[Game] Sacramento Kings (3) @ Golden State Warriors (6) (WCDS Game 3, 2-0) 4/20/2023 7:00pm Pacific 10:00pm Eastern (TNT)

[Chupacabra]

I remember most of us on here saying that even if the Kings did make the playoffs that we still had plenty of problems to fix, and thus we would not go very far in the playoffs because of this.... I wonder what's changed for fans to think that we should sweep the defending champion Warriors? The first year to the playoffs is always difficult, because it's a different type of pressure in the playoffs. I don't think it's a coincidence that we were absolutely on fire most of the season and scoring a un-godly amount of points, but once we entered the playoffs, are shots are suddenly not falling. We just don't have the playoff experience yet, and it's showing...... I'm sure if we can make a run at the playoffs next year, we will be much better.

I agree, for the most part. We will likely make a run IN the playoffs THIS season. We're up 2-1 with home court adv against a bad road team. We have a coach that will make good adjustments.

I think Kings fans don't know how to be in the playoffs anymore. You never get through these series unscathed. To add context, Milwaukee lost to a play-in team at home in game 1, and they're the best team in the league IMO.

 

[SacTownKid]

I remember most of us on here saying that even if the Kings did make the playoffs that we still had plenty of problems to fix, and thus we would not go very far in the playoffs because of this.... I wonder what's changed for fans to think that we should sweep the defending champion Warriors? The first year to the playoffs is always difficult, because it's a different type of pressure in the playoffs. I don't think it's a coincidence that we were absolutely on fire most of the season and scoring a un-godly amount of points, but once we entered the playoffs, are shots are suddenly not falling. We just don't have the playoff experience yet, and it's showing...... I'm sure if we can make a run at the playoffs next year, we will be much better.

The question is what are the defending champs though. I think the safest thing to say about Sacramento for sure is don't anyone put anything on this current squad expecting dominance. They aren't. But they can certainly beat ANYONE on any given night. 3rd seed is great, but dominant teams are closer to 68 wins than 48. There's room to grow, and potentially changes to go. Hopefully they just keep taking it one game at a time and with Mike Brown in charge we already know they will.

 

[kingsboi]

just got done watching the game. Kings shooting did not travel well and they had plenty of good looks. Donte was wreaking havoc out there and Monk couldn't do a thing against him. Sabonis needs help on the glass and Kings didn't do a good job trapping Curry like they did Game 2, too many times he turned the corner and went to the rim

 

[The_Jamal]

If we're going to be honest, in an alternate reality where all the teams in the west are healthy all season long, the Kings are a 6th seed. Maybe a seventh. Reacting to this game the way that some Kings fans are reacting to it, as if they thought that this Kings team ought to be title contenders, based on record and seeding, is wild to me.

The Kings are ahead of expectations. And I really hope that McNair isn't as reactionary as some of y'all are, when it comes to making improvements to the roster in the offseason.

If there's one thing I'm confident in, it's that McNair won't be reactionary to anything in the short-term. We saw that at the deadline and the Kings went on to be on the best teams in the NBA post-deadline with only bringing in Kessler Edwards. There was pretty widespread panic that we'd fall all the way to the play-in because of the lack of moves.

And yeah, we're STILL IN YEAR ONE of the Monte/Brown era and year 1 with Domas/Fox as the cornerstones with a full off-season together. There's obviously plenty of time and growth with this core to be done.

If this were year 3/year 4 of Domas/Fox/Brown, then sure. Maybe you start thinking about a major shake-up, moving on from the core, etc. But the worst thing we could do is ruin the upward ascent we're currently on by overreacting. There's levels to becoming a good team and the Kings are obviously taking a huge leap forward on that this season. We're freaking up 2-1 vs the defending champs!

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

So defensive, like I said.

I never said I wasn't defensive. I said, how much "calling out" do you expect me to have to tolerate?

Always have a long winded narrative don’t you?

1. They never should have taught y'all "narrative." Y'all never use it correctly, anyway.
2. When I keep my replies short, I'm accused of making sarcastic one-liners. When I don't, I'm accused of being long-winded. Can't win with y'all.

 

[ockingsfan]

I believe this series is going to come down to the bench, namely Monk and Lyles.

The starters Fox, HB and Sabonis (except for game 1) have been solid. Keegan and Huerter need to hit a couple of 3s to get going.

But, the confidence and spark during games the Kings need to energize them usually come from Monk and Lyles hitting their shots. I expect a bounce back game from Monk and Lyles next game. If these 2 can get back on track, this will give the Kings the best chance to win this series.

 

[Warhawk]

I really hate turning off a playoff game early but I don’t think I can finish this one.

We left with 5 minutes left in the game.

 

[SacTownKid]

If we're going to be honest, in an alternate reality where all the teams in the west are healthy all season long, the Kings are a 6th seed. Maybe a seventh. Reacting to this game the way that some Kings fans are reacting to it, as if they thought that this Kings team ought to be title contenders, based on record and seeding, is wild to me.

The Kings are ahead of expectations. And I really hope that McNair isn't as reactionary as some of y'all are, when it comes to making improvements to the roster in the offseason.

Reactionary? Nah, but he's shown legit cajones. If he thinks he can get to that next level and has to break a few hearts on the way he'll do it and not bat an eyelash. And that's exactly what you want in a GM with where this team is at cap wise and heading cap wise in the future. It's the same thing that got the team nearly to the dance when Petrie had a checkbook to work with.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

The warriors have done a good job guarding Sabonis in the paint evident by all the turnovers and shots he has been missing near the hoop. Would like to see Sabonis just take the open 15 footers that they are giving him. I think he's more than capable of making them.

To have a deep playoff run where he is very good offenively, he will have to take and make shots outside of 15 feet. Bigger size has always given him trouble...and Looney is giving him trouble without extra size. Match him up with Zubac, Ayton, or Jokic and it will be even tougher to score through and over them

 

[ockingsfan]

TBH, I like the fact that the Kings got blown out in this game. Bring them back down to earth and get them focused. You can't go into the defending world champs house not focused and sharp and expect to win. This big loss will get the Kings attention and I expect them to respond much better next game.

 

[ockingsfan]

Also, what's up with the Warriors grey colored court?

That seems like an unfair change/distraction for a visiting team coming into your building. I can see a grey court causing an issue for shooters to get themselves oriented. This while the home team was probably practicing on that court for weeks. It would be like an NFL team suddenly changing the color of the grass to orange in the playoffs.

Hopefully the Kings get some practice time on that court before the next game to get them oriented to that new court. The NBA should really have a rule to keep courts a regular/neutral color.

 

[The_Jamal]

TBH, I like the fact that the Kings got blown out in this game. Bring them back down to earth and get them focused. You can't go into the defending world champs house not focused and sharp and expect to win. This big loss will get the Kings attention and I expect them to respond much better next game.

Good news is the Kings were excellent all year at making quick adjustments after a bad game.

Losing game 4 isn't the end of the world, but playing and losing like we did tonight in game 4 would bode incredibly bad for the rest of the series. Win would be amazing, but I'd like to see us get back to playing Kings basketball and doing what we do best.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

TBH, I like the fact that the Kings got blown out in this game. Bring them back down to earth and get them focused. You can't go into the defending world champs house not focused and sharp and expect to win. This big loss will get the Kings attention and I expect them to respond much better next game.

Indeed. I seem to recall, on the TNT broadcast, Brian Anderson coming out of one of the timeouts saying that Brown told the team to attack the basket, since they weren't getting calls, and the threes weren't falling, anyway. They then attempted threes on, like, three of their next four possessions. A loss may have been on the menu for the Kings to get back down to business.

 

[kingdivac]

TBH, I like the fact that the Kings got blown out in this game. Bring them back down to earth and get them focused. You can't go into the defending world champs house not focused and sharp and expect to win. This big loss will get the Kings attention and I expect them to respond much better next game.

It has me wondering about the coaching....I certainly did not like it.....especially after a clear energy win the game before. Not being able to right the game is concerning........players must start converting wide open shots or better yet get back to off-ball movement. Games are too precious to be thrown away.

 

[KF8]

We left with 5 minutes left in the game.

This was one of the more frustrating games to watch. It reminds me of the Memphis game where Adams outrebounded the whole Kings squad except this time it was Looney to some extent. More so than missing shots, not being able to get rebounds is one of the more frustrating things to watch since rebounding is an effort thing.

 

[The_Jamal]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1649273676179832832

I mean, jesus.

You tell me these are the shooting splits before the series, I'd think we'd be lucky to even have a win. Shooting has to get back to at least passable

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

It has me wondering about the coaching....I certainly did not like it.....especially after a clear energy win the game before. Not being able to right the game is concerning........players must start converting wide open shots or better yet get back to off-ball movement. Games are too precious to be thrown away.

Seventy-two hours ago, Mike Brown was "outcoaching" Steve Kerr. One game? That's all it took?

 

[KF8]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1649273676179832832

I mean, jesus.

You tell me these are the shooting splits before the series, I'd think we'd be lucky to even have a win. Shooting has to get back to at least passable

Yea we're only still in it because the Warriors haven't been much better. Pretty sure they are in the lower 30's.

 

[jiimbob]

TBH, I like the fact that the Kings got blown out in this game. Bring them back down to earth and get them focused. You can't go into the defending world champs house not focused and sharp and expect to win. This big loss will get the Kings attention and I expect them to respond much better next game.

I can’t imagine the Kings got too big of head, but I expected a loss on their court.
It was unfortunate, as it truly was the first full live game I’ve caught all year, and what a stinker.
Occasionally the threes don’t fall but Murray has shot what 3 of 10 for a whole ten points this series. Sorry but it just reconfirmed my strong hope that Monte pulls off a significant move this off-season

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Occasionally the threes don’t fall but Murray has shot what 3 of 10 for a whole ten points this series. Sorry but it just reconfirmed my strong hope that Monte pulls off a significant move this off-season

What counts as a "significant move," in your opinion? Because I still think that fans who want McNair to go all-in this offseason are being greedy. The Kings are in Year One of an X-Year plan, and I don't know what the value of 'X' is, but I'm pretty sure it's not 2.

Kings definitely need to improve their frontcourt situation, and their defense, but I don't know how "significant" those moves have to be. If you think that McNair has to do whatever it takes to acquire a third All-Star this offseason, you are essentially saying that you give up on Keegan Murray. And I think it's too soon for that.

 

[serbiangoat]

The difference between the level of physicality of Mitchell/Fox when defending Curry was night and day in the first 2 games and game 3, that looked like regular season defense against Curry imo. You have to be as physical as possible or else against Curry although to be fair playing in GS I doubt the refs would have allowed much.

 

[jiimbob]

What counts as a "significant move," in your opinion? Because I still think that fans who want McNair to go all-in this offseason are being greedy. The Kings are in Year One of an X-Year plan, and I don't know what the value of 'X' is, but I'm pretty sure it's not 2.

Kings definitely need to improve their frontcourt situation, and their defense, but I don't know how "significant" those moves have to be. If you think that McNair has to do whatever it takes to acquire a third All-Star this offseason, you are essentially saying that you give up on Keegan Murray. And I think it's too soon for that.

I appreciate how you put this since I might sound over reactionary. Also I live in Woop Woop Australian so I don’t get all the NBA exposure that many of you do.

I would love to see Bam on this team, love the Kentucky connection, but realise he’s not a FA until 2026 and that would likely cost you one of Fox or Sabonis which moots the point.

Toronto missed the playoffs, so I would be really curious about their plans. OG or Siakam sounds sweet to me to improve our frontcourt. I know both have been brought up on this board so it’s not that far fetched. Guess we’d have to give something significant to make that happen. I like Keegan but Fox and Sabonis timeline might actually work better with one of those more established players.

I have felt for awhile that advancing to at least the 2nd round would be wild success this year. By next year I hope its championship contender. Not sure if this current squad has that much potential.

 

[reptilexcq2]

The Kings are not prepared and doesn't have good strategy probably due to having success in game 1 & 2 and don't want to change and also they were probably prepared with Draymond Green in the lineup until a sudden change and that cause them to play differently I guess. The Kings need to play smart...in terms of taking advantage of the Warriors weakness. I haven't seen much of Barnes posting up or Sabonis...like who on Warriors can guard Sabonis beside Looney? He should be posting up and taking advantage of Green being out. Anyway, I just feel like the Kings not only don't play smart but have no sense of purpose and urgency in this game. I didn't like some of the lineups out there either....Davis should not be getting minutes...should have played Trey Lyles instead or Edwards. Edwards should help out with the rebounding.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

... I like Keegan but Fox and Sabonis timeline might actually work better with one of those more established players.

Hard disagree. On 2023-24 opening night, Fox will still be two months away from turning 26, and Sabonis will be 27. I think that a reasonable timeline would be to expect them to be the core of a title contender no sooner than 2026. That gives you at least two more playoff runs or, at a minimum, at least another full season, plus a trade deadline, to figure out whether Keegan Murray has what it takes to develop into a viable third option. To me, they aren't on different timelines, at all.

I have felt for awhile that advancing to at least the 2nd round would be wild success this year. By next year I hope its championship contender. Not sure if this current squad has that much potential.

You think it's reasonable to expect a team to go from perennial lottery team to "2nd round would be wildly successful" to title contender in two years?

 

[Dime Dropper]

We sucked so bad I had to switch this off with 9 minutes left.

Monk - zilch
Huerter - zero
Lyles - nada
Murray - invisible

Etc etc etc.

We better hope everyone pulls the finger out because there is no world where we don't get blown out by the Warriors with production like this from the majority of our team.

I am not sure how we've all of a sudden forgot how to shoot the ball but I hope something changes for game 4.

Is it the end of the world? No, we can still win the series. But I really don't want to go back to Sacramento at 2-2 and with the Warriors full of confidence.

 

[serbiangoat]

Sabonis has to figure out a way to do more on the offensive end.

It's been the only concern in his career so far is scoring in the postseason, Tristian Thompson hounded him in the Cavs-Pacersx2 series, also the Warriors have had plenty of practice playing Jokic a similar way last postseason and they are somewhat similar. Sabonis is a beast player if the Kings could hit even a average 3pt % he would look way better imo and his scoring would not be a issue.

 

[jiimbob]

Hard disagree. On 2023-24 opening night, Fox will still be two months away from turning 26, and Sabonis will be 27. I think that a reasonable timeline would be to expect them to be the core of a title contender no sooner than 2026. That gives you at least two more playoff runs or, at a minimum, at least another full season, plus a trade deadline, to figure out whether Keegan Murray has what it takes to develop into a viable third option. To me, they aren't on different timelines, at all.



You think it's reasonable to expect a team to go from perennial lottery team to "2nd round would be wildly successful" to title contender in two years?

As I said I like Keegan but not as comfortable as some waiting up to two seasons to determine if he's a legit third option. If I had the choice, OG same draft class as Fox and established star please.

When I said felt for awhile I meant since we became clear playoff material. Not before the start of the season.
And why not title contender in two years with the right third option. I've followed this team since before they arrived in Sacramento, I'm running out of the luxury of time.

 

[Geoff]

You aren’t a kings fan and you are still a mod here judging current kings fans. It’s odd.

Your shtick is getting old.

 

[coolhandluke]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1649273676179832832

I mean, jesus.

You tell me these are the shooting splits before the series, I'd think we'd be lucky to even have a win. Shooting has to get back to at least passable

The Warriors defense has a lot to do with this. It won't magically become better unless Mike Brown takes some corrective action. They took DHO action off the menu and our shooters are rushed and not in rhythm. In fact, they didn't contest well at the three point line today (electing to shrink back to the paint) but still the Kings couldn't capitalize on it.

I guess the wins have made the coaching staff think it's OK to continue with the same strategy. Nothing like a loss giving a kick in the pants to get things better.

 

[kingdivac]

Seventy-two hours ago, Mike Brown was "outcoaching" Steve Kerr. One game? That's all it took?

You've got to be able to wake up your players, and point out their immediate problems game by game. That was Bronwn's failure this game. Team did not meet the moment - as pointed out especially - the bench.