[Game] Kings vs Timberwolves 3/27/2023 7pm Pacific 10pm Eastern

[The_Jamal]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1640558519719178240

lol Metu almost walked off onto the court out of pure frustration

Honestly, Minny had like 5 or 6 jumpers in this same vein that were heavily contested and they still drilled it. I actually think we played reasonably good defense last night. The issue is just pairing everything together; good defensive possession with a finish on the rebound. And not get so unlucky with teams drilling contested jumpers right in our grill.

Add in the shooting slop from the ancillary guys, there's a ton for us to clean up. We're just the better team than them if we play near our median expectation.

 

[iowamcnabb]

Metu always gives off slightly standoffish vibes in interviews but there is no one more into the games on the bench than him

 

[KingsFanSince85]

I think they are "good" when they don't have KAT. I think they shot their future in the foot with the Gobert trade and everything they gave up. But this team when KAT isn't on the court is exactly the type of team we struggle most with.

If they are "good" then why is their record 27-26 w/o KAT? They are 12-11 with him.

One game over .500 in both scenarios. Which is remarkably average.

As for the KINGS struggling against them, I think that's been drastically overstated too. The KINGS are 0-2 against ATL, but I'm not about to declare the Hawks as a bad matchup either.

$#1t happens over a long 82 game season. Back-to-backs, long road trips, player absences, poor patches of play, catching teams on fire, etc.

All 4 games were decided by 7, 7, 4, and 4 points respectively. Which means all 4 games were close and competitive. It's not like the KINGS lost 3 out of 4 in blowout fashion. In fact, if a break or two went their way instead of against, the KINGS could have won 3 of the 4.

Regardless, the T-Wolves record, largely w/o KAT this season, has proven to be average at best.

They clearly are capable of beating the KINGS on any given night, but so is every other team in the league. But the reverse is also true.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

Tonight is no difference, except Wolves are just so much longer in almost every position that gives us a much harder and physical test.

The KINGS missed 9, 7, 8, and 8 free throws in each of the 4 games respectively. Did the T-Wolves "length" have anything to do with those misses? NO.

So it's difficult to discern how much credit can be given to their defense and "length" with regard to bothering KINGS shooters from the perimeter.

For example, the matchup prior to last night, the KINGS shot 55.1% overall and 14-27 from three (51.9%). And the T-Wolves length wasn't absent for that game.

Overall for the 4 games, the KINGS shot 48.6% from the field and 31.6% from 3.

The first number is in no way bad. The 2nd ain't so good. But was 35.6% for the 3 matchups prior to last nights off shooting night, which isn't too far below their season average.

Again, I don't see any reason to panic over the T-Wolves nor do I see any evidence to suggest that they have the KINGS number in a poor matchup.

Have the KINGS played better against other teams? Absolutely. But those outcomes could drastically flip too, for any number of reasons.

 

[dude12]

TWolves are a tougher matchup for Sac i think because they can collapse the paint and Domas can’t bully ball Gobert as easily as other bigs. Of course, if we make our 3’s then it’s a different story. Last night, we didn’t hit our 3’s.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

TWolves are a tougher matchup for Sac i think because they can collapse the paint and Domas can’t bully ball Gobert as easily as other bigs. Of course, if we make our 3’s then it’s a different story. Last night, we didn’t hit our 3’s.

Yup. Every team that has a physical center, is a tough match up. Such as Adams, Zubac, Jokic, and Gobert. Nurkic is tough on him as well.

I'd like to see him shoot a few more 3's against these teams

 

[Vinny Basketballerino]

Yup. Every team that has a physical center, is a tough match up. Such as Adams, Zubac, Jokic, and Gobert. Nurkic is tough on him as well.

I'd like to see him shoot a few more 3's against these teams

I'd love it. Imagine Domas coming back next year with a reliabl three point shot. Get him up to 35-37% on volume. Totally opens up his game. They currently leave him open past about 18-20 feet. At that point he becomes a true triple threat: pass, shoot, and drive.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1640947721073745921

I'm ded.

 

[Vinny Basketballerino]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1640947721073745921

I'm ded.

Lol got eem.