For the third time this season (in as many confrontations), the Kings were beaten by the Pelicans and this defeat marks the end of their adventure in the In-Season Tournament.
After the meeting, the Californians were notably questioned on their loss of offensive efficiency, they who are now only the 13th most efficient attack in the league (114.4 points conceded over 100 possessions), after having been at the top of this ranking last season (118.6, unheard of in the story !).
“ A lot of guys want to go up the ball » explains Mike Brown, the coach of Sacramento, who wants his players to start running again. “ We have two or three that do that when the rebound happens [il mime une demande de passe], instead of running towards the corners or towards the circle. The second thing is our wingers don't put their heads down, they don't run towards the corner, and we've already talked about that. »
More concentration on defense…
For his part, Kevin Huerter considers that the expectations of the staff on the defensive level, revised upwards for this 2023/24 financial year, weigh on the decline in the effectiveness of the Kings in attack. So far, Mike Brown's men are in fact a little more efficient (115.1 points conceded on 100 possessions, 20th in the league) than last season (116.0, 24th in the league) in defense.
“ Last season, perhaps in terms of our state of mind, we entered into races with our opponents, in matches where the scoring was high » explains the Sacramento back, challenged by his coach. “ In defense, the ball barely fell in when we were already ready to go on the attack. This season, maybe we are a little more focused defensively, which prevents us from running like before. But you have to be able to do both at the same time.. »
…and less surprise
As for Domantas Sabonis, the hub of the Kings' attack with De'Aaron Fox, he does not want to overwhelm his team, because the bar had been set very high.
“ It's quite complicated to establish, two years in a row, the record for the best attack in history » concedes the Lithuanian. “ We could have bet, after last season, that the current one wouldn't be as good [en attaque]. All the lights were green, everyone established their best averages in scoring and address. The adversaries are waiting for us now. They analyze us. We knew this was going to happen. We must now work on alternatives. »
Even if Sacramento is still struggling to find the right attack/defense balance, the California franchise remains in the Top 6 of the Western Conference (11-8) in the first quarter of the season. Perhaps a future transfer will even help him take another step forward on both sides of the floor in the weeks and months to come…
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| De'aaron Fox | 13 | 36.3 | 48.6 | 37.0 | 73.3 | 1.0 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 6.6 | 2.0 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 30.3 |
| Domantas Sabonis | 18 | 35.1 | 57.1 | 41.7 | 65.1 | 3.3 | 8.5 | 11.8 | 6.9 | 3.1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 3.6 | 18.6 |
| Malik Monk | 18 | 24.5 | 42.1 | 41.3 | 89.5 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 4.6 | 2.2 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 14.4 |
| Kevin Huerter | 17 | 27.7 | 45.1 | 38.6 | 81.3 | 0.7 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 13.0 |
| Keegan Murray | 14 | 32.4 | 38.5 | 29.3 | 85.0 | 1.7 | 4.4 | 6.1 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 12.9 |
| Harrison Barnes | 18 | 31.4 | 48.1 | 37.9 | 84.4 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 12.3 |
| Trey Lyles | 5 | 21.2 | 39.4 | 30.4 | 61.5 | 1.6 | 4.4 | 6.0 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 2.4 | 8.2 |
| Sasha Vezenkov | 15 | 14.6 | 43.8 | 37.7 | 66.7 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 6.3 |
| Javale McGee | 16 | 9.8 | 69.0 | 0.0 | 57.9 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 5.7 |
| Davion Mitchell | 14 | 16.9 | 36.2 | 29.3 | 100.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 5.1 |
| Chris Duarte | 17 | 15.1 | 39.4 | 33.3 | 71.4 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 2.8 | 4.7 |
| Colby Jones | 9 | 7.8 | 46.4 | 12.5 | 66.7 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 3.2 |
| Keon Ellis | 11 | 11.2 | 37.9 | 26.1 | 54.5 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 3.1 |
| Alex Len | 6 | 6.8 | 75.0 | 0.0 | 42.9 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 2.5 |
| Philip Petrusev | 2 | 3.3 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| Jordan Ford | 5 | 2.7 | 40.0 | 50.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.4 |
| Kessler Edwards | 14 | 6.4 | 28.6 | 28.6 | 50.0 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1.2 |
| Jalen Slawson | 4 | 4.4 | 66.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.0 |
