a running layup, putting Brooklyn up 100-87 with 10 minutes left to play.
The Kings were unable to cut the deficit to single digits for the remainder of the game, instead trailing up to 29 points when the game ended.
“It was a blow-by, a backdoor, a couple turnovers and Brooklyn’s in a really nice rhythm right now,” Joerger said. “They’ve got guys making shots, but they put it on the deck and they get to the rim. They’re playing really well and they’re difficult to defend, so hats off to them.”
Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said he was most proud of his team’s “excellent” defense in the second half.
“I thought TG’s (Treveon Graham) job on Buddy Hield was fantastic,” Atkinson said. “I don’t think he scored in the second half. He was a real concern for us but great job on him and great defensive performance.”
Bogdanovic scored a team-leading 22 points, Justin Jackson had 14 points, Willie Cauley-Stein had 12 points and Hield had 11 points. Jackson said he appreciated time to play with the starters.
“For him to feel confident enough to put me out there on the floor, for one, helps a lot,” Jackson said of Joerger. “For him to put me in different types of situations is definitely big because then I know I can just go out there and play because then I know he has the confidence in me.”
Sacramento is now 24-23 and 10th in the Western Conference. They continue their road trip on Tuesday and face the Toronto Raptors (35-13). Tipoff is at 4 p.m. PST.
By Charlie O. Mallonee
The Kings began their longest road trip of the year on Thursday night with a disappointing 114-95 loss in Charlotte. That was a game that should have gone in the win column for the Kings on this six-city road swing.
Sacramento had the table set for them on Saturday night going into the game. The Pistons were playing the second game of a back-to-back set after having played the Miami Heat on Friday night. Detroit also lost center Andre Drummond in the first quarter of the Miami game when an arm in the face caused a nasal injury that would also keep him out of the game versus the Kings.
This was a snoozer for three quarters
In fact, you could make the case that this game was a sleep inducer for 44 minutes. After 36 minutes, the Pistons held an 82-74 lead over the Kings. Detroit was controlling the pace. Blake Griffin was leading the scoring for the Pistons and Luke Kennard was sinking 3-pointers with ease.
The Kings were just hanging on in the game. They were allowing the Pistons to set a slow-down pace. SAC was shooting poorly (26.3%) from downtown, and they were allowing Detroit to outrebound them. The Kings seemed satisfied to trail the Pistons by 10 points.
At the end of three quarters, things did not look good for Sacramento fans.
Welcome to the “Buddy Buckets Show”
Buddy Hield scored 20 points in the first half of the game on Saturday night. He played the entire third quarter and scored no points while shooting 0-for-3 from the field. Things looked grim indeed for the men from Sacramento.
Hield scored his first points of the second half with 3:26 to go in the game. He hit a 27-foot 3-point jump shot set up by an assist from Iman Shumpert. That cut the Detroit lead to four points.
After a Pistons miss, Hield promptly cut the Pistons lead to one after he hit another 27-foot 3-point bucket.
Hield went on to hit a 17-foot field goal, a free throw, and another 3-point basket during his 12-point blitz.
The Kings regained control of the ball with 3.4-seconds to go in the game when they grabbed the rebound off of Reggie Jackson’s missed jump shot. Sacramento called an immediate timeout in order to be able to inbound the ball in the frontcourt.
Bogdan Bogdanovic inbounded the ball to Hield. Hield, who was surrounded by three Piston defenders, lost control of the ball but was able to regain control. He turned and jumped off one leg then shot a 28-foot 3-point shot that went through the bucket at the buzzer to give the Kings the win.
Sacramento escaped the Little Caesar’s Arena with a 103-101 win over the stunned Detroit Pistons.
“(It was) my first buzzer beater in the NBA,” said Hield after the game. “It was one of those things as a kid you wanted to do and you want to cherish. I hope I have many more to come.”
Kings’ numbers on the night (24-22)
Hield was the Kings leading scorer with 35 points. He shot 13-for-22 overall and hit 7-of-9 from behind the arc. Hield also grabbed nine rebounds (3 OR).
Dave Joerger was full of praise for Buddy after the game, but he also wanted to point out the performances of some of his other players. “De’Aaron Fox had a terrific game even though he didn’t shoot the basketball (well). Iman Shumpert had a really nice night defensively. Marvin Bagley fought like crazy. Harry (Giles) fought like crazy. Those guys are getting better. It’s a great learning experience trying to learn. They’re learning it doesn’t take losses to learn.” Joerger also added that he thought, “Willie Cauley-Stein was solid tonight.”
Other contributors:
SAC team stats
Detroit by the numbers (20-25)
Up next
The Kings left the Motor City after the game for New York City. SAC will play the Brooklyn Nets (24-23) on Monday afternoon at 12:30 PM PST. The game can be seen on NBCSCA and heard on the Kings Radio Network.
The Pistons also play on Martin Luther King Day as they will be in Washington to take on the Wizards.
Photo credit: @SacramentoKings
On the NBA podcast with Jerry Feitelberg:
#1 The Sacramento Kings took a tough 114-95 loss in Charlotte Thursday night to the Hornets. The Hornets’ Kemba Walker led with 23 points. The Kings drop their road record to 9-12.
#2 The Washington Wizards just got by the New York Knicks 101-100. The Wizards Bradley Beal had 26 points for Washington.
#3 The Philadelphia 76ers piled up the points for a 120-96 win over the Indiana Pacers. The Sixers’ Jimmy Butler led with 27 points.
#4 The Toronto Raptors beat the Suns 111-109 in Toronto. The Raptors’ Pascal Siakam had 10 points to lead Toronto in scoring.
#5 The Denver Nuggets knocked off the struggling Chicago Bulls 135-105. The Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic led with 18 points.
Jerry Feitelberg is a Golden State Warriors beat writer and does the NBA podcasts each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
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