Damn, two wins in a row? I hope Vivek’s got enough spare change for that next SMUD bill. Beamin’ is expensive.
Two Straight Wins, Nobody Panic
We are almost exactly at the halfway mark of the season, and yet this is just the second time this year that the Kings have managed to put together two wins in a row, and on a back-to-back no less. It helps that the team was at home, but they were still two impressive wins against teams well above .500. For some reason the Kings happen to have Houston’s number so far this season despite the Rockets on paper being a matchup nightmare for this team, and beating the Lakers is always fun no matter the year or context. Before the Houston game, the Kings were riding a seven game losing streak and were only a half game from holding the worst record in the entire NBA. Now the Kings are 2-0 to start a seven game homestand, their longest of the season. I don’t think this is indicative of any large turnaround for the team, but I do think that some of the injuries and suspensions have given the Kings a little bit more consistency in the rotation. They also had an abnormally good shooting night against the Lakers, making 17 of their 26 three point attempts. I also just want to say that while the Lakers on paper are a good team with a 23-14 record, they’re actually frauds. They have a negative net rating over the entire season, with an expected win-loss record of 18-19. The 14-26 Charlotte Hornets have a better net rating than the Lakers do right now. Yes, I still hate the stupid Lakers. For those upset that these wins can affect the tank, I’m sure we’ll get back to our regularly scheduled programming shortly. The Kings still hold the third worst record in the league, and some recent wins by the Pacers and Pelicans have kept us pretty close to the potential last spots
A Reminder of What We’re Probably About to Lose
Malik Monk has been the speculation of a lot of trade rumors and also has been seemingly frozen out of the rotation for much of the year, in part due to the absolute glut of guards this team has. Before Dennis Schröder got suspended for trying to fight Luka Doncic in the hallways of the Staples Center, he hadn’t played 20 minutes in a game since December 14th, with several DNP-CDs in the mix during that stretch as well. In the last two games, Monk has seen an increased role and reminded us why he was a favorite to win 6th man of the Year for the last three seasons. Against the Lakers in particular, he was incredible, scoring 26 points on 7 of 9 from three to go with 8 assists. There are few players as exciting as Malik Monk when he’s feeling it, from his incredible shot making, insane dunks, and just the energy he provides. I know his time in a Kings uniform is likely coming to an end soon, but I’ll always appreciate his time with us and hope he gets to a team where he can make the impact he deserves.
Another Random Kings Big We’ve Already Fallen in Love With
The Kings have had their share of end of rotation hustle bigs that have become fan favorites over the years, and Dylan Cardwell is proving to be another one, perhaps with more upside than most. Cardwell has seen some extended playing time of late and he’s done a good job of providing defense, rebounding and overall hustle, with his best game coming in the win against Houston where he scored 9 points to go with 11 rebounds. Cardwell’s offensive repertoire is fairly non-existent outside of the paint, but he sets big screens, attacks the glass, and is a good shot blocker as well. Between Cardwell and Raynaud, the Kings snagged a couple of nice prospects at Center. Cardwell’s upside is likely just that of a solid backup big, but that’s perfectly fine. I’m sure Drew Eubanks is a nice guy and all, but at this point I’m not sure I want to see him get minutes ever again if it comes at the expense of either Raynaud or Cardwell. Cardwell reminds me a little bit of a smaller version of New York’s Mitchell Robinson. You don’t really trust him to do anything on offense aside from set screens and dunk, but if he can keep providing the defense and rebounding at the rate he is, he’s worth playing.
Rumor Mill is heating up
Aside from the Jonathan Kuminga rumors we wrote about earlier this week, the Kings have found themselves in a few others of late. They continued to be mentioned to have some level of interest in Ja Morant, but only if the Grizzlies would accept a package including DeMar DeRozan, Devin Carter and draft capital (I’m guessing that basically means one first round pick). That’s a pretty buy low offer on someone with Morant’s level of talent so it’s probably not going to happen, and the Kings shouldn’t really be going after Morant at this juncture anyway, although at this suggested price I could see the risk being mitigated somewhat. Domantas Sabonis is also garnering a level of interest from teams, especially in the wake of Anthony Davis’ latest injury. The Toronto Raptors are supposedly seriously interested in Sabonis, but the Kings are unwilling to take on the contracts of either Immanuel Quickley or Jakob Poeltl which would seem to render that conversation moot. Given the size of Sabonis’ (and Lavine’s) contract, it’s going to be hard to find a deal that doesn’t bring some sort of lengthy or sizeable deal back without some decent maneuvering and maybe multiple teams involved. Still, the Kings can’t afford to stand pat either and this month will likely see some sort of serious change take place.
It’s 2026 and the Kings Still Don’t Like Threes
The biggest indictment of Doug Christie as a coach in my opinion is the simple fact that the Kings play offense like it’s the year 2000. Even against the Lakers where the Kings made an absurd 17 of their 26 three point attempts, the fact that they only shot 26 threes is ridiculous and was even lower than their league low 30.1 attempts a game. This problem started a little bit once the Kings got DeMar DeRozan with his affinity for midrange jumpers, but this year it’s become even worse. Russell Westbrook shouldn’t be leading this team in three point makes and attempts, but at least he is shooting them. It’s just simple math that shooting a three is better than shooting a two, unless the two is coming at the rim. Even shooting just 33.3% from three would result in the same amount of points as shooting 50% from two. DeMar DeRozan, as good as he is from mid-range, only shoots 46.9% from 16 feet to the 3 point line, and 48.7% from 10-16 feet. He’s shooting 36% from distance, the best of his career, but only 2.2 attempts a game. Zach LaVine, one of the best shooters in the NBA, is only at 6.7 attempts a game, the fewest he’s attempted since the 2018-19 season. Hell, Max should be shooting a couple attempts a game if we want to eventually develop him to be a stretch big, but he’s only at 0.8 attempts. This team needs to shoot more threes, and that’s on Coach Christie to implement.
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Upcoming Schedule:
Wednesday, January 14th vs. New York Knicks
Friday, January 16th vs. Washington Wizards
Sunday, January 18th vs. Portland Trail Blazers