‘Our next step’: Surging Sacramento Kings know now is the time to improve defensively
Mike Brown didn’t seem all that impressed.
The Sacramento Kings head coach, minutes after his team won a sixth consecutive game Sunday for the first time since 2004-05, sat down for his postgame news conference more focused on his team’s poor defensive effort against the three-win Detroit Pistons than his team’s winning streak.
“We were not good at all defensively tonight,” Brown said following a 137-129 victory.
The rebuilding Pistons, who were missing lead guard Cade Cunningham, shot 52.8% from the floor and 15 of 29 (51.7%) from 3-point range, outscoring the Kings from distance by nine points despite taking six fewer attempts. Detroit led by as many as seven in the fourth quarter, with Sacramento needing a laborious final few minutes to beat one of the worst teams in the NBA.
The Kings ended the game on an 18-5 run over the final five minutes. It was a good stretch, but it was preceded by an uninspiring effort.
“If we’re on the road,” De’Aaron Fox said, “we probably don’t win that game, especially with the way we were playing defensively. ... It’s always great to get out with a win, learn a lesson, but win the game.”
Brown noted his team was making strides defensively during the recent hot streak. But the Pistons were able to knock down 3s while also getting into the paint, seemingly at will, particularly when they took control of the game by outscoring Sacramento 91-80 from the start of the second quarter to the middle of the fourth.
It left Brown, a defense-first coach, wanting much more.
“We took a couple of steps backwards tonight defensively,” Brown said. “Hopefully we can start moving forward again on that side of the ball.”
The Kings inherently are without a true rim protector, which stresses perimeter players to stop drives. And when a driver does make it into the lane, others player must help, which forces others to rotate to open shooters. There wasn’t much of that from Sacramento at all on Sunday.
“We gave up middle and we’re a no-middle team,” Brown said. “We didn’t communicate. There were a couple of breakdowns where we had three guys around the ball, and somehow, someway, nobody picks up the ball and a guy scores a layup. We didn’t get out to shooters with a sense of urgency all the time.”
The Kings come out of an undefeated homestand as the top scoring team in the NBA, averaging 121.4 points per game, the most since the 1983-84 Denver Nuggets, according to Statmuse.
But they can’t afford to have games like they did against Detroit if they’re going to be a serious threat in the Western Conference.
“There’s other (wins) that feel better than this one,” Kevin Huerter said. “We have a lot to work on.”
Huerter finished with 24 points with a game-high 13 coming in the fourth quarter. He shot 3 of 5 from 3 point range, complementing Fox’s 33 points and Domantas Sabonis’ 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Harrison Barnes had 27 points on 8-of-11 shooting while making 10 of 11 free throws.
Sacramento’s five starters were in double figures while the bench, which had been reliable during the winning streak, had all five players at minus-4 or worse in plus-minus.
The Pistons had five players who made multiple 3s, including their starting back court of rookie Jaden Ivey and 2020 draft pick Killian Hayes, who combined for 6 for 7 from beyond the arc. Detroit entered the game ranked 26th offensively, scoring 108.7 points per 100 possessions.
The Kings have scored 137, 130, 153, 122, 120 and 127 — all in regulation — during their current winning streak. That’s a formula that is more likely to work in November than later in the season.
“It’s a risky game,” Barnes said, “(needing) to put up 135, 140 every single night to give yourself a win. We know there’s going to be nights where we’re not going to be able to score that way, so that’s why we know, defensively, we have to be better. There’s going to be games where the shots aren’t going to fall, or we’re playing a great team and we’re going to have to grind it out on the defensive end against great players.
“And so I think that’s our next step of growth.”
Barnes was asked where the team needs to improve the most defensively and didn’t hesitate with his answer.
“Communication,” he said. “Whether it’s in recovery, whether we’re switching, whether we’re communicating on the weak side for a skip (pass), there’s just so many possessions that, right now, we’re just leaving on the table that add up over the course of time.”
Next up for Sacramento is a trip to play the Memphis Grizzlies (10-7) and Atlanta Hawks (10-6) in a back-to-back Tuesday and Wednesday with the Boston Celtics (13-3) awaiting on Friday.
The Hawks are 16th in offensive rating. The Grizzlies, who are banged up without Desmond Bane (sprained big toe) and Ja Morant (ankle), are 12th. The Celtics have been the most efficient offensive team in the NBA this season, averaging 119.1 points per 100 possessions. The Kings are second at 118.6.
