[Game] Play-in Tournament 9/10 game: Kings vs. Mavericks 16 APR 2025, 7pm PT/10pm ET (ESPN)

[Krunker]

I bought tickets to this play in. Worst kings experience I've ever had. Just keystone cops kind of vibe. I really was thinking we could win this one. Was looking forward to playing memphis. But I felt like fool spending money on this and telling people at work how we were going to win.

You are no fool, just a true fan

 

[Section 101]

So the last time they simply had a home court advantage was 2006?

24-17 last year. Better than beam year before by 1 game.
24-17 in 2018 with Joerger.
20-21 in 2013
16-17 in 2012
26-15 in 2008
27-14 in 2006.

All other years were losing records.

 

[Joshyjosh31]

He doesn't have the shooting form to be a star. It's really hard to change form at this point at this level

Doesn’t have the handles either he won’t be close to a star if people think he will they’re in for another rude awakening

 

[jphilip]

Oh wellTDOS heres to a mew kimgs

 

[sactowndog]

Yes, I didn't see the play in game as off base. My average is like $215, games ranged from$140 lows to $490 high for warriors/lakers/Celtics. So the price was for like a Saturday game vs Denver.

I guess you missed the point. Season tickets have a set price for every game. So you clearly were buying open market.

Once the play-offs hit the team reserves the right to up-lift the price. This year if you renewed your uplift was XX. If you didn’t renew the team charged you well over double. So our seats we 120. If we wanted to get playoffs the charged well over double that amount even though open market was less. And if we wanted to list them on ticket master we could not list them for what the Kings charged us as they tried to force us to give them up.

Vivek doesn’t get this town is not the Bay Area.

 

[sactowndog]

my average ticket was $68 my playin was $99 next season ave ticket $73. Lower level end zone row M

yeah about what it should be. Ours was 120 and ~275 for that play-in game.

 

[SacTownKid]

Doing a rebuild at the deadline instead of the offseason in a projected strong draft is what the kangz would do. Just get what you can and tank Sabonis stock ain’t going up from now everyone knows what he is or isn’t.

If the option is to go further down the hole with Domas then heck yeah, get that value NOW. Not later. As long as the Kings don't make a risky win now move they can wait and see for a little while. Unless he gets injured Domas will always have trade value. One of DeMar or Domas need to be moved prior though. You don't want to wait and have to move like 80 million in salary all in one deadline. That's too much salary to move around and you know some team will chime in wanting value to make a deal work. Now that Monte is gone the only smart thing to do is rebuild if they're thinking actual change. They just literally let Monte change out of the roster to win now, time to move on or stay the course and develop.

 

[ShastaKingsFan]

24-17 last year. Better than beam year before by 1 game.
24-17 in 2018 with Joerger.
20-21 in 2013
16-17 in 2012
26-15 in 2008
27-14 in 2006.

All other years were losing records.

Weird to think that the '08 team had a much better home record than any of the last 3 seasons

 

[hrdboild]

The thing about this team is that I do think there’s a good path to being at the very least a fun, competent team next season if the Kings can just clear the roster clutter out and in a lot of cases eliminate the barriers to opportunities for the young guys.

That means moving on from Deebo. Honestly don’t mind us taking less to move him to a contender since it’s what he deserves as a future HOFer.

Malik can stay but I think it has to be as our 6th man, if only because it balances out the scoring a bit more than if he starts.

I like Trey as a person but I don’t think he’s a big enough difference maker in our rotation to warrant giving him anything above the vet minimum next season.

Domas/Jonas
Keegan/IJ
Lavine/LaRavia hopefully
Keon
Carter/Monk

is a good tight rotation where your three “star” scorers are surrounded by strong defenders. Kings also have the MLE and the Huerter TPE to use to acquire extra pieces.

plus contract wise, Sabonis and Lavine are probably going to be easier to move midsession than in the offseason if the Kings did so ever decide to push the rebuild button.

Fun is in the eye of the beholder I guess. I gave up watching the Kings 2 months ago because it makes me ill to watch Zach LaVine try and play defense. I really tried and I just could not sit through a full game since Zach joined the team. He is the antithesis of everything that I like about the game of basketball and I've felt this way for over a decade since I saw him play at UCLA so it's not like that has anything to do with the Fox trade.

Compounding the LaVine problem, I never liked the idea of Domas at C. His on-court chemistry with Fox was so immediate and undeniable from the first time they played together that I got swept along with everyone else and convinced myself we could build around his defensive shortcomings with an elite defender at PF. Now that we're staring point blank at a sub .500 team who got blown out of the gym by a team that has otherwise been the laughing stock of the league, it just feels like the time has come to move on from that experiment. Monte didn't even come close to finding the right frontcourt compliment to Sabonis at C in the last 2 years. Before that Indiana ultimately gave up on him because they didn't believe in the fit with Myles Turner who is (on paper) about as perfect a defender / floor-spacing "yin to the Domas yang" unicorn big as we're likely going to see. Maybe this player archetype doesn't exist?

And compounding that problem is the idea of keeping Keegan at PF -- I don't like it. He's better at defending PGs than he is at defending PFs right now which points pretty definitively toward him being a SF. Yes I know he had a pretty good post game at Iowa but that will play even better if he's matched up against wings instead of bigs. I'm more bullish than most on his offensive potential and would like to see him get a chance to work with a head coach who will run plays for him that aren't just standing in the corner or crashing the glass. We started to see some of that early in the year but than we switched into "try and keep Fox happy" mode which obviously didn't work and then we had Zach. He's the one guy on the team I have complete faith in but he should be moved back to his natural position.

So what you've got with that lineup might work as a balance of scorers and defenders on paper but you're playing three starters out of position one of whom is bad enough to sink a team defense on his own and then you've got Monk coming off the bench ostensibly to play PG but we all know he'll be hunting his own shots instead. I think this is a recipe for more misery and I would feel better about a lineup of:

Carter (PG)
Ellis (SG)
Murray (SF)
I. Jones (PF)
Valanciunas (C)

We wouldn't be the most talented roster around by any stretch but on the plus side I wouldn't have to gouge out my eyes trying to tolerate watching professional basketball players completely fail to execute basic principles of defense. Well I consider that a pretty big plus anyway. And if we can somehow get a top 8 pick in this year's draft by unloading all of those vets maybe "Insert GM name here" can draft Khaman Maluach or Derik Queen and we'd already have our Sabonis replacement.

 

[SacTownKid]

Weird to think that the '08 team had a much better home record than any of the last 3 seasons

I still think that beam puts too much pressure on home games. Not every game can be party time or heartbreak.

 

[fansinceday1]

I guess you missed the point. Season tickets have a set price for every game. So you clearly were buying open market.

Once the play-offs hit the team reserves the right to up-lift the price. This year if you renewed your uplift was XX. If you didn’t renew the team charged you well over double. So our seats we 120. If we wanted to get playoffs the charged well over double that amount even though open market was less. And if we wanted to list them on ticket master we could not list them for what the Kings charged us as they tried to force us to give them up.

Vivek doesn’t get this town is not the Bay Area.

Watching the game tonight and seeing people leaving with 6:00 left in the 4th for the prices the kings charge? Wheeeew….. I couldn’t do it. At least at home I can just turn them off and go do something constructive.

 

[SacTownKid]

Fun is in the eye of the beholder I guess. I gave up watching the Kings 2 months ago because it makes me ill to watch Zach LaVine try and play defense. I really tried and I just could not sit through a full game since Zach joined the team. He is the antithesis of everything that I like about the game of basketball and I've felt this way for over a decade since I saw him play at UCLA so it's not like that has anything to do with the Fox trade.

Compounding the LaVine problem, I never liked the idea of Domas at C. His on-court chemistry with Fox was so immediate and undeniable from the first time they played together that I got swept along with everyone else and convinced myself we could build around his defensive shortcomings with an elite defender at PF. Now that we're staring point blank at a sub .500 team who got blown out of the gym by a team that has otherwise been the laughing stock of the league, it just feels like the time has come to move on from that experiment. Monte didn't even come close to finding the right frontcourt compliment to Sabonis at C in the last 2 years. Before that Indiana ultimately gave up on him because they didn't believe in the fit with Myles Turner who is (on paper) about as perfect a defender / floor-spacing "yin to the Domas yang" unicorn big as we're likely going to see. Maybe this player archetype doesn't exist?

And compounding that problem is the idea of keeping Keegan at PF -- I don't like it. He's better at defending PGs than he is at defending PFs right now which points pretty definitively toward him being a SF. Yes I know he had a pretty good post game at Iowa but that will play even better if he's matched up against wings instead of bigs. I'm more bullish than most on his offensive potential and would like to see him get a chance to work with a head coach who will run plays for him that aren't just standing in the corner or crashing the glass. We started to see some of that early in the year but than we switched into "try and keep Fox happy" mode which obviously didn't work and then we had Zach. He's the one guy on the team I have complete faith in but he should be moved back to his natural position.

So what you've got with that lineup might work as a balance of scorers and defenders on paper but you're playing three starters out of position one of whom is bad enough to sink a team defense on his own and then you've got Monk coming off the bench ostensibly to play PG but we all know he'll be hunting his own shots instead. I think this is a recipe for more misery and I would feel better about a lineup of:

Carter (PG)
Ellis (SG)
Murray (SF)
I. Jones (PF)
Valanciunas (C)

We wouldn't be the most talented roster around by any stretch but on the plus side I wouldn't have to gauge out my eyes trying to tolerate watching professional basketball players completely fail to execute basic principles of defense. Well I consider that I pretty big plus anyway. And if we can somehow get a top 8 pick in this year's draft by unloading all of those vets maybe "Insert GM name here" can draft Khaman Maluach or Derik Queen and we'd already have our Sabonis replacement.

The defensive grades were Keegan being C average on guards, and A/A+ against SF's and PF's. So defensively SF/PF, it really doesn't matter. Offensively, can't trust the playmaking or handles. Maybe a full season where he doesn't have to stand around could prove that wrong though.

 

[coolhandluke]

I still think that beam puts too much pressure on home games. Not every game can be party time or heartbreak.

If a stupid beam is putting pressure on them, they shouldn't be playing professional basketball.

 

[SacTownKid]

If a stupid beam is putting pressure on them, they shouldn't be playing professional basketball.

You underrate how emo NBA players can be. ESPECIALLY these days, lol.

 

[krylia sovetov]

so, we sh*t the bed?
surprise, surprise

 

[serbiangoat]

Sabonis is Lithuanian Jason Thompson come post sesson dudes been a complete no show 3 years in a row

 

[serbiangoat]

It's crazy a 3rd string PG flipped the game cause he could actually break down the D and make a shot from the outside the Kings have no one with the handle/skills to do that.

 

[Srzly]

It still bugs me that when the camera showed the bench during the Kings getting run out of the building and Monk is cracking up and having a great time. I didn’t notice anyone else even smiling.

I like Monk but that is troubling to me. This team probably needs a big reset. Just really sad how we went from the beam team to this.

I hope someday we get to know what exactly happened behind the scenes and why it went this way.

 

[Jdbraver137]

It still bugs me that when the camera showed the bench during the Kings getting run out of the building and Monk is cracking up and having a great time. I didn’t notice anyone else even smiling.

I like Monk but that is troubling to me. This team probably needs a big reset. Just really sad how we went from the beam team to this.

I hope someday we get to know what exactly happened behind the scenes and why it went this way.

Oh please, dude gives his all on the court and is the only one who actually believes the team will win.

 

[Jdbraver137]

If a stupid beam is putting pressure on them, they shouldn't be playing professional basketball.

They don’t care about the beam.

 

[Srzly]

Oh please, dude gives his all on the court and is the only one who actually believes the team will win.

Sure. Can’t imagine being on the bench finding anything to laugh about while your teammates are getting smacked around on the court in a win or go home situation but maybe that’s just me.

 

[Jdbraver137]

Sure. Can’t imagine being on the bench finding anything to laugh about while your teammates are getting smacked around on the court in a win or go home situation but maybe that’s just me.

Frankly I wanted this season to end. I don’t blame home the organization handling of coaching and the roster was abysmal. This season isn’t on monk smiling.

 

[bball_nomad]

Reality hurts. Expectations for the future? Some, but little. After last season everybody could see Kings weaknesses, but they were not addressed.
7 game winning streak was fun. Win in Boston was a beauty. That's about it guys. OKC, Houston, Denver, Lakers and other teams with winning records in the West - can we compete against them? Not current Kings.
Well, I need a break from NBA. Kings - out, Bulls, sadly - out too.
Spring is here - it's time for me to get busy with my life.
Take care guys.

 

[GWD]

It will be curious to see whether the "Beam" bauble will survive into next season. The uniqueness may have run its course. This is no longer the "Beam Team" in construction or performance. It will be further irrelevant if some of the offseason changes being proposed in the forum actually occur. The Beam was entertaining and coalescing while it lasted.

 

[ESP47]

Fun is in the eye of the beholder I guess. I gave up watching the Kings 2 months ago because it makes me ill to watch Zach LaVine try and play defense. I really tried and I just could not sit through a full game since Zach joined the team. He is the antithesis of everything that I like about the game of basketball and I've felt this way for over a decade since I saw him play at UCLA so it's not like that has anything to do with the Fox trade.

Compounding the LaVine problem, I never liked the idea of Domas at C. His on-court chemistry with Fox was so immediate and undeniable from the first time they played together that I got swept along with everyone else and convinced myself we could build around his defensive shortcomings with an elite defender at PF. Now that we're staring point blank at a sub .500 team who got blown out of the gym by a team that has otherwise been the laughing stock of the league, it just feels like the time has come to move on from that experiment. Monte didn't even come close to finding the right frontcourt compliment to Sabonis at C in the last 2 years. Before that Indiana ultimately gave up on him because they didn't believe in the fit with Myles Turner who is (on paper) about as perfect a defender / floor-spacing "yin to the Domas yang" unicorn big as we're likely going to see. Maybe this player archetype doesn't exist?

And compounding that problem is the idea of keeping Keegan at PF -- I don't like it. He's better at defending PGs than he is at defending PFs right now which points pretty definitively toward him being a SF. Yes I know he had a pretty good post game at Iowa but that will play even better if he's matched up against wings instead of bigs. I'm more bullish than most on his offensive potential and would like to see him get a chance to work with a head coach who will run plays for him that aren't just standing in the corner or crashing the glass. We started to see some of that early in the year but than we switched into "try and keep Fox happy" mode which obviously didn't work and then we had Zach. He's the one guy on the team I have complete faith in but he should be moved back to his natural position.

So what you've got with that lineup might work as a balance of scorers and defenders on paper but you're playing three starters out of position one of whom is bad enough to sink a team defense on his own and then you've got Monk coming off the bench ostensibly to play PG but we all know he'll be hunting his own shots instead. I think this is a recipe for more misery and I would feel better about a lineup of:

Carter (PG)
Ellis (SG)
Murray (SF)
I. Jones (PF)
Valanciunas (C)

We wouldn't be the most talented roster around by any stretch but on the plus side I wouldn't have to gouge out my eyes trying to tolerate watching professional basketball players completely fail to execute basic principles of defense. Well I consider that a pretty big plus anyway. And if we can somehow get a top 8 pick in this year's draft by unloading all of those vets maybe "Insert GM name here" can draft Khaman Maluach or Derik Queen and we'd already have our Sabonis replacement.

I don't think a single player on this roster would nab a top 8 pick in the draft and that lineup looks like a 26 win team to me.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I don't think a single player on this roster would nab a top 8 pick in the draft and that lineup looks like a 26 win team to me.

I'd take a "26 win team" full of guys that were willing to die on the court every night. Hell, that might be the one thing that could get me to go back to being a team-first fan.

 

[ESP47]

I'd take a "26 win team" full of guys that were willing to die on the court every night. Hell, that might be the one thing that could get me to go back to being a team-first fan.

It sounds like a good idea right here and now after watching what we just watched but I think the fans and the players would more than likely become apathetic in short order. There aren't many 26 win teams that have players willing to die on the court when it's midseason and they're 12-30 with no hope in sight. The beginning of the season would be fun but I think reality would slap us in the face in short order and it would be back to the Tyreke and Cousins Kangz years.

 

[hrdboild]

I don't think a single player on this roster would nab a top 8 pick in the draft and that lineup looks like a 26 win team to me.

I don't think I need to tell you why a 26 win team is better than a 40 win team. And if trading Sabonis, LaVine, Monk, and DeRozan combined can't net us even 1 top 8 pick in a supposedly bad draft year that's a pretty definitive statement about how low the ceiling is with this roster.

 

[fansinceday1]

Sam Amick saying the mavs were mocking the fans at the end of the game. Ain’t that grand? The team that traded away Doncic and was getting crushed by the entire league a month ago was mocking the kings. That’s friggin pathetic.
Not that the mavs were mocking us, that’s kinda funny. It’s pathetic how bad the kings are.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

It sounds like a good idea right here and now after watching what we just watched but I think the fans and the players would more than likely become apathetic in short order. There aren't many 26 win teams that have players willing to die on the court when it's midseason and they're 12-30 with no hope in sight. The beginning of the season would be fun but I think reality would slap us in the face in short order and it would be back to the Tyreke and Cousins Kangz years.

I guess we'll never know.