As far as weeks go, that was one of the more entertaining ones of the season, with the Kings ending it on a high note with a clutch overtime win at home against the Houston Rockets. All in all, not a bad week of Kings basketball after some truly depressing games over the last month or so, and just in time for the holiday season.
Bottom tier franchise, God-tier fanbase
Last night was pretty cathartic for myself and I’m guessing a lot of the fan base that was in attendance for the game against Houston. I was given last minute tickets from a co-worker and I almost turned them down because of how miserable this team has been, but I’m glad I didn’t. Basketball in the end, is supposed to be fun and last night was very fun. You could feel the energy in the building waiting to be released, and then those big shots down the stretch caused the entire building to erupt. You’d never know from being in the building or watching on TV that this was supposed to be one of the worst teams in the league. The enthusiasm and passion this city has for this team is unparalleled, and they truly deserve so much more than they’ve gotten over the years. I hope this team can figure this rebuild out for once, because no fan base needs a long stretch of success more than this one.
Better without LaVine?
Last week ended with the news that the Kings would be without Zach LaVine for at least a few weeks thanks to an ankle sprain suffered in the loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. LaVine’s absence meant that Doug Christie was able to experiment a little bit more with the starting lineup and rotation for the last few games, and I like what he’s done. The Kings are finally playing with a bit more size, moving DeMar DeRozan to the two and inserting Precious Achiuwa into the frontcourt next to Maxime Raynaud and Keegan Murray. Part of that may have been simply due to matchups, as the Kings played two very large teams in the Trail Blazers and Rockets this week, but it’s a look I’ve been wanting to see from the Kings and they seem to at least be more well balanced for it, even if they still have to play small a lot of the time. The Kings managed to be in every single game they played this week, and probably should have been 2-1 overall. Playing better without one of your supposed best players doesn’t make sense, but it does when you look at this team’s roster construction. I bet it might have looked a bit similar if say DeMar DeRozan had been out and LaVine was available instead (although I do think DeMar does more of the little things than LaVine does). This team badly needs rebalancing, and these injuries have only served to highlight that as the Kings have been more efficient working with less.
NBA officiating has somehow gotten even worse
The NBA’s had an officiating problem for a while now, but it just seems to be getting worse and worse. Sacramento’s first loss to the Blazers this week ended on one of the most absurd foul calls I’ve ever seen, where Deni Avdija basically punched Russell Westbrook in the head with the ball and flailed and got a whistle. A few nights later, the Kings nearly lost to Houston after Westbrook got called for a foul on a three because Jabari Smith kicked out his leg. The Kings weren’t able to challenge the call because Doug Christie had already had to use both his challenges on calls that were so obvious at the time that it shouldn’t have needed a review in the first place. And don’t get me started on the uselessness of the league’s two-minute reports. I’d highly recommend this Thinking Basketball video highlighting the officiating problem. I’m not sure what the solution is, but there needs to be some sort of course correction to this epidemic of foul baiting and grifting across the league.
Send this DeMar DeRozan game tape to everyone in the NBA
What DeMar DeRozan did against the Portland Trail Blazers last week was something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. The man had 11 points with under a minute left in regulation and finished with 33 points, most of those in overtime. It was a masterclass in clutch shooting, and it probably should have resulted in a Kings win if not for the aforementioned ref shenanigans. DeRozan has been nothing but a professional since coming to Sacramento, even if it clearly hasn’t been what either he or the Kings were hoping it would be. There’s plenty of teams that could use his services, and his performance this last week or so is probably making Sacramento’s job of finding him a new home just a bit easier.
Sabonis out even longer
Domantas Sabonis’ original injury prognosis timeline for his meniscus tear in his knee was 3-4 weeks, but his latest re-evaluation is that he’s out for another 4-5 weeks. Given the Kings situation this season, there’s no need to rush him back at all, and if need be, the Kings should just shut him down. Knee injuries are no joke, and a meniscus tear is what ended up ruining Chris Webber’s career. Let Max and Dylan Cardwell keep getting some extended looks, and let Domas get some rest and heal up for the next season. Plus, I’ve liked what we’ve seen from the young bigs so far, especially Raynaud, who looks like he’s going to make an All-Rookie team at this rate. Since becoming a starter, Max is averaging 11.6 points and 9.9 rebounds in 30.9 minutes a game, not bad work for a rookie. With Eubanks also out, the opportunities are there for Cardwell as well, who is quickly becoming a fan favorite with his energy and hustle. Who knows if there’s anything there, but at least he’s going to get some opportunity over the next few weeks.
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Upcoming Schedule:
Tuesday, December 23rd vs. Detroit Pistons
Saturday, December 27th vs. Dallas Mavericks
Sunday, December 28th at Los Angeles Lakers