[Game] THE Kings vs. Denver Nuggets, 2/9/2024, 7:00p PT/10:00p ET

[Sac.Kings]

Missed the game, but see that Brown finally played our best bench players meaningful minutes, and shockingly, we played really well. Len is so much better than McGee that it baffles me that he's not the first big man off the bench. The guy has been nothing but rock solid his entire tenure with us and it's clear that we are simply better with him out there.

Congrats to Ellis, I am super pumped for him. He should be backup PG as soon as he gets his sea legs back under him. Again, another example where a player was buried behind an inferior player in Davion. Hopefully that was only to showcase Davion and now we can move away from that foolishness.

Heck of a win after one heck of a loss. This team has to decide what they want to be - pretenders or contenders. We have the talent to hang with anyone, it's clearly all between the ears for us right now.

 

[NewArena]

I watched this one from start to finish because i had a good feeling about it. I barely watched the Detroit game for the opposite feeling lmao this team is amazing and annoying but i love em

 

[NewArena]

Kings gotta resign Malik Monk to an extension after this season. He's big time and with a few flaws (not many) which is why perfect 6th man instead of a starter. I think Monte will do everything to keep him a KING.

This is part of the reason i think they were so careful about adding random big contracts to this squad that may not move the needle the way some would assume.

 

[NewArena]

man when fox looks to drop dimes like this, this team is way scarier and less predictable. sometimes i feel like they run Off. thru sabonis too often.

This is true. I love seeing Fox actively making decisions for this squad and doing them quickly. Denver had no idea what the Kings were gonna do next, and we need that in the playoffs. They don’t wanna take us on in a 7 game series, even if they will be and should be favored in it.

 

[Insomniacal Fan]

Everybody played tonight like they were happy they didn't get traded

 

[NewArena]

"Hell Naw!"

I caught that LOL

 

[The_Jamal]

Fox's shoulder was limber, strong, mobile and agile tonight. He played seriously, intelligently, effectively and energetically.

Len, oh Len. I have been pining for you. Where art thou, Len? Ah, you haven't been released from this mortal coil. Such a joyous moment for Kings fans to see you alive and well.

Lyles was fantastic tonight.

Monk was "feeling himself" in a non obscene manner.

Murray looked like himself.

Barnes wasn't invisible.

Heurter was good.

Sabonis was Sabonis.

All is good with the world.

Obviously not going to happen every game, but damn. When our core 7 plays well in the same game, we're damn near impossible to beat. Add in some real quality minutes from guys like Len and Sasha and the team really starts to look like an actual playoff squad that can win a series or two.

 

[NiNetNiNe]

This team is full of ups and downs. I guess if you can’t take them at their Kangz then you don’t deserve them at their Kings.

 

[PorchSurfin]

On the call tonight at Golden One Center. Fish grease! Malik means King in Arabic... let it all hang out!

Anything is better than turning the sprinkler system on for the Two thousand, seven hundred, and nineteenth time.

 

[PorchSurfin]

Missed the game, but see that Brown finally played our best bench players meaningful minutes, and shockingly, we played really well. Len is so much better than McGee that it baffles me that he's not the first big man off the bench. The guy has been nothing but rock solid his entire tenure with us and it's clear that we are simply better with him out there.

Congrats to Ellis, I am super pumped for him. He should be backup PG as soon as he gets his sea legs back under him. Again, another example where a player was buried behind an inferior player in Davion. Hopefully that was only to showcase Davion and now we can move away from that foolishness.

Heck of a win after one heck of a loss. This team has to decide what they want to be - pretenders or contenders. We have the talent to hang with anyone, it's clearly all between the ears for us right now.

Ellis would have been a huge upgrade over t-rex arms Mitchell. Davion has made some nice plays but his short arms and terrible closeouts have resulted in a lot of bad defensive plays over the past month plus, where he has played over Ellis.

I will constantly point it out, but Mitchell's horrible closeouts and miniature length on defense is contributing to a lot of point of attack issues the second unit defense has had, and those will dry up immediately by swapping Ellis and his length for Mitchell and his t Rex arms.

 

[QWERTYLICIOUS]

Beans was lit inside of the G1C!!!

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Terrible way to end a quarter turned into the greatest way to end a quarter.

It's kind of wild - before those final 5 seconds of the first quarter, we had watched the team play the Nugs evenly and then drop 8 straight point in just a minute or two of play (at least it seemed like that) - the game was getting out of hand, and it was another "here we go again moment".

I'm sure the game didn't turn on those 5 seconds, but it basically kicked off a period where we would go on to win just about every remaining quarter by ~10 points.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

This is part of the reason i think they were so careful about adding random big contracts to this squad that may not move the needle the way some would assume.

Among other things, I think the calls to move Huerter before we re-sign Monk are scary if we don't get an amazing upgrade at this spot.

And I really think that Huerter played at a comfort level he hasn't shown since he disappeared towards the end of last season. It's like not getting traded was a jolt of confidence. He had a dog in him laughing on his way back to defense after burying a dagger, and then that block.

Hopefully this KVon stays a while.

 

[TaxMan]

Can we just keep Len as the backup center for the rest of the year please? He’s not flashy, gets less highlight blocks and dunks, but he’s just so damn solid and doesn’t make bonehead plays.

 

[RoyalDiva]

Thanks, guys.

 

[Vinny Basketballerino]

I watched this one from start to finish because i had a good feeling about it. I barely watched the Detroit game for the opposite feeling lmao this team is amazing and annoying but i love em

Each season seems to have a theme and this season's is definitely something like Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, and there isn't a better example than these two games! Incredible win and YES I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!

 

[KingsFanSince85]

IMO nothing better exemplifies the frustrating inconsistency of this good, sometimes maddeningly bad team than their past 2 performances.

Lose to a 6-win team by double-digits — a team that losf 28-consecutive earlier this same season — then beat the defending champs by nearly 30.

I realize that Denver was on a B2B and that Joker got dinged — but still.

It’s maddening knowing this team can both beat the very best while struggling against the marginal and the very worst.

 

[MizzouKing]

Now that Ellis signed a 3-year contract with the Kings, that factor is moot. He is free to play more and hopefully that happens...soon.

Exactly. And that might actually do more for our energy than losing a couple of players we count on and trying to work in a total stranger or two.

 

[Jones2006]

Somehow Len actually looked better, more fluid, LESS rusty than a few weeks ago when he was playing off the injury. Very encouraging, not just for him but for coaching staff for keeping him ready/fit. Roll w/ him

 

[MizzouKing]

Each season seems to have a theme and this season's is definitely something like Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, and there isn't a better example than these two games! Incredible win and YES I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!

“It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times…and then it was the best of times again. But then…”

 

[BenchMob]

Can we just keep Len as the backup center for the rest of the year please? He’s not flashy, gets less highlight blocks and dunks, but he’s just so damn solid and doesn’t make bonehead plays.

Agreed. One thing that impresses me with Len is that he gets up on the perimeter to disrupt plays and has the ability to get back in the paint to defend. He has been doing that successfully this year, dont remember him doing that in the past

 

[Rain man]

So the rumors of our demise were… premature. Seems to me this team is good enough to regularly beat teams like the Wolves, Nuggets, Thunder, Suns, and Lakers. In fact our record against the top 10 in the west, not including the Pellies and Clippers is 13-2!! And that includes that awful loss against the Suns where we blew a 97 point lead.

OKC 2-0
Denver 2-0
Dallas 2-0
Lakers 2-0
Utah 2-0
Phoenix 2-1
Minnesota 1-1

We are only 6-5 against the West bottom 5, and 0-6 against the Pels and Clips. So if you can avoid the Clips, Pels, or Blazers (lol) in the first round, you have to feel pretty good.

 

[joemama]

Pretty sure blowing a 97 point lead would be some sort of record.

 

[sactowndog]

Fun game to be at

 

[sactowndog]

So the rumors of our demise were… premature. Seems to me this team is good enough to regularly beat teams like the Wolves, Nuggets, Thunder, Suns, and Lakers. In fact our record against the top 10 in the west, not including the Pellies and Clippers is 13-2!! And that includes that awful loss against the Suns where we blew a 97 point lead.

OKC 2-0
Denver 2-0
Dallas 2-0
Lakers 2-0
Utah 2-0
Phoenix 2-1
Minnesota 1-1

We are only 6-5 against the West bottom 5, and 0-6 against the Pels and Clips. So if you can avoid the Clips, Pels, or Blazers (lol) in the first round, you have to feel pretty good.

I think more accurately when we are shooting well we can beat anyone. When we are shooting poorly we can lose to anyone.

Good defenses are more consistent and ours is not good so you see more inconsistency.

 

[Kingster]

Obviously not going to happen every game, but damn. When our core 7 plays well in the same game, we're damn near impossible to beat. Add in some real quality minutes from guys like Len and Sasha and the team really starts to look like an actual playoff squad that can win a series or two.

It all starts with Fox. If he is serious like in tonight's game, they typically play very well. If he's un-serious, it's an entirely different matter. Using Sabonis's term - Fox needs to "lock-in" every-single-game.

 

[Kingz19]

Can we just keep Len as the backup center for the rest of the year please? He’s not flashy, gets less highlight blocks and dunks, but he’s just so damn solid and doesn’t make bonehead plays.

McGee doesn’t even really block shots anymore. He has had only 4 in his last 16 appearances since recording 4 in garbage time against Boston.

I can only imagine Brown values the 1 or 2 successful alley oops from Monk a game but as many attempts result in turnovers each game.

Len is pretty much better in every facet outside of being a lob threat with Monk.

Prime Javale would be a no brainer but now Len is a better defensive presence in the paint just by his tall and WIDE frame alone.

He creates many second chance opportunities for the Kings and knows his role. Javale has atleast one moment per game when he goes into business for himself and usually turns it over.

This is the first time Brown replaced Javale with Len in game so I have to believe he finally gets the picture.

 

[iowamcnabb]

I think more accurately when we are shooting well we can beat anyone. When we are shooting poorly we can lose to anyone.

Good defenses are more consistent and ours is not good so you see more inconsistency.

Id argue that the first paragraph applies to all teams, especially if you shoot a ton of threes. If you take 45 three pointers and shoot 29 percent you are almost certainly going to lose. We shot 34 of them tonight, I wonder if that would be a better range for us instead of 45ish.

 

[The_Jamal]

Id argue that the first paragraph applies to all teams, especially if you shoot a ton of threes. If you take 45 three pointers and shoot 29 percent you are almost certainly going to lose. We shot 34 of them tonight, I wonder if that would be a better range for us instead of 45ish.

Fox was really taking it downhill last night and attacking the defense. We're just such a different team when he attacks the rim and isn't settling for jumpers. Even if he's knocking them down at a good rate, the offense just doesn't flow the same.

 

[reptilexcq2]

This team is unpredictable. They can lose to the worst team in the NBA or beat one of the elites in the league. The issue I suspect is consistency or have issue with certain style that teams play against them.