[Game] Golden State Warriors (6) @ Sacramento Kings (3) (WCDS Game 7, 3-3) 4/30/2023 12:30pm Pacific 3:30pm Eastern (ABC)

[ESP47]

Yes, Kevin was the one that didn't show up all series, but Huerter isn't going to bench himself. Coach should had taken him out a long time ago. He would of had a better chance to get going against the Warriors bench.

I'm not saying Brown is not good, he's a really good coach. He's the best coach we've had since Adelman. However, I hope he learns from this playoff series loss and realize the playoffs are a chess game played over 2 weeks. You need to adjust on the fly, like Kerr did. Kerr adjusted from half to half of every game.

Did Kerr really make a bunch of adjustments though? He stopped playing Kuminga, played Divincenzo less and less as the series went on and then his big move was keeping Poole in the starting lineup when Draymond got suspended. But he went back to his original starting lineup for game 7.

Brown didn't make as many adjustments but he did go to the small ball lineup and then put Domas and Huerter back in at the right time, which won game 6. Other than that he limited Barnes and Huerter's minutes a little bit but I don't know if there was a whole lot else he could do there. It's difficult when your 3rd and 4th best offensive weapons just go ice cold for basically an entire series. Basically everyone shot pretty poorly from the field. Davion could have played more but the Kings still lose that game if Curry scores 35 instead of 50.

Domas shot 49%. Keegan shot 45%. Everyone else was 42% and lower. Their 3pt percentages were all poor as well. I mean it seemed like Monk had a hell of a series but he still only shot 41% from the field and 33% from 3. No one outside of Keegan and TD shot better than 33% from distance. Brown can only do so much when most of his roster is bricking everything in sight. Yeah the uptick in defense has a lot to do with it but the Kings also missed a ton of open 3s that they normally sink. Huerter jacked up 39 3s at the tune of 21%. That's just downright bad.

 

[KainLear]

I am no expert in the TPA metric but Barnes at the origin seems amazingly on brand.

Am I reading this correctly in that it suggests offense, not defense, was the problem in this series?

We couldn't score. Outside of Fox and Monk, all series we missed most of our shots, contested or not.

 

[TaxMan]

We couldn't score. Outside of Fox and Monk, all series we missed most of our shots, contested or not.

yep... unless we see that play out again in future playoffs, I chalk a lot of that up to lack of playoff experience (HB being the main exception to that....).

 

[hrdboild]

This isn't rocket science. The series changed when Fox broke his finger near the end of Game 5.* Curry went into superstar mode to carry his team in Game 7 and Fox couldn't because his superweapon is speed and shiftiness and he couldn't grip the ball. We've been winning all year by keeping the score reasonably close for 3 quarters and then unleashing the clutch player of the year to bring us across the finish line. Our guys gritted out Game 6 with huge contributions from the bench squad (Monk, Lyles and Davis) but we ultimately got to the last 4th quarter of the season and Fox wasn't able to do his thing. It just is what it is.

EDIT: My mistake, it was the end of Game 4.

 

[KainLear]

This isn't rocket science. The series changed when Fox broke his finger near the end of Game 5. Curry went into superstar mode to carry his team in Game 7 and Fox couldn't because his superweapon is speed and shiftiness and he couldn't grip the ball. We've been winning all year by keeping the score reasonably close for 3 quarters and then unleashing the clutch player of the year to bring us across the finish line. Our guys gritted out Game 6 with huge contributions from the bench squad (Monk, Lyles and Davis) but we ultimately got to the last 4th quarter of the season and Fox wasn't able to do his thing. It just is what it is.

This more or less summed it up.

I would still very much want to know just how difficult Davion Mitchell could've made every single of that 50 points for Steph Curry.

But we'll never know so I can't be bothered by that forever.

 

[Livinthedream]

This more or less summed it up.

I would still very much want to know just how difficult Davion Mitchell could've made every single of that 50 points for Steph Curry.

But we'll never know so I can't be bothered by that forever.

The issue for me wasn't that TD played over Davion. It was that the reason to play TD was that he helps to spread the floor more than Davion, thus giving space for Fox and Monk to get to the basket. But Fox couldn't handle the ball, so his drives were ineffective. Someone on the Kings bench needed to pick up on that quickly and put Davion back in.

I've said before, TD is the guy that would get me fired as a coach, because he seems to have limitless potential and I'd keep playing him.

Someone needed to tap Brown on tbe shoulder and say TDs had enough run for the day.

 

[The_Jamal]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1653045358698676224

Checks out. Domas was significantly better on defense than offense this series. And just overall, this was the best stretch of defense the Kings played all year.... the league best offense just never showed up

 

[Joshoua]

The issue for me wasn't that TD played over Davion. It was that the reason to play TD was that he helps to spread the floor more than Davion, thus giving space for Fox and Monk to get to the basket. But Fox couldn't handle the ball, so his drives were ineffective. Someone on the Kings bench needed to pick up on that quickly and put Davion back in.

I've said before, TD is the guy that would get me fired as a coach, because he seems to have limitless potential and I'd keep playing him.

Someone needed to tap Brown on tbe shoulder and say TDs had enough run for the day.

na I would’ve sent him to the showers after he gambled twice at half court leading to Steph layups and the two times he went under on the screens

 

[dude12]

Yes, Kevin was the one that didn't show up all series, but Huerter isn't going to bench himself. Coach should had taken him out a long time ago. He would of had a better chance to get going against the Warriors bench.

I'm not saying Brown is not good, he's a really good coach. He's the best coach we've had since Adelman. However, I hope he learns from this playoff series loss and realize the playoffs are a chess game played over 2 weeks. You need to adjust on the fly, like Kerr did. Kerr adjusted from half to half of every game.

You mean Brown going small in game 6 wasn’t an adjustment? I thought both coaches made adjustments that worked and also didn’t work.

 

[dude12]

We couldn't score. Outside of Fox and Monk, all series we missed most of our shots, contested or not.

And that in the end was what lost us the series…..and the rebounding. If we shoot and make our 3’s at a higher clip, then we win the series. I’m amazed that we took it to 7 games because overall we didn’t shoot to our norms……specifically the 3 ball. I don’t put that on Brown.

 

[Livinthedream]

And that in the end was what lost us the series…..and the rebounding. If we shoot and make our 3’s at a higher clip, then we win the series. I’m amazed that we took it to 7 games because overall we didn’t shoot to our norms……specifically the 3 ball. I don’t put that on Brown.

Kings win this series going away if Huerter and HB shoot their average.

 

[ockingsfan]

You mean Brown going small in game 6 wasn’t an adjustment? I thought both coaches made adjustments that worked and also didn’t work.

My main issue with Brown substitutions was that he didn't go to Davion to cover Curry, especially in the 2nd half of game 7.

Curry had something like 26 pts going into halftime and Huerter was still not hitting anything. Coming out of half, Davion should had been inserted into the starting 5 and been on Curry to start the 2nd half. Davion barely played Game 7. Mitchell played 8 minutes total, that's ridiculous when Curry went off for a record 50 pts.

Brown literally left one of the best man on man defenders in the NBA on the bench when Curry is going off for 50 pts. If we lose with Davion on Curry all game, this loss would have been easier to swallow.

 

[mrlaze]

I think this was a hard series for the dubs to win, where as the kings just missed(a few critical) shots.

 

[KainLear]

And that in the end was what lost us the series…..and the rebounding. If we shoot and make our 3’s at a higher clip, then we win the series. I’m amazed that we took it to 7 games because overall we didn’t shoot to our norms……specifically the 3 ball. I don’t put that on Brown.

We beat them in game 1 and 2 and we shot the ball terribly.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

The Suns have a window now. Later? Later might never come and before the deadline it was sinking into oblivion.

LOL, "sinking into oblivion" my butt. The Suns had a minor setback after making it to the Finals in a fluke season: they weren't sinking into anything. They got to the Finals with a 24 year-old superstar, bolstered by two more 24 year-old guys on the come-up, a 22 year-old defensive anchor, and a 35 year-old "cagy" veteran on his last stand. And instead of building around the then-24 year-olds, the GM panicked when they stumbled out of the gate and, because the new team Governor wanted to make a big splash, they pushed all their chips towards the center of the table to try and win within the now-37 year-old's window, instead of staying the course and doing the smart thing of continuing to build around the core of 26/24 year-olds. And it's not going to work, and two years from now, when there's nothing left of Paul and Durant but dust, and Ayton has sulked his way off the team, there's going to be nothing left in Phoenix but a seething Devin Booker. And tumbleweeds.

Once they went all in to keep Ayton they were committed. When you commit, you commit. The Kings are closer to that now themselves.

It's hard to say that the Suns went all-in on Ayton, when they didn't offer him the max, even if they eventually matched the Pacers' offer, but that may be splitting hairs. But the bolded part appears to be the source of our disconnect: your argument seems to be built on the foundation of that premise. I reject that premise entirely, and don't believe it to be true.

 

[SacTownKid]

LOL, "sinking into oblivion" my butt. The Suns had a minor setback after making it to the Finals in a fluke season: they weren't sinking into anything. They got to the Finals with a 24 year-old superstar, bolstered by two more 24 year-old guys on the come-up, a 22 year-old defensive anchor, and a 35 year-old "cagy" veteran on his last stand. And instead of building around the then-24 year-olds, the GM panicked when they stumbled out of the gate and, because the new team Governor wanted to make a big splash, they pushed all their chips towards the center of the table to try and win within the now-37 year-old's window, instead of staying the course and doing the smart thing of continuing to build around the core of 26/24 year-olds. And it's not going to work, and two years from now, when there's nothing left of Paul and Durant but dust, and Ayton has sulked his way off the team, there's going to be nothing left in Phoenix but a seething Devin Booker. And tumbleweeds.



It's hard to say that the Suns went all-in on Ayton, when they didn't offer him the max, even if they eventually matched the Pacers' offer, but that may be splitting hairs. But the bolded part appears to be the source of our disconnect: your argument seems to be built on the foundation of that premise. I reject that premise entirely, and don't believe it to be true.

Yes, we very much have a disconnect if you think going from 64 wins to possibly out of the playoffs in the span of one season was "minor".

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Yes, we very much have a disconnect if you think going from 64 wins to possibly out of the playoffs in the span of one season was "minor".

In a span of four years, the Golden State Warriors went from losing in the Finals to the lottery, to losing in the play-in, to winning the championship. So yeah, I call a one-year letdown "minor." If you believe in what you are building/have built, you stay the course.

 

[SacTownKid]

In a span of four years, the Golden State Warriors went from losing in the Finals to the lottery, to losing in the play-in, to winning the championship. So yeah, I call a one-year letdown "minor." If you believe in what you are building/have built, you stay the course.

Yes and injuries were the cause. Totally difference scenarios.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Yes and injuries were the cause. Totally difference scenarios.

And yet that's a good way to create/sustain a dynasty. DRob's injury (to a lesser extent Sean Elliott) allowed the Spurs to draft Duncan. The Warriors would have been possibly set up for another decade of success had 2020 not been the COVID draft year - maybe they don't blow the pick on Wiseman?

What harm would the Suns team have had dipping into the lotto this year and possibly getting another foundational piece? They turned a 5-7 year window (before possible lotto luck) into a 2-3 year window.

 

[SacTownKid]

And yet that's a good way to create/sustain a dynasty. DRob's injury (to a lesser extent Sean Elliott) allowed the Spurs to draft Duncan. The Warriors would have been possibly set up for another decade of success had 2020 not been the COVID draft year - maybe they don't blow the pick on Wiseman?

What harm would the Suns team have had dipping into the lotto this year and possibly getting another foundational piece? They turned a 5-7 year window (before possible lotto luck) into a 2-3 year window.

But you can't control that though. What if DRob got hurt in a year where Kenyon Martin was there waiting at 1? Yeah, but they didn't just go out and get a nobody they arguably got one of the top 5 players in the league, haha. And the question I'm raising is how they would have been able to add that type of player if need be in that longer window with a stuffed cap? It was coming to the point where they were cementing themselves on the that roster and, yes, the same roster that went from 64 wins to play in fodder with a very negative tone around it. Other teams don't just stand still either. What they do can sometimes push teams at the top down a little. Ask the Grizzlies about that one. Maybe even the Kings. I think a 5-7 year window is a long time, not very common, and a 5-7 year window isn't always a straight climb up, sometimes it's an arch. Perhaps that team was already on the downslope of that arch. Maybe not. Who knows. As for windows, I think the goal should always be to open it as wide as you can if it makes sense at the time. HOF level players still putting up the numbers a KD does? Not the worst gamble IMO. With the Suns, I can see why they did what they did and it's those kind of cajones that can get you places. They didn't give up their superstar in the process they added to him so good for them.

 

[KainLear]

In a span of four years, the Golden State Warriors went from losing in the Finals to the lottery, to losing in the play-in, to winning the championship. So yeah, I call a one-year letdown "minor." If you believe in what you are building/have built, you stay the course.

This. 1000%.

Upon reflection, poor coaching adjustment at key moments aside, the Kings lost due to our over-reliant on Sabonis being the hub. Once that hub got locked up, we had to resort to Fox/Monk freelance iso (within the system of movement) to get the first 2 wins with Golden State. It's why we couldn't make a bucket because the diversity of shot appetite is gone, that's what Huerter mainly excels in. (In my mind, had we made the appropriate changes like matching Davion's minute in Game 7 with Steph, I think we could totally have won Game 7. Even if he still managed to score 50 and beat us, I can live with that knowing that my players had tried all they can.)

What we need is not an overhaul, to refer to the bolded statement above, we should believe in what we are building if it managed to make history. We shouldn't do anything too drastic that could affect team chemistry. What we should do is add a few key members in different areas to strengthen them, namely defense and offensive diversity.

And lastly, we must not be afraid to pivot with certain things, I would love to see HB back (in a smaller role) but I wouldn't hesitate to put him in a deal if I can get back someone who can provide things on the court that HB couldn't provide. As much as it pains me to say, it could be that HB is only good enough to help us get here, especially seeing how he slowly dimmed when the lights get brighter. He might have the veteran sense to know when he needs to force a bucket or at least some free throws to stop the bleeding but we need more than just be able to draw some fouls. We need someone who not only knows when to insert himself but also has a refined skill set to actually get a bucket at will. It's what Kyrie did to us in that last Mavs game we played. (Not saying Kyrie is the solution, I'm just picking on both his willingness and understanding of the timing when he needs to insert himself and the ability to actually score consistently during those trying times. And we definitely don't need a star for that, it all comes from BBIQ knowing when to attack whom and in what ways.)

Monte needs to realize this is now a Playoffs team and thus need to make adjustment accordingly. If we are too hesitant to pivot, the compadre can quickly turn into complacency. And THAT'S how teams regress after a Playoffs season.

 

[coolhandluke]

After a more thorough rewatching and reflecting, I think it is Brown's fault for the delayed adjustments in the game, possibly having too much respect for the Dubs like "Steph is gonna be Steph" kinda way. Even though over the whole game 7, Steph was really the only one who was capable of beating us. Outside of a few shots from Wiggins, and some Klay's free throws, no one on that team got anything offensively.

Nailed it. That's why leaving your best defender on the bench was a blunder.

 

[Livinthedream]

Nailed it. That's why leaving your best defender on the bench was a blunder.

Steph also got a ton of points in the paint. Other option was to put Len in and let him use his 6 fouls. Either way, Dubs were forcing Brown to make an adjustment and it never happened.

I'm not going to beat up on Brown though, because like many have said, if the Kings players hit some open shots, this is a different series.

 

[ppine]

Curry got 50 and we lost.

 

[fansinceday1]

Man, it really sucks hearing all the warrior/laker talk. Down in my gut, i know the kings are the better team. The KINGS should be opening up the 2nd round here at G1C today, not the friggin warriors at the lame a$$ chase center. Yeah, my butts a little chapped. Why did all our shooters have to go cold at the same time??????? Damn.............

 

[fansinceday1]

Listening to 95.7 this morning, they spent some time questioning quite a few decisions that Coach Brown made, including not playing Murray enough. Murray started out bad but he worked his way out of his funk and brown forgot about him on the bench while Huerter was continuing to kill us from the 3 point line. 95.7 is right, Brown out-thought himself, especially in game 7.

 

[Vinny Basketballerino]

Steph also got a ton of points in the paint. Other option was to put Len in and let him use his 6 fouls. Either way, Dubs were forcing Brown to make an adjustment and it never happened.

I'm not going to beat up on Brown though, because like many have said, if the Kings players hit some open shots, this is a different series.

This is one thing I was disappointed in. Len had been SHUTTING DOWN the paint for the last three weeks of the regular season. If we could do it over again I'd have put in Len and Davion and go hard lockdown mode on defense. Offense, we can still make it work with those guys in. Len would have severely disrupted Curry's drives, which would have allowed Davion, etc., to play him tighter on the perimeter - which is what we saw previously.

 

[Vinny Basketballerino]

Basically, they took away our number one weapon: the DHO through Sabonis, but we didn't take away theirs: Steph going nuts.

We should have single mindedly focused on shutting down steph the way they did on Sabonis by any means necessary.

Ugh. I'm still salty!

 

[iowamcnabb]

One other thing regarding the 3 point shooting is we had been trending downward percentage wise near the end of the season and then it carried on through the playoffs.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

Checks out. Domas was significantly better on defense than offense this series. And just overall, this was the best stretch of defense the Kings played all year.... the league best offense just never showed up

That's what often happens when expending so much energy on the other end.

That's why most offensive-minded players don't do defense so well. And vice versa.

It's only the truly elite that can do it on both ends and sustain. But even then, it usually comes at a cost in terms of production, dependent upon which receives the most focus.

During the regular season, the KINGS were heavily offensive focused and the defense suffered (except in bursts during Q4 and the final minutes).
During the postseason, the KINGS were heavily defensive focused and the offense suffered. We know they can score. But their legs were effected.