The last defeat of the Kings, against Memphis, could be summed up by a paradoxical sentence: Sacramento was in the game without really being there. Because De’Aaron Fox and his teammates were certainly dominated but never dropped either.
Inevitably, when you are at a short distance without getting closer to hope to win, and you fall, there is a bitter, unfinished taste that remains in your mouth. Especially since it’s a fourth defeat in four matches.
“It’s really frustrating,” confirms Harrison Barnes for NBC Sports. “It’s frustrating to lose at home, not to have won yet. But when you look at the images the day after the matches, you wonder how we could have lost. Kudos to Memphis and the other teams, but overall those teams didn’t play the game of their lives against us. »
The Kings did not have an easy schedule to start their season, with the Blazers, Clippers, Warriors and therefore the Grizzlies on the program. Except against Golden State (89 points conceded in the first period), the Californians have always been more or less close to victory: seven points behind Portland, two against Los Angeles.
A defense not yet developed
“We could win these matches but we find ourselves at 0-4”recalls the winger. “The results would have been different if we had done things differently. These are things that can be corrected if we focus on them. Until this is done, it will always be the same result. »
With an average of 120 points conceded, Mike Brown’s troops are struggling to slow down their opponent. Against Memphis, the start of the match was satisfactory in this area, but as the minutes went by, the concentration and intensity decreased. “We gave too many penetrations, again and again”regrets the coach. “It’s one of our priorities in defense: not to give penetrations like this. Half the time they scored. »
Barnes, he points to the too many faults accumulated by the group (24 on average after four matches). They sealed Domantas Sabonis against Memphis, and Fox also committed five, for example. “It starts with rebounding and being physical without making mistakes. When the opposing team is quickly in the bonus, then we have to remove our hands. And they continue to attack the racket. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| De’aaron Fox | 3 | 34.6 | 59.4 | 45.0 | 71.4 | 0.7 | 5.0 | 5.7 | 7.0 | 4.7 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 3.3 | 31.7 |
| Keegan Murray | 2 | 35.6 | 54.2 | 43.8 | 100.0 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 17.5 |
| Kevin Hurter | 3 | 30.7 | 45.7 | 48.0 | 75.0 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 16.7 |
| Domantas Sabonis | 3 | 30.0 | 46.9 | 0.0 | 65.0 | 2.3 | 7.0 | 9.3 | 5.3 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 14.3 |
| Terence Davis | 3 | 17.8 | 50.0 | 36.4 | 83.3 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 3.3 | 9.7 |
| Malik Monk | 3 | 19.1 | 30.8 | 35.3 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 7.3 |
| Harrison Barnes | 3 | 29.1 | 36.8 | 0.0 | 53.8 | 0.7 | 5.0 | 5.7 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 7.0 |
| Richaun Holmes | 3 | 14.5 | 72.7 | 0.0 | 75.0 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 6.3 |
| Davion Mitchell | 3 | 17.9 | 30.0 | 11.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.3 | 4.3 |
| Trey Lyles | 2 | 9.2 | 27.3 | 22.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 |
| Chimezie Metu | 2 | 5.5 | 33.3 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| Kz Okpala | 3 | 12.6 | 20.0 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
