It’s been almost three weeks since the Kings were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs after a Game 7 loss at home to the Warriors. And on the side of Kevin Hurterthe pill is still hard to pass.
Authors of a superb regular season with a remarkable third place in the Western Conference at stake, the Californians have reason to regret, in view of their level displayed on the series, but also of the following events, Golden State having been out in the next round.
Invited to speak in the podcast “The Old Man and The Three” on the notion of failure evoked by Giannis Antetokounmpo after Milwaukee’s reverse against Miami in the first round, Kevin Huerter did not really share the point of view of the “Greek Freak”. For him, the end of the Kings’ journey will remain a failure.
“Of course, it was our first year in this team configuration. Everything is so new. The simple fact of participating in the playoffs in particular. So there are a lot of new things for us and I think from the outside, especially for our fans, we were just happy to be in the playoffs. But inside, on the side of the team, the players, we had higher goals,” did he declare. “We thought we were the best team in this series, that we had the stuff to pull off, win a few rounds and try to do something special this year. And we didn’t.”
Ambitious for the future
The Sacramento guard admitted, however, that the taste of elimination may not be the same on the Milwaukee side, since this group was already NBA champion two years ago.
“I think the situations are different”he added. “I respect Giannis because I didn’t belong there, that guy has a ring behind him. I think it’s a different situation for them as a title-winning team, the core of which has been together for years, and as the No. 1 seed and what I thought was the best team in the NBA all year round. To lose like that in the first round, I think it’s a different situation from ours”.
As for the future, Kevin Huerter, on the other hand, sees Sacramento continuing its ascent.
“For us, it will be easier to turn the page and look forward to next year, saying, ‘All right, if we did this on our first year, let’s see what we can do on our second year and then the third, the fourth, as our cohesion continues to build, as we age and improve as players.
| Kevin Hurter | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2018-19 | ATL | 75 | 27 | 41.9 | 38.5 | 73.2 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 9.7 |
| 2019-20 | ATL | 56 | 31 | 41.3 | 38.0 | 82.8 | 0.6 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 12.2 |
| 2020-21 | ATL | 69 | 31 | 43.2 | 36.3 | 78.1 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 11.9 |
| 2021-22 | ATL | 74 | 30 | 45.4 | 38.9 | 80.8 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 12.1 |
| 2022-23 | BAG | 75 | 29 | 48.5 | 40.2 | 72.5 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 15.2 |
| Total | 349 | 30 | 44.4 | 38.5 | 76.6 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 12.2 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
