The Sacramento Kings just completed one of the more impressive road trips in the NBA’s first month.
It opened in Los Angeles 13 days ago. They blew out the Lakers, continuing a recent mini-stretch of supremacy over their in-state rival. The Kings are now 5-1 against the Lakers since Mike Brown became the head coach.
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They then traveled to Texas and beat the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks. The Kings’ win in Dallas was impressive. They sprinted ahead of the Mavericks with a 70-point first half but bled the game away in the fourth quarter on the defensive end by holding the league’s fourth-ranked offense to 17 points in the final 12 minutes.
Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving were on the floor for the first six minutes of the quarter before coach Jason Kidd pulled the plug. Dallas only scored three points in that span.
It included some defensive stands like the one below. Domantas Sabonis blows up the initial action with a deflection out to half court. Sabonis and Davion Mitchell double Kyrie Irving hard in the corner. Harrison Barnes pressures Dončić after the frantic kick-out and strips him for a transition score.
It’s still too early and too mild to declare the Kings a significantly improved defensive team. But a bit more juice, focus and capability on that end has helped. They’ve edged out to a 9-6 start despite an offensive dip. The Kings currently rank 12th in offensive efficiency (113.6) and 17th in defensive efficiency (113.4). Last season, they finished first in offensive efficiency (118.6) and 24th in defense (116.0).
The bad portion of Sacramento’s road trip came in New Orleans. On the rough side of a back-to-back, they were blasted by the Pelicans, unable to contain Zion Williamson, who went too quickly and powerfully for the double-teams Brown said were supposed to come. Two nights later, against the Pelicans again, the Kings played better but still couldn’t contain Williamson and faded late.
They could’ve used Keegan Murray that night. He’s missed the last two games with lower back soreness that is now being categorized as SI joint irritation. He is doubtful for the game against the Warriors on Tuesday night. Injuries have hit the Kings a bit harder early this season than a year ago when they were the league’s healthiest team.
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Trey Lyles missed the first 13 games because of a calf strain. Kevin Huerter sat a game because of a finger issue. But De’Aaron Fox’s absence was the most revelatory. Fox sprained his ankle late in the fourth quarter of the season’s third game. They beat the Lakers in overtime that night to move to 2-1 but lost Fox for five games.
The Kings wobbled to a 2-3 record without Fox, which is decent considering the on-court, off-court discrepancy. In Fox’s 356 minutes this season, they’ve outscored opponents by 40 points. In his 374 bench minutes, they’ve been outscored by 37 points.
The Kings are just an entirely different offense with and without their lightning-quick point guard: 116.8 rating and a rapid 103.9 pace with him on the floor, a 107.8 rating and a sluggish 99.8 pace with him off the floor.
Fox has been excellent in his 10 games: 29.9 points (career-high) on 48 percent shooting and 37 percent from 3, upping his accuracy on a higher volume than ever before. Fox has never shot more than 5.5 3s per game. He’s currently taking 8.6 per game.
But he’s still most dangerous living in the lane, showing off his constantly improving touch on layups, floaters and short jumpers. Fox is averaging 17.2 drives per game — fourth most in the NBA — and making 56.6 percent of his shot attempts in such circumstances. Check out the leaderboard in that category. Of the eight players who average the most drives per game, Fox currently has the best field-goal percentage on those drives.
1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 20.9 drives, 55.4 field-goal percentage
2. Cade Cunningham: 18.9 drives, 42.5 field-goal percentage
3. LaMelo Ball: 17.7 drives, 51.5 field-goal percentage
4. De’Aaron Fox: 17.2 drives, 56.6 field-goal percentage
5. Trae Young: 17.1 drives, 38.5 field-goal percentage
6. Zion Williamson: 17.0 drives, 44.7 field-goal percentage
7. Darius Garland: 16.9 drives, 50.0 field-goal percentage
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The sixth and final game of the Kings’ now-completed road trip came in Minnesota. Without Murray, the Kings started Chris Duarte, who has been a plug-and-play fill-in starter.
Lyles is back now and has provided an immediate boost. He made three 3s and had seven rebounds in 19 minutes against the Minnesota Timberwolves. They were a plus-15 with him on the floor. Malik Monk scored 17 in 30 minutes. Davion Mitchell was replaced in the rotation by Keon Ellis recently, but with Ellis out, Mitchell has reappeared and responded well in the last couple of games.
Sabonis is putting up nearly the same beefy stat line as a season ago — 19.9 points, 12.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists — with a tad bit more rim protection, upping his block per game number from 0.5 to 1.0. He fouled out against Minnesota, but Fox dragged them over the finish line. He was aggressive against the Timberwolves: 36 points on 14-of-32 shooting and added 12 assists.
Brown spammed a specific high-screen action in the second half that kept delivering great offense for Fox and the Kings. The compiled clip is below.
Some of you may have though Mike Brown was joking here. He was not. The Kings ran the same play SEVENTEEN times in the 2nd half tonight.
Extended out horns set used as a high PnR for Fox. Screens coming near halfcourt makes it near impossible to stop an attacking Fox. https://t.co/CCZT0Lg6TV pic.twitter.com/Uz3vZwf7li
— Skyler (KFR) (@SacFilmRoom) November 25, 2023
That 124-111 win tilted Group C of the In-Season Tournament toward the Kings. The Timberwolves would’ve clinched and advanced with a victory. Instead, the Kings are in the driver’s seat. They are 3-0 in the group entering Tuesday’s pool finale against the Warriors. If they win, they advance to the quarterfinals. Even if they don’t, a close loss (under 12) plus a Timberwolves win over the Oklahoma City Thunder would still push Sacramento into the elimination round.
That generates an extra layer of drama for Tuesday night against a Warriors team they’ve struggled against. It’s another revealing early season test for a franchise that is intent on getting over that next hump from a feel-good story to a realistic contender.
(Photo of De’Aaron Fox: David Sherman / NBAE via Getty Images)