[Game] Kings @ OKC Thunder- 4/9/2024 - 5:00PM PDT/8:00PM EDT

[Srzly]

I would have almost preferred going with Len over Sabonis this game for his defense since Sabonis was not bringing anything offensively. He just didn’t have it.

I think if he has even an average game we win this one. Just unfortunate.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

im hoping what he he does, does not work in the playoffs. “Let them play” as they say. It’s my least favorite part of nba basketball so I’m incredibly biased. Just can’t stand watching SGA and other “foul merchants”

I'm equally frustrated with guys who just launch tons of "settle" 3's, when they have elite talent of taking it to the defense

 

[SacTownKid]

im hoping what he he does, does not work in the playoffs. “Let them play” as they say. It’s my least favorite part of nba basketball so I’m incredibly biased. Just can’t stand watching SGA and other “foul merchants”

Who knows, maybe it won't. As soon as the NBA said, "We're not going to reward foul hunting" basically, I got worried. Like, that totally benefits teams like New York and LA. F that.

 

[hrdboild]

At no point did FTA look like the better player over Fox this game. It’s so painful to watch OKC games. He travels, shoves Davion to make space, then hits the shot that sealed it. So irritating.

I see what you did there!

 

[KingsFanSince85]

Fox, Kings FO and the coaches need to get in the lab this offseason and study how SGA draws fouls.

So does Steph Curry, then. Cause even he never got calls like this either.

The only players on par are Giannis and #77. Giannis at least makes sense.

 

[PorchSurfin]

He shot 17 threes tonight and made just over 41% of them. That's pretty much a Steph Curry shooting night. And Keon Ellis had a pretty good Klay Thompson shooting night himself (8 for 15). The trouble is we were better as a team offense when Fox was getting to the basket and everyone else was making the threes. And tonight was a perfect example of why... Shai and Chet are shooting free throws every time down the floor and we're shooting threes and hoping enough of them go in to regain the lead.

Fox started 5 of 7. Finished 2 of 10. At least 4 of those should have been him driving BUT he wasn't getting any foul calls so I get why it ended up where it did. Fox is athletic in his drives, Shai is methodical. Should Fox get the same calls? Absolutely. But I think Fox is almost too quick for the refs to make the decision.

In any case, Fox should be given the benefit of the doubt. He is a veteran, an All Star, and all NBA player. But he doesn't get a whistle which I can understand frustrates him to no end. Making him settle for 3s.

I wish instead of settling for 3s he would pump fake and take an escape dribble for an 18 footer which is a higher percentage shot, but that'd in the staff to pound into his head.

 

[SacTownKid]

So does Steph Curry, then. Cause even he never got calls like this either.

The only players on par as Giannis and #77. Giannis at least makes sense.

This league might be moving on here. When it does, catch up or don't get left behind.

 

[spok22s]

At least in this game, it's hard to go inside and attack when Sabonis is having an off night. This was a time to draw up plays to get Barnes good looks inside, for example, once the lead got up.

The bigger issue is how not having Sabonis engaged impacted this game missing both Monk and Huerter. The threes have to come from somewhere. 57 is absurd, though. Absolutely absurd.

Moving forward, if this team is to have any chance, players are going to have to step up in a way they may not have been ready for. I've seen Len, Lyles, Mitchell and Ellis have shown it. We really need the Black Falcon to rise in a bad way. Ditto Murray, who has been kinda quiet, and Sabonis is going to have to put up more points as well.

We've been waiting on Barnes for years. I'd say it's about time we keep him on the bench permanently or only give him spot minutes. He's never going to be someone we can count on to be productive.

 

[NewArena]

After all this, the suns and pelicans still may be giving us a chance tonight. Crazy

 

[NewArena]

Huerter and Monk also give Sabonis 3-4 easy baskets a night. Losing them is so much more than just losing two shooters

 

[fansinceday1]

Mike brown saying they passed up on open shots beyond the arc? Did i miss something?

 

[PorchSurfin]

well mate , this is what MB shows us ...
he had bad game agaisnt boston so lets freeze him out till the end of the season ...
My comment was huge irony by the way ...

Stop blaming Mike Brown for Sasha. I understand you are here because of Sasha but this is not the Sacramento Vezenkovs. We want to see Sasha do well but he has to earn it. Making almost every one of your posts about Sasha and him not getting PT is getting old.

 

[Spike]

This reflects what I've seen this year too. His go-to move in the paint has been either a 10 foot floater over the defense or to quickly throw the ball off the back board before the shot blocker can get to it. It's a neat trick but it's also impacted his overall FG% in a negative way. The NBA has been pretty consistent about one thing -- if a player goes in hard and gets bumped off their line, it's typically a shooting foul. Fox adapting to avoid contact makes him a craftier player but it's also meant he doesn't get the benefit even when there is contact because he's usually fading away from it.

I hate that this how things are -- becoming a more skilled player and actually making your shots means you get rewarded with FTs less often than a lesser skilled player who just brute forces their way to the basket and jumps into contact -- but since we all know that this is the way things are, why not take advantage of it?

So yes, I can understand some of the criticism of Fox's shot selection and overall approach this season, but only to a point. Because if he were on the Lakers or Celtics he'd be getting those same 8-10 FTA attempts as every other star guard in the league and we all know it. As Sacramento fans we should at least be aware of the Sacramento tax and not hold our best players responsible for it.

Ain't that the truth.

 

[Spike]

Mike brown saying they passed up on open shots beyond the arc? Did i miss something?

Shots from 40 ft were virtually unguarded. Take more from the logo.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

Mike brown saying they passed up on open shots beyond the arc? Did i miss something?

He actually thinks they should have shot more 3's than 58 attempts? Wow

 

[Kingz19]

Mike brown saying they passed up on open shots beyond the arc? Did i miss something?

He was still fuming about a three Barnes passed up in the third quarter that led to a turnover. He would’ve bricked it.

They lost for the same reasons they blew the Knicks game. The defense took a dump in the second half and they stopped making shots

 

[KingsFanSince85]

im hoping what he he does, does not work in the playoffs. “Let them play” as they say. It’s my least favorite part of nba basketball so I’m incredibly biased. Just can’t stand watching SGA and other “foul merchants”

He’s another version of the Bearded Hag. Except he plays far, far superior defense and doesn’t travel quite as much.

#77 is another that’s tough to watch for the same reasons. Phenomenal talent, everyone agrees. But boy does he often run into traffic completely out of control flailing all his appendages and get bailed out.

Giannis is the only one that really makes sense to me. That dude plays largely around or going to the rim and both physically and aggressively. Embiid is another that makes sense, when he’s healthy of course.

 

[SacTownKid]

We've been waiting on Barnes for years. I'd say it's about time we keep him on the bench permanently or only give him spot minutes. He's never going to be someone we can count on to be productive.

It would be nice to think moving Barnes to the bench is the key, but it's probably not. Monte McNair is literally at the point where if he re-signs Monk to his max, an even roughly half MLE signing means going into the first apron. Nope. Doesn't cut it likely.

 

[ick300]

Stop blaming Mike Brown for Sasha. I understand you are here because of Sasha but this is not the Sacramento Vezenkovs. We want to see Sasha do well but he has to earn it. Making almost every one of your posts about Sasha and him not getting PT is getting old.

I disagree on so many thing you wrote that i will just say ok and will avoid to write anymore ...
Just try to explain me how we are the team in the league that blows the biggest amount of games where we lead by 19plus points at some part of the game ....
Who should be blamed for that ? Me ? You ? The guys on the bench , the cleaning stuff or the people coaching the team ??

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Fox shot 7-17 (41% for 1.2 points per shot) on threes and 5-12 (41% for 0.8 points per shot) on twos getting hacked with no calls. And people wonder why he takes more threes? If Fox is getting that SGA whistle, I'll ask him to drive on every possession.

Three point shots are an inevitable counter weapon when you are playing 5-on-8.

This is the legitimate issue if he can’t buy a call of course he’s falling in love with the 3. I just got home and won’t be watching but I’ve seen it enough all season.

 

[Tizzy Flip]

I don't know what "effort" is supposed to mean in this context. Fox had more rebounds, more assists, more made baskets, and less turnovers than SGA in this game. On the season he's now closed the gap in steals between them to less than 10. The only real effort I see from SGA is putting his head down and running into defenders. Fox has tried that before and he doesn't get the calls.

You know what I mean. There isn’t a single player that turns it off and on more than Deaaron. It’s his MO since he was a rookie.

 

[Tizzy Flip]

Complete nonsense. A more apt example would be certain members of this board putting in more effort with their contributions than others.

SGA is a phenomenal player, but the amount of FTA’s he gets bailed out with in comparison to Fox, who attacks and gets hit/hacked as much as anyone, is beyond ridiculous. Even Steph Curry in his prime never got to the line near as much. And he gets hacked a ton too.

Spoken like a true homer

 

[Jones2006]

Side note - Why was Kessler Edwards glued to the bench this game? Honestly he's a guy I'd prefer to guard SGA & Jalen Williams over Mitchell, at least for some stretch. Seemed like SGA figured out the smaller guard defense as the game went along ... Edwards would have offered more resistance

 

[TheMobb]

Huerter and Monk also give Sabonis 3-4 easy baskets a night. Losing them is so much more than just losing two shooters

You can see the difference in space Sabonis gets with Huerter coming off the DHO and Keon.

 

[iowamcnabb]

Now only 1 game ahead of the Warriors in the loss column. Where does the tie breaker currently stand with them?

we would own the tie breaker because the Warriors have a terrible conference record.

 

[SacTownKid]

You know what I mean. There isn’t a single player that turns it off and on more than Deaaron. It’s his MO since he was a rookie.

Yeah, but what other team that's expecting to win big has one player like him? No, they have two at least or a difference maker at the rim. The Kings have unique build and will have to accommodate.

 

[Tetsujin]

Side note - Why was Kessler Edwards glued to the bench this game? Honestly he's a guy I'd prefer to guard SGA & Jalen Williams over Mitchell, at least for some stretch. Seemed like SGA figured out the smaller guard defense as the game went along ... Edwards would have offered more resistance

“Figured them out”? He traveled twice on one possession and hit a desperation shot and then foul baited for the last couple of minutes. Only way Kess could do any better is if he had an agreement with the refs that they would turn a blind eye to him physically assaulting the man.

 

[ick300]

we would own the tie breaker because the Warriors have a terrible conference record.

Which is the first criterea in the tie breaker ? the h2h of the season ?

 

[Tetsujin]

Which is the first criterea in the tie breaker ? the h2h of the season ?

Yep. And it’s 2-2 there so we go on to conference record.

 

[Tizzy Flip]

Yeah, but what other team that's expecting to win big has one player like him? No, they have two at least or a difference maker at the rim. The Kings have unique build and will have to accommodate.

That’s the dilemma we face. Deaaron is not a player you can build around. He’s Westbrook. You need a Durant or Kawhi type to complement him. The sooner we realize that the better off we’ll be