“We talked a lot about a lot of different things, but, defend, rebound, and share,” Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie said after Thursday’s practice. “Those are overarching principles.”
Fresh off their regular-season opener, a 120-116 loss to the host Phoenix Suns, he reflected on Wednesday night’s action.
“The defense wasn’t to the level we needed,” he continued. “We did not rebound the ball… then sharing the basketball, we got into too many (isolation) situations in the first half. We got lulled into making some shots and thinking that that was the way to play.”
With Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray sidelined, the Kings were missing upwards of 20 rebounds per game on average. Replacing them with Drew Eubanks and rookie Nique Clifford didn’t come close to replicating their production.
Coming into the night, they had placed a clear emphasis on team rebounding. No one player could replace the league-leading rebounder, so they would need to box out and secure defensive rebounds collectively.
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Securing 18 offensive rebounds, which led to 28 second-chance points, was crucial to the Suns overcoming Sacramento’s once 20-point advantage.
After scoring 71 points in the first half, Christie’s squad tallied just 45 in the second. But conceding 30+ points in three different quarters may have been the larger point of emphasis at the following day’s practice.
“If you want to win, we’ve got to sustain it for 48 minutes,” Dennis Schroder said. The veteran point guard was Scott Perry’s key free-agent addition. “We’re not going to make shots like we did in the first half every time. So we got to rely on our defense.”
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Facing off against a large Utah Jazz squad in Friday’s home opener, Sacramento will also be without rookie Nique Clifford, who started in place of Murray.
Sabonis was seen getting work in as well, and with his re-evaluation date scheduled for Saturday, the big man, who is well-known for playing through injuries, could be in play.
“Anything’s possible,” Christie joked when asked about his star center’s status.
No matter who is out there, the Kings will look to continue forming and implementing a new identity. As Christie said Thursday, they’ll need to “defend, rebound, and share.”
More Sacramento Kings coverage on Sactown Sports
The injury bug isn’t showing the Sacramento Kings any mercy to start the 2025-26 season, with rookie wing Nique Clifford being the latest member of the roster to be sidelined.
Clifford, the 24th overall pick in June’s NBA Draft, has been diagnosed with a right hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated in one week, per the Kings.
The Colorado State product suffered the injury during Wednesday’s season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns, a game in which he started at the small forward position. An MRI determined the severity of Clifford’s injury prior to Thursday’s practice.
Read More:
Kings rookie Nique Clifford (hamstring) to miss at least one week
When is the next Sacramento Kings game?
Sacramento will play its home-opener on Friday night when it faces the Utah Jazz at Golden 1 Center.
Be sure to catch all of the Kings vs. Jazz action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage beginning at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before a 7:00 pm PT tip-off from downtown Sacramento.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Friday, October 24th – vs. Utah Jazz – 7:00 PM PT
Sunday, October 26th – vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 6:00 PM PT
Tuesday, October 28th – @ Oklahoma City Thunder – 5:00 PM PT
Wednesday, October 29th – @ Chicago Bulls – 5:00 PM PT
Saturday, November 1st – @ Milwaukee Bucks – 2:00 PM PT
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