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In his first two weeks on the job, Sacramento Kings interim head coach Doug Christie has quoted Bob Marley and Deepak Chopra. He’s talked about using smelling salts on the bench and he’s taken the team to the roof of Golden 1 Center to see the Beam up close and personal. 

Christie has a different approach to the game. He also has a different approach to life outside of the game. He sees basketball through a lens that has a purple tint, but is also focused by years of study as a player, analyst and now coach.

When the Kings started 5-1 under Christie, national media members poked holes in his accomplishment by pointing to wins over shorthanded teams like the Mavs, 76ers, Grizzlies and Heat. The win over the Warriors? Well, they were on the second night of a back-to-back.

There was no mention of the Kings playing two of those games without Keegan Murray or the last three without De’Aaron Fox, who currently ranks sixth in the NBA in scoring. 

After the Kings walked into Boston and thumped the mighty Celtics on Friday night, maybe that noise will quiet down. Boston was playing at full strength. They hadn’t played since Tuesday and their 27-10 record coming into the night was second best in the Eastern Conference and third best in the NBA behind the Cavs and Thunder.

Playing without Fox once again, who sustained a right glute contusion in the team’s win over the Grizzlies earlier in the week, the Kings were the team hunting a victory. They held their own through the first half against the reigning champs and when the third quarter opened up, it was Sacramento that punched first and never stopped.

Maybe the Celtics had an off shooting night. Maybe they are in the dog days of a long season and aren’t sweating a January loss. It doesn’t really matter. Christie’s Kings walked into TD Garden riding a five game win streak and pushed it to six with a 114-97 dominating performance.

The turnaround has been sudden. Christie has found a way to reach into the soul of an underperforming squad to lead them back to the .500 mark at 19-19. His message of love and togetherness, which he honed as a player in Sacramento during the early 2000’s, is resonating with the team. They are pulling in one direction when many teams would have splintered. 

With 44 games remaining on the schedule, the Kings have found a reset button. Over the last two weeks, the team has climbed from 12th in the Western Conference standings to a tie for ninth with the Golden State Warriors. Sacramento currently sits a game and a half out of seventh and three and a half games out of fourth place. 

Seven games is an extremely small sample size, but there are some trends developing. For starters, through the first 31 games, the Kings were giving up an average of 14.6 3-point makes per game while hitting just 12 triples. It’s hard to compete when you are being outscored from behind the arc by an average of 7.8 points per game and that number had steadily improved over the last few weeks under Mike Brown. There was a time this season when the Kings were being outscored by 12 points per game from long range.

Under Christie, the Kings have not only eliminated that gap, they have pulled ahead of their opponents. In the last seven games, the Kings are hitting 14.4 threes per game while holding their opponents to just 13.1 per game. They’ve taken that -7.8 points per game and turned it into a +3.9. 

The team shot 34.2 percent on 3-point shots through 31 games and over their last seven, they’ve hit 36.3 percent. They have also increased their attempts from 35 per game to 39.7. At the same time, they have found a way to decrease their opponents’ attempts from 39 attempts per game to 36 and percentage from 37.5 percent to 36.5 percent. 

With the increase in 3-point efficiency, the team has seen a spike in assists. Under Christie, the team is averaging 29.4, up from the 25.5 they were averaging under Brown. The overall field goal percentage has dropped from 47.6 percent to 46.6 percent, but that is in part due to the increase in 3-point attempts. 

The overall impact of increased 3-point shots and additional assists has jumped the Kings’ offensive rating from 114.4 (9th in the NBA) to 117.8 (5th in the NBA). It has also pushed the Kings from 114.7 points per game through the first 31 to 121.3 over the last seven games. 

On the other end of the court, the Kings have improved from 16th in the league in defensive rating at 112.9 through 31 games, to 5th in the league at 108.7 over the last seven. One of the key factors in this leap is rebounding numbers. 

Through the first 31 games, the Kings were outrebounding their opponents 43.6 to 43.1. After the win in Boston that saw Domantas Sabonis post a career-best 28 boards, the Kings are now dominating their opponents on the glass by a 48.3 to 40.7 advantage. This spike includes an increase from 10.1 offensive rebounds to 14.1 under Christie.

Over the last seven games, the Kings are forcing more turnovers (16.6 compared to 15 in the first 31 games), increased their steals from eight per game to 9.9 and decreased their opponents’ points per game from 113.6 to 112.3. 

The sample size under Christie is extremely small, but the hustle stats and overall offensive efficiency is encouraging. The Kings ran a net rating (offensive rating - defensive rating) of +1.6 (13th in the league) through 31 games. In the last seven, they are posting a net rating of +9, which is good enough for fifth overall in the league.  

There are plenty of factors that play into the team’s quick turnaround. Christie initially relied on a similar rotation to Brown’s, but whether by choice or out of necessity, he has made some subtle changes.

First on the list is the reemergence of Keon Ellis. For whatever reason, Ellis was in and out of Brown’s rotation throughout the year. When Christie took over the team, Ellis played 13 minutes in the first game and 20 in the second. Over the next five games Ellis averaged 33.5 minutes a night and started all five games due to injuries to Murray and Fox.

In the last five games as a starter, Ellis is averaging 11.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and three steals in 33.5 minutes per game. He’s shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from three over those games and he’s a combined +56. 

When we compare those figures to Ellis’ first 31 games where he averaged 6.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 19.9 minutes per game, it feels like a substantial jump in production. In reality, Ellis’ per 36 minute per game stats haven’t changed all that much, outside of his 3-point shooting numbers dropping from 40.7 percent to 35.7 percent and a bump in steals from two to a little over three. 

More Keon Ellis is a good thing for the Kings, but when Fox returns from injury, Christie will be in a bind trying to find him the same number of minutes. 

In addition to Ellis, Trey Lyles has returned to form. Lyles missed all of training camp with a groin injury and then another 10 game stretch with a calf strain. Lyles’ resurgence happened the game before the coaching change, but since the swap, Lyles is averaging 9.7 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three. 

These stats are much better than the 6.1 points and four rebounds on 38.6 from the field and 36.6 from three he averaged through his first 21 games of the year. Lyles’ ability to space the floor from both the power forward and center position gives the Kings more versatility. Christie initially used Alex Len as his backup five, but Lyles has stolen those minutes and continues to prove his value. 

Lastly, rookie Devin Carter made his debut four games ago and he’s quietly giving the Kings a boost. Carter is averaging 7.3 points, five rebounds and two assists in 15.3 minutes per game to open his career. Those numbers might not jump off the screen, but his per 36 numbers of 17.1 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists are intriguing. He is giving the Kings another defender and an elite rebounder from the guard position. 

There are a few other stats we could point to, whether it’s Sabonis’ increase in rebounds or Murray quietly returning to form, but the group above have made the biggest impact. 

It is possible this is the beginning of something special in Sacramento, but any real prediction would be irresponsible at this point. The team has seen a clear boost from the coaching change, but that often happens and in many instances, it eventually fades.

What we do know is that some of the metrics we can track are trending in the right direction. The increase in 3-point attempts and makes are good signs. The reduction in 3-point makes by the opponent and the fact that the Kings are outscoring their opponents from behind the arc is also a very encouraging sign. 

The rebounding trend, if sustainable, will help with the defensive numbers. The increase in scoring is also something that could be sustainable when you consider the fire power on the Kings roster and the fact that the team has been missing either Murray or Fox for the last five games.

Overall, Christie is pushing the right buttons and the players are buying in. He also has a team that underperformed through the first 31 games of the season and should not have been in the position they were in at six games under .500. 

The recovery to 19-19 gives the Kings a fighting chance. Sacramento’s remaining strength of schedule ranks 14th in the NBA and all things considered, they have a fighting chance. Christie needs the front office to add some size on the frontline, but in the meantime, the team is playing hard and built some incredible momentum.