Good news, everyone!
Hawks upset the Suns; Kings are back to a game ahead of Phoenix for the fifth seed; two games up in the loss column.
Slim standings watching in Feb?
What are you, some kind of Kings fan?
[Game] Kings @ Indiana Pacers, 2/2/2024, 4:30p PT/7:30p ET
- Thread starter QWERTYLICIOUS
- Start date
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Slim standings watching in Feb?
What are you, some kind of Kings fan?
NewArena
All-Star
LIGHT THAT MF’ing BEAM!! Just watched my recording of the game from start to finish and i am super impressed with our squad, specifically our defensive effort after quarter 1, before they started calling BS ticky tack fouls on the Kings. You could hear Mike Brown’s voice throughout most of this game, coaching his butt off and matching the energy of our players. This game felt like last season in so many different ways, mainly due to the fire and hunger the Kings came out with.
NewArena
All-Star
Fox is the right point guard and a lot harder to guard, eh? 
The Kings patience and poise tonight was another thing i noticed. I didn’t have the same sense of panic i normally have down the stretch, mainly because they didn’t play too anxiously themselves. Some silly turnovers jumping and passing with nowhere to go, but, things the Kings can easily clean up.
Btw, trading HB would damn near be “malpractice” at this point. I truly can’t imagine such a decision right now.
The Kings patience and poise tonight was another thing i noticed. I didn’t have the same sense of panic i normally have down the stretch, mainly because they didn’t play too anxiously themselves. Some silly turnovers jumping and passing with nowhere to go, but, things the Kings can easily clean up.Btw, trading HB would damn near be “malpractice” at this point. I truly can’t imagine such a decision right now.
Nah, I was prepping the nightly Big Man update, and happened to notice.
There's only one thing that the Kings can do to get me back on the bandwagon, and that's something that they've only done one other time in my lifetime: they have to win a game on my birthday.
NewArena
All-Star
I have more faith in Domas in the low block, than i ever did in Cousins. Big Cuz is a special talent that got in his head too often, and you never truly knew what you were gonna get. Sabonis is just the epitome of consistency and set the tone from the very start of this one. Also, HUGE shout out to Kessler Edwards. Another example of Monte McNair flat out being great at his job
I'll say this, as a big Cousins fan: one thing you'll never have to worry about with Sabonis is him falling in love with his three-pointer.
Kingz19
Hall of Famer
Nice win. A little sloppy and the damn free throws again but I’ll take a win.
I’m so glad the Kings didn’t get Siakam. I just don’t see how he would fit and I’m kinda concerned that Monte seemed to think he would fit. Also the guy was getting away with murder out there and still managed to have a clunker. He would’ve drove us nuts.
Not going to see too many games where Tyrese has more turnovers than assists. Despite his ascent.
I’ve noticed he really hasn’t played well vs the Kings in any of the matchups since the trade.
Not true for Sabonis though. Excellent performance by Domas in his return post All Star snub.
HB another strong game. Even though he went cold in the Miami game what was encouraging was that he didn’t disappear. He just didn’t make any of his shots. As long as he’s involved we can expect him to have more good games than not. He seems very dialed in like he is actually having fun out there.
Bench was very good
First excellent Monk game in awhile and Trey was huge.
Kessler Edwards was a difference maker. It just shows how big of an impact even a lower level lengthy athletic wing like Kessler can have defensively. If the Kings ever manage to land a high level one with a consistent perimeter shot..then it will unlock another level.
Fox was solid. The free throws are annoying me but he played good defense after the first quarter. I was waiting for him to take the McConnell nonsense personally and he finally did.
Huerter was ok. He had a lot of sloppy moments but hit some big shots. He seems to be fully back into his last season form though. 15 a game guy, will grab some rebounds and get some assists. Draws a lot of attention.
Quiet night for Keegan.
Kings clinch a winning road trip. Time to get greedy.
I’m so glad the Kings didn’t get Siakam. I just don’t see how he would fit and I’m kinda concerned that Monte seemed to think he would fit. Also the guy was getting away with murder out there and still managed to have a clunker. He would’ve drove us nuts.
Not going to see too many games where Tyrese has more turnovers than assists. Despite his ascent.
I’ve noticed he really hasn’t played well vs the Kings in any of the matchups since the trade.
Not true for Sabonis though. Excellent performance by Domas in his return post All Star snub.
HB another strong game. Even though he went cold in the Miami game what was encouraging was that he didn’t disappear. He just didn’t make any of his shots. As long as he’s involved we can expect him to have more good games than not. He seems very dialed in like he is actually having fun out there.
Bench was very good
First excellent Monk game in awhile and Trey was huge.
Kessler Edwards was a difference maker. It just shows how big of an impact even a lower level lengthy athletic wing like Kessler can have defensively. If the Kings ever manage to land a high level one with a consistent perimeter shot..then it will unlock another level.
Fox was solid. The free throws are annoying me but he played good defense after the first quarter. I was waiting for him to take the McConnell nonsense personally and he finally did.
Huerter was ok. He had a lot of sloppy moments but hit some big shots. He seems to be fully back into his last season form though. 15 a game guy, will grab some rebounds and get some assists. Draws a lot of attention.
Quiet night for Keegan.
Kings clinch a winning road trip. Time to get greedy.
NewArena
All-Star
I was impressed with Sabonis and Huerter at the foul line. Domas in particular, looked super comfortable up there and every shot was nothing but net. I still would love for that to translate into that free throw line, elbow jumper we used to get back in the day from Brad Miller but i guess we can’t have it all right now. One improvement at a time!
NewArena
All-Star
Very true. Also, playing so angry that he goes barraling into the paint committing unnecessary offensive fouls. I don’t mean to derail the thread or pile on one of my favorite Kings, but, it’s just something i thought about, each time Sabonis took his time and didn’t sweat any double teams or traps that the Pacers threw his way.
NewArena
All-Star
Awesome post! I have a feeling the Kings will get greedy and put the league on notice. I saw Windhorst make some snarky remark last night, saying “It’s not like the Kings are tearing up the league”, as Perkins was advocating for us to have two all stars down in Indiana for the all star game lol as if everyone above the Kings in the standings are just dominating the entire league.
No issue with the precious Lakers having two selections of course.
coolhandluke
Starter
Hell yeah! That's the fire I want win or lose.
Yeah, I'll love Cousins forever, but I'm not going to pretend that it wasn't frustrating how easily he could be baited into losing his composure. Sabonis gets drummed in the head like his name was Snare, and just keeps going.
NewArena
All-Star
It was incredible. We’re so lucky to have a coach like Mike Brown, going back and forth with Carlisle on the other side, playing chess. This one felt like a playoff game after quarter number 1 ended
Naaaah will be Doncic or booker cause they had a big night and another 40 plus each ….
This ain’t for a guy with “just” double double every single game in the month …. Not enough …
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megapoxy
Starter
Just finished watching it with a bit of delay... great win, great performance, a pity how we managed to lose the same game back at home.
All players were tremendous today, somehow Keegan was quite passive especially in the 2nd half, I think he had a block not credited to him somehow checking at the boxscore. It's like he "switched" places with Barnes in efforts, rebounds etc, but he was good at the defensive part guarding several players.
Barnes was very good from the start (i think he hit his first 4 or 5 shots early in 1st quarter, had some "weird" quick release 3 pointers in 2nd half but overall he was amazing.
Fox had a sloppy start, i think in the first 2 minutes he lost the ball after an Indiana basket and just froze and I thought he would be having a sort of mental breakdown, but he woke up, took at last many shots close to the paint and was a beast in defense having 6 steals (tying his career high) leaving Hali with just 1 assist and 5 turnovers in the 22' he played. Sure he wasn't guarding him the whole time but he did several times (while Hali was never on him obviously when the Kings had the ball).
Sabonis had an All Star/All NBA performance, as you guys wrote before it seemed from the start that he had much to prove and maybe pissed losing the 1.3 million dollar bonus in his contract (no clue if it still stands if he makes it as a replacement), but here is the thing... At some point late in the 3rd he forced himself to get a rebound with the ball going out ending in Indiana taking again possession of the ball from out of bounds. In those few seconds before the refs give the Pacers the ball, camera was on him and he was struggling to see at the jumbotron something as if the rebound was credited to him. It's pretty normal, when going for a record to check those things I guess but don't put yourself in front of the team. He didn't have many rebounds in the 1st half as the fellow Balkan indicated but he dominated the glass in the 2nd.
Huerter was good, filled the stats with rebounds and assists, played good defense, had those "cuts" to the basket for 2 easy buckets (one was a dunk), and all his 3 3pointers were made when Indiana was trying to cut the margin.
Malik Monk, the return of the King, he came out of his slump and brought the energy coming from the bench setting the tone and turning the game around with his presence. He was much more careful with the ball, avoided the too flashy movements and hopefully he will be back being himself again from now on.
Kessler was phenomenal in the defense, it was needed for him to get extended minutes so not the whole lineup to play almost 40 minutes on the first game of a back to back weekend, I don't know the last time he played that much in none garbage time, perhaps last season?
Lyles that grew up in Indiana (according to Kyle Draper) found his rhythm in attack, hitting all 3 of his first 3 pointers (missed one after that the ball rimmed out) and contributed playing as a center with both McGee and Len not seeing the floor.
Last but not least Davion was much better than the boxscore indicates, he had at least a couple of times that he caused a turnover or bad shot selection for the Pacers, missed 2 open 3 pointers (the first one coming straight after he entered) but found his way to score close to the basket.
So the only things that didn't look good were... the free throws and the turnovers, which kind of makes sense playing at a very high tempo, Pacers had 6 more and they would have even more if Mathurin was called for traveling at least twice.
It would be much better if we hadn't pulled our feet from the gas and created a big margin so to rest the starters late in the game with a big match coming at Chicago and I am curious to see if the team has enough stamina left to be competitive on a back to back night facing a decent opponent that is on the rise lately.
All players were tremendous today, somehow Keegan was quite passive especially in the 2nd half, I think he had a block not credited to him somehow checking at the boxscore. It's like he "switched" places with Barnes in efforts, rebounds etc, but he was good at the defensive part guarding several players.
Barnes was very good from the start (i think he hit his first 4 or 5 shots early in 1st quarter, had some "weird" quick release 3 pointers in 2nd half but overall he was amazing.
Fox had a sloppy start, i think in the first 2 minutes he lost the ball after an Indiana basket and just froze and I thought he would be having a sort of mental breakdown, but he woke up, took at last many shots close to the paint and was a beast in defense having 6 steals (tying his career high) leaving Hali with just 1 assist and 5 turnovers in the 22' he played. Sure he wasn't guarding him the whole time but he did several times (while Hali was never on him obviously when the Kings had the ball).
Sabonis had an All Star/All NBA performance, as you guys wrote before it seemed from the start that he had much to prove and maybe pissed losing the 1.3 million dollar bonus in his contract (no clue if it still stands if he makes it as a replacement), but here is the thing... At some point late in the 3rd he forced himself to get a rebound with the ball going out ending in Indiana taking again possession of the ball from out of bounds. In those few seconds before the refs give the Pacers the ball, camera was on him and he was struggling to see at the jumbotron something as if the rebound was credited to him. It's pretty normal, when going for a record to check those things I guess but don't put yourself in front of the team. He didn't have many rebounds in the 1st half as the fellow Balkan indicated but he dominated the glass in the 2nd.
Huerter was good, filled the stats with rebounds and assists, played good defense, had those "cuts" to the basket for 2 easy buckets (one was a dunk), and all his 3 3pointers were made when Indiana was trying to cut the margin.
Malik Monk, the return of the King, he came out of his slump and brought the energy coming from the bench setting the tone and turning the game around with his presence. He was much more careful with the ball, avoided the too flashy movements and hopefully he will be back being himself again from now on.
Kessler was phenomenal in the defense, it was needed for him to get extended minutes so not the whole lineup to play almost 40 minutes on the first game of a back to back weekend, I don't know the last time he played that much in none garbage time, perhaps last season?
Lyles that grew up in Indiana (according to Kyle Draper) found his rhythm in attack, hitting all 3 of his first 3 pointers (missed one after that the ball rimmed out) and contributed playing as a center with both McGee and Len not seeing the floor.
Last but not least Davion was much better than the boxscore indicates, he had at least a couple of times that he caused a turnover or bad shot selection for the Pacers, missed 2 open 3 pointers (the first one coming straight after he entered) but found his way to score close to the basket.
So the only things that didn't look good were... the free throws and the turnovers, which kind of makes sense playing at a very high tempo, Pacers had 6 more and they would have even more if Mathurin was called for traveling at least twice.
It would be much better if we hadn't pulled our feet from the gas and created a big margin so to rest the starters late in the game with a big match coming at Chicago and I am curious to see if the team has enough stamina left to be competitive on a back to back night facing a decent opponent that is on the rise lately.
GWD
Bench
Did anybody see the interaction between Coach Brown and Fox at the end of the first quarter? Maybe have a clip to post?
The local TV coverage only showed it for 3 or 4 seconds but Fox looked pretty agitated...flailing his arms. Didn't see anything in the game that might explain what it was about so can't speculate on the topic. Never previously have seen him like that.
The local TV coverage only showed it for 3 or 4 seconds but Fox looked pretty agitated...flailing his arms. Didn't see anything in the game that might explain what it was about so can't speculate on the topic. Never previously have seen him like that.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Blacked out of this one but followed gamecast. We’ve had a few games recently where we have big leads and then the other team goes into 3pt Hail Mary chuck mode and unfortunately for us they seem to make a lot of them. Do we need to change our approach in those situations? Run them off the line? Make them beat us with 2s? It’s tough because if you get more aggressive trying to guard the 3s you run the risk of fouling. Aside from that looked like HB was a difference maker in this one. I was a little worried about Domas double double streak but he pulled it off. Before this road trip I said 3-4 would be acceptable so it’s good to know 4-3 is worse case scenerio. The next 2 games will be tough, one on the second night of a back to back and then against one of the hottest teams in the league.
DynaPamm
Bench
Ref modes are unbelievable and frustrating AF
NewArena
All-Star
HB was all over the loose balls he sometimes doesn’t go for, so that was great to see as well. I think having a guy like Kessler out there really makes a difference, as it wasn’t just his defense, but his hustle and effort that were clearly super contagious. Keegan was quiet on offense but his effort was still noticeable on the other side and I’m fine with that. We aren’t going to have 7 guys with 20 points every night
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I honestly think Keegan just took a rest this game 
I watch it somewhere from the 6th minute in the first quarter and without one rejection and one nice layup I hardly see him in the floor …
But he wasn’t needed that much with Kessler HB and Lyles looking good , so hope he will be fresher tomorrow and make one 40 plus piece again …
Also hope that we will see Vezenkov with his 1in already … he was just getting it better and more confident before that injury ….
There are suppose to be some nice group of Bulgarians supporting Kings at Bulls as well so I hope the will bring his motivation even more (if ready to play)
I watch it somewhere from the 6th minute in the first quarter and without one rejection and one nice layup I hardly see him in the floor …
But he wasn’t needed that much with Kessler HB and Lyles looking good , so hope he will be fresher tomorrow and make one 40 plus piece again …
Also hope that we will see Vezenkov with his 1in already … he was just getting it better and more confident before that injury ….
There are suppose to be some nice group of Bulgarians supporting Kings at Bulls as well so I hope the will bring his motivation even more (if ready to play)
It's comical at this point.
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
Beans were lit in Hoosier Town!!!
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