The Sacramento Kings have fully left their win streak behind and are now six losses into their most recent slide. There was a chance to beat the Knicks again, but the Kings' head coach Doug Christie chose play his veteran line to close the game and gave up what could have been a victory.
When the third quarter came to an end, the Kings and Knicks were tied 72 to 72. At that point, Sacramento was competitive and had managed to hold Jalen Brunson somewhat in check. The fourth quarter was a completely different story as the second-half collapse was in full effect.
The Knicks outscored the Kings 31 to 15 during the final frame. Brunson personally dropped 11 of those points on Sacramento in quick succession. But there's a reason the Kings fell apart so dramatically and quickly, and it has to do with head coach Doug Christie.
An avoidable decision cost the Kings' big time
During the course of the fourth quarter, Christie made the choice to put out a line that consisted of his veterans. That included DeMar DeRozan, Russell Westbrook, and Domantas Sabonis. The problem is that this squad plays well individually, but doesn't work as a team.
The big problem was the Kings' defense basically collapsed after players like Dylan Cardwell, Nique Clifford, and Maxime Raynaud were benched. These three, plus Precious Achiuwa, play really well together in different combinations. They actually function as a unit.
Excluding Achiuwa, none of the veterans Christie put out to close the game played defense. The rookies do, and pulling them out of the game gave an opening to Jalen Brunson, which he took full advantage of. The veteran line did next to nothing to slow him or the Knicks down.
Christie's ongoing strategy problem weighs the Kings down
This is an issue that keeps coming up again and again with the Kings, particularly since the return of Domantas Sabonis. Christie keeps going back to the veterans in clutch moments, and it just doesn't work. There has to be more nuance to whatever strategy he's trying to implement.
After taking over as head coach, Christie's stated focus has been defense. Yet, he chose to put in a weak defensive line at a key time in the game with the Knicks. A more balanced crew that included a solid defender like Dylan Cardwell and a scorer like Nique Clifford would have been advisable.
All you have to do is take a look at the minutes from the Knicks loss to see where Christie's mind is at. And the same thing keeps happening. Primarily veteran lineups on the Kings just don't work, as evidenced by Sacramento's current 12 and 36 record.