Joshyjosh31
Starter
Look at the schedule we’ll be favored in like 2 games in that stretch starting tomorrow with a team that smacked LA and has three seven footers starting
[Game] [01/82] Kings @ Suns, 10/22/2025 7pm Pacific 10pm Eastern
- Thread starter Tetsujin
- Start date
Look at the schedule we’ll be favored in like 2 games in that stretch starting tomorrow with a team that smacked LA and has three seven footers starting
ShastaKingsFan
All-Star
There is no excuse for that 2nd half, regardless of who is injured
Tetsujin
The Game Thread Dude
“The Kings played their two-way rookie for most of the 4th quarter.”
“Oh so they were down that bad huh?”
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Christie is going to have to find some shooting. That means more shots and time for Keon, more set shots for Monk and even more threes from Lavine. If we make 9 threes in a game again that is almost certainly going to be a loss
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
To me the problem was the first half, if we rebounded the ball we would have been up 25. The second half was largely a reverse to the mean. The Suns were bound to hit shots and guys who couldn’t miss for the kings in the first half were bound to cool off. And obviously we played like crap as a whole in the second but that should not have mattered
Common now - you knew what was in store - deep down.......ahhhhh!
Offset - uhhh, maybe lopsided would be a better description. His lack of defense is a bigger negative than his postives.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
22 threes from the Sixers rookie and Maxey combined. We took 24 as a team. When Domas gets back we better see 2 of our best shooters get close to that number
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
Jazz just hammered the Clippers.
Filipowski, Kessler and Markannan are going to make our 4 guard line-up look like midgets. They have two good young forwards in Hendrickson and Bailey coming off the bench.
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
So, when we win at home on Friday, you and @Joshyjosh31 are buying all of us tickets to future Kings games, right?
(you to one game, and @Joshyjosh31 to another...)
I don't have too high expectations but I didn’t think that was too bad. I liked the minutes for Nique, Max, and Caldwell. I liked almost all of Nique – he was longer than I thought, he seems physical, and he just makes good basketball plays. Caldwell had some great moments on defence. Max was solid enough although looked a little ineffective/ unsure at times. I liked Schroder more than I thought I would. I liked his intensity. I liked that he kept it simple on offence. Deebo, I love. He took a lot of our shots, but it didn’t feel like everyone was just watching like it did for much of last year. I don’t mind Russ on the team. Obviously, people will be upset with Keon’s minutes and blame Russ/ the people who signed him/ play him. And he could move the ball a little better. But at least he wants to ball, gets involved, has an impact. … Much less keen on Zach. Obviously incredibly talented as an individual scorer and great when he’s on. He is great in transition. And he did apply himself more on D in the first half. But there is something intangible that isn’t there … like he’s too nice, he doesn't eat enough before the game, or he just daydreams himself away for part of the game.
TaxMan
Starter
To be fair, what other forward with any size is he supposed to turn to? Just ridiculous roster construction.
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
Their line-up size and minutes
Markannan 7’1 33 min v DeRozan 6’ 6”
George 6’4” 32 min v Schroeder 6’ 1”
Kessler 7’2” 29 min v Eubanks 6’ 10”
Filipowski 6’ 11” 25 min v Clifford 6’ 5”
Mykhailiuk 6’ 7” 24 min v LaVine 6’ 5”
Sensabaugh 6’ 6” 23 min v Monk 6’ 3”
Bailey 6’ 9” 20 min v Westbrook 6’ 4”
Hendricks 6’ 9” 19 min. V ????
We are going to get crushed giving up 3-4 inches across the board.
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Joshyjosh31
Starter
I’m not betting on a team dead set on drafting AJ… half the starters might pick up an “injury” on the flight to Sacramento
BuddyBuckets
G-League
This is what the whole seasons going to be like. Lavine on fire when no pressure, then bricking by a foot when the game matters. Christie making zero decisions benching our only perimeter defenders for a 4th iso guard in the crunch time.
Anyone who saw this roster and thought this team would be good is fooling themselves. Tank for AJ or boozer. Pray we get anything for demar/schroder/monk at the deadline.
More likely we trade away Keon/carter for some nonsense older vets. Train wreck of a franchise!
Anyone who saw this roster and thought this team would be good is fooling themselves. Tank for AJ or boozer. Pray we get anything for demar/schroder/monk at the deadline.
More likely we trade away Keon/carter for some nonsense older vets. Train wreck of a franchise!
Joshyjosh31
Starter
L.A. Brian
G-League
I didn't even know they were playing tonight. I never thought it would come to that. Sadly my level of fandom has never been lower. Would've been nice though to see the rookies get extended minutes as they're the ones who'd offer a glimmer of hope for down the road.
BuddyBuckets
G-League
This is who he was last year. Play hornets goes for 40 and looks like prime kobe. Plays any good team and falls apart. Pulling the bulls into that trade set this franchise back 4 years.
The announcers have been getting this wrong too so you're probably just repeating what you heard, but it's Cardwell not Caldwell.
...
It's not going to be pleasant, but another 35 games like this should be all it takes to kickstart the process of transforming this roster into something better. If DeMar keeps putting up 29/6/9 games with multiple steals and blocks we may as well consider him our "I owe you one Jonathan Kuminga" card. That already helps to balance the roster.
We have got to move off of stockpiling players like LaVine and Monk who pour in baskets when they're hot but do little else and tonight was a perfect example of why. They combined for 49 points but just 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 0 steals or blocks. Malik's personality was a fun contrast to De'Aaron's moodiness (and both guys complimented each other well on the court too) but his presence also contributed to the Davion Mitchell stonewalling and now history is repeating itself with Devin Carter.
If it's not already obvious that handing the keys of the offense to these guys is a complete disaster waiting to happen than I think it will become obvious by mid-season. Nique took 3 shots tonight and Ellis took 5 while the LaVine/Monk duo took 37. Eventually Murray and Sabonis will come back and they're going to want to get their shots too. I would much rather see the lion's share of the shots go to players who are going to be contributors in every aspect of the game. Playing "fire hose" basketball is why we have just one playoff appearance in the last 19 years.
And really, I don't think it should be surprising that our frontcourt depth is a problem. With Sabonis and Isaac Jones both sidelined we have 2 rookie centers and a 6-9 journeyman whose career averages are 5.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Hopefully when the dismantling begins Scott Perry is able to acquire some decent frontcourt pieces. I do think Cardwell and Reynaud are both intriguing players who can grow into being solid rotation pieces in time but neither one projects as a 36mpg starter.
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iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
If Domas is back on Friday it will be interesting to see what the rotation looks like. Don’t think you want to have Deebo guard Lauri so maybe IJ?
Dennis Monk
Lavine Keon
Deebo Nique
IJ Russ
Domas Eubanks
Dennis Monk
Lavine Keon
Deebo Nique
IJ Russ
Domas Eubanks
Thats is logical fallacy - point distribution in a game is equally weighted - and the game matters from opening to closing second. In this case LaVine ended up goin 13/24, a satisfactory FG%. 3 pt % was only 2/10 settling for long shots - think he was 1/6 or 0/6 in the 2nd half. Although he had a satisfactory shooting night, His defense, rebounding, and assists though as usual were below average. 35 mins - 1 assist and 2 reboounds?
Having Monk in during the second half of the 4th instead of Ellis or Nique probably cost Sac the game. Thought Christie did reasonably well with the rotations given the injuries……we all know Keon and Carter minutes were going to take a hit once Westbrook was signed and that’s on the vets and Perry. But Doug caved on having his better defender(s) in the game in crunch time, instead catering to ego.
This will all become a massive issue as the season goes. Did you see Schroeder sit on the side of the court by the timekeeper table when he got subbed out early 3rd I think it was? Good luck with all of that Doug.
This will all become a massive issue as the season goes. Did you see Schroeder sit on the side of the court by the timekeeper table when he got subbed out early 3rd I think it was? Good luck with all of that Doug.
Padrino
All-Star
Man, I went to bed at halftime, and the Kings were up by 17. I woke up this morning, and they'd lost by 4. Unreal.
They probably win with either Sabonis or Murray healthy, but still, this Suns team is not going to be good. It's the kind of game that guys like DDR, LaVine, Monk, Westbrook, etc. should still have well in hand.
I maintain that the Kings' defense is just going to be plain awful this season. Bottom-third of the league, at best. Bottom-three, at worst. They're going to have to put up 120 to win games with any regularity. And they've got some offensive firepower, so it's not like they're going to crash to the tune of a 17-win finish. But this is probably going to be a pretty miserable season, and they're not going to do themselves any favors by refusing to give Ellis considerable run, nor are they going to do Carter's development any favors by just consigning him to the Land of DNP.
I'm still guessing that we'll all be rooting for losses come mid-December.
They probably win with either Sabonis or Murray healthy, but still, this Suns team is not going to be good. It's the kind of game that guys like DDR, LaVine, Monk, Westbrook, etc. should still have well in hand.
I maintain that the Kings' defense is just going to be plain awful this season. Bottom-third of the league, at best. Bottom-three, at worst. They're going to have to put up 120 to win games with any regularity. And they've got some offensive firepower, so it's not like they're going to crash to the tune of a 17-win finish. But this is probably going to be a pretty miserable season, and they're not going to do themselves any favors by refusing to give Ellis considerable run, nor are they going to do Carter's development any favors by just consigning him to the Land of DNP.
I'm still guessing that we'll all be rooting for losses come mid-December.
Eubanks had a few nice blocks but he was pretty bad overall. Missed assignments galore and for some reason he keeps taking ISO possessions on offense.
Max and Cardwell both flashed at times last night. Certainly would rather prioritize them getting consistent playing time over Eubanks, but hey
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
Yep Car. Dave called it arguably a worse move than the Bagley pick. His reasoning was one could think Bagley could be good but MGMT should have known about LaVine. He was a known quantity and they did it anyway.
sactowndog
Hall of Famer
We all should be rooting for losses but come on man it’s King’s fans. A vocal minority contribute to the problem by never wanting to do a real rebuild.