Happy Monday Kings fans, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I know we don’t have a ton to be thankful for with this team, but I’m always thankful for this fandom and this community. No matter what else happens, at least we can all commiserate together.
Basketball can still be fun
It was another rough week for the Kings as they went 1-3 and currently sit at 5-16, on pace for just 20 wins on the season, but at least it started out on a high note. Sacramento’s 117-112 Overtime victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves was easily the most entertaining game of the season, and it was a nice respite from the drudgery we’ve been getting lately. We got spectacular efforts from Keegan Murray, who scored 26 points to go with a career-high 14 rebounds. DeMar DeRozan was his usual clutch self, scoring 33 points and carrying the team in overtime. We had Malik Monk diving for loose balls and firing up the crowd. Precious Achiuwa was getting clutch rebounds and even had the game sealing steal. It was just a fun, entertaining game that the Kings honestly had no business winning after finding themselves down 10 with just under three minutes to go. The Kings never led in the entire regulation, taking their first lead in overtime. You could almost sense the palpable relief from the Kings home crowd that has had so little to cheer for this season. It was just fun to see these guys working hard and gritting out a game for once against an opponent that has given them so much trouble already this season. There aren’t going to be a ton of bright spots this season, so it’s important to enjoy them when they come.
Frustration with Zach LaVine is building
Late in Wednesday’s loss against the Phoenix Suns, the game was briefly stopped as a fan sitting courtside started going at it with Zach LaVine on the Kings bench. Allegedly, the fan had started berating LaVine for continuously leaving his man open, telling him that we don’t pay to come watch him not play defense, to which LaVine told him to go home, which really set him off. Regardless of the fan’s actions, I’m not seeing a ton of people stepping up to defend LaVine here, and there’s a definite growing frustration among fans with regards to LaVine. LaVine was the team’s big name get for the De’Aaron Fox trade, and makes nearly $48 million a year. He is supposed to be this team’s best player and leader, but of late he has been putting on a disappearing act. In that game against Phoenix, he scored just 13 points on 5/14 from the field, and that was after he had scored just 7 points in the win against Minnesota (and sat on the bench as the Kings made their eventual comeback and win). Against Utah he was much better, scoring 34 points, but it wasn’t enough to get the Kings the win, and he had another quiet performance in a loss to the Grizzlies when he scored 19 points. LaVine started out this season on a tear, averaging 29.5 points in the first six games of the season. Since then, he’s averaged just 16.7 points over the last 13. That’s a lower scoring rate than what Malik Monk is providing off the bench right now.
The one thing that Zach LaVine was supposed to provide this team with was a dominant scoring punch. We know he wasn’t going to be a stalwart defender, or a secondary playmaker; That’s never been his game. But he was supposed to be scoring in bunches, and we’re not even seeing that at this point. Maybe it will get better when the Kings clear out some of this roster for better fits, but right now LaVine isn’t doing much to endear himself to his new fanbase, with both sides seemingly counting down the days until he is no longer on the team. But if he continues to play like this, it’s going to be very hard for the Kings to find a taker.
Keegan Murray’s developing offensive game
Keegan Murray is still shaking off the offseason rust and is just six games into the season, so I’m not too worried that he hasn’t found his outside shot just yet (he’s currently just 26.3% from three). What I am encouraged by is seeing how he has developed his midrange and interior game, and his ability to create for himself. Over the last few seasons, over half of Murray’s total field goal attempts came from beyond the arc. This year that’s down to just 41.3% of his attempts, while we’ve seen a big jump in attempts from 3-10 feet (28.3% compared to 19.5% last year) and 10-16 feet (22.8% to just 7.8% last year). More importantly, he’s been very efficient in those areas. From 3-10 feet, he’s shooting 65.4%. From 10-16 feet, he’s at 47.6%. And while he isn’t shooting a ton from 16-23 feet (just 3.3% of his attempts), he’s making 66.7% of those. He’s also doing a lot more of this by himself instead of relying on others, as the percentage of his field goals that are assisted is down to a career-low of just 51.5%. He’s been at over 65% in each of his first three seasons. I want to see Keegan keep up this aggressive mindset, because the Kings are better off for it. In fact, Murray is the only King so far who has a positive net rating. I’m very curious to see how Keegan looks with an even bigger offensive role, but that likely won’t be possible until the Kings free up some opportunity through trades. Murray’s development is the most intriguing reason to watch this team right now.
I was wrong about Zach Edey
The Kings put up a better effort against the Memphis Grizzlies than they did the last time these two teams met, but they fell once again, and this time it was thanks to Zach Edey, who put together a dominant performance with 32 points and 17 rebounds to go with 5 blocks in just under 30 minutes. Edey was unstoppable in the paint, going 16 for 20 from the field. I had my doubts about Edey’s NBA potential. I thought he was going to be too slow to move at NBA speed, but so far through two years I’ve been impressed with his performance. He’s currently averaging a double-double in just 25 minute a game, and backing it up with solid rim protection as well. Together with Jaren Jackson Jr, that’s a solid defensive frontcourt with some offensive potential as well. I think Edey has a chance to become a go-to interior force, because not a lot of teams nowadays have the personnel to deal with a 7’3, 300 lb center with nice touch. The Grizzlies are clearly a much better team with Edey on the court, and it looks like he’s just going to get better and better. I think they just need to add some reliable shooting around him and Jackson and they could find themselves back in the playoff hunt sooner rather than later.
It’s almost too good
So the NBA Cup loser bracket has been set already and the Kings had their two remaining games scheduled, and of course it is against the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Kings have already played the Nuggets and Timberwolves three times this season and we just hit the quarter mark, so what’s one more time each before the calendar turns into a new year? The Kings managed to upset both the Nuggets and the Timberwolves recently, so both those teams might be out for a little revenge. I know the odds were stacked against the Kings this season, but this opening schedule has been one of the toughest I’ve ever seen. Of course, the Kings are dropping the supposed easy games on the docket as well, so it’s not like an easier schedule would have helped.
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Upcoming Schedule:
Wednesday, December 3rd at Houston Rockets
Saturday, December 6th at Miami Heat