Kings fall to 0-3, but still plenty of positives to digest

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“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” -Robert Burns

0-3 was not the plan, but it is the reality for the Sacramento Kings. Waving a magic wand and announcing that this is finally the season the team snaps their 16-year playoff drought doesn’t work. Declaring the season over after three games isn’t fair either.

This was always going to be a grind. Mike Brown took over a tear down, not a remodel. He isn’t panicking, although watching his team give up 89 points in the first half against his former employer could not have felt good. 

“The thing that disappointed me the most in that first half defensively, is the amount of times we scored and then they scored in transition,” Brown said. “That was really bothersome to me and it happened time after time after time.”

Brown, who received his championship ring from the Warriors before tip off, understood what his team was up against. He coached on Steve Kerr's staff for six seasons and has three rings for his trouble. 

Now the front man in Sacramento, he has to find a way to reinvent a franchise on the fly. The early returns are mixed, despite the three losses. One of the biggest issues he has to face as the Kings' coach is trying to avoid the spiral that has hit this team in so many other seasons. This is the first bout of adversity for Brown and his team this season, and it won't be the last. 

The mood in the locker room was also even keeled. There is no time yet for panic. The season is just a few days old, the team is still gelling and this group has spent a lot of time bonding to help get through these rough patches. 

“The mood is great, we know we’re in every single game, we’re fighting, every single game we have a chance,” Domantas Sabonis said. “That’s not going to break us down. We’re all good. There are good vibes in the locker room. We know how good we are.”

It’s early, so the Kings aren’t coming apart at the seams just yet, but there should at least be some concern. Sacramento hasn’t put together a full 48 minutes of strong play yet and they’ve had moments where everything goes wrong, like in the second quarter against the Warriors where they gave up 50 point,s

Positives

Sacramento isn’t the only winless team in the NBA this season. They join an illustrious list that includes the Lakers, 76ers, Magic, Thunder and Rockets. Of this group, LA and Philly are teams trying to win, like the Kings. The rest are careening toward the draft lottery where Victor Wembanyama awaits. 

The Kings have faced three teams that are currently playing well. Portland is 3-0. The Clippers and Warriors are both 2-1 early in the season. 

There are some positives to point to. Despite giving up 130 to the Warriors on Sunday, the Kings currently rank 19th in defensive ranking. It’s early, but there are signs of a more cohesive unit, even against two stellar offensive opponents.

Brown also has his offense humming. Through three games, the Kings have the 15th best offensive rating and the team’s net rating of -3.8 is 20th. These are small sample sizes, but against a schedule like what the Kings have faced, it should build some confidence around potential things to come. 

Early in the season there are three players who have stood out on the offensive end. After a rough start to last season, De’Aaron Fox has elevated his game greatly in the first three games of the 2022-23 season. 

The Kings’ starting point guard is averaging 31.7 points, 7.0 assists and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 59.4 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range. His improvement on the defensive end also stands out, even if the Kings have struggled overall on this end. 

Whether he can continue at this pace is a good question, but the raw numbers mean very little if the Kings continue to lose, which Fox knows full-well. 

“It doesn’t matter if we’re not winning,” Fox said of his fast start. “We’ll have to get on in the W column.”

In addition to Fox, Kevin Huerter is also off to a fast start. Despite a tough showing against Golden State, where he shot just 1 of 8 from 3-point range, the 24-year-old is averaging 16.7 points per game on 48 percent shooting from long range. 

The Kings have used Huerter as a secondary playmaker and he’s responded by averaging 3.7 assists per game. His ability to move on the perimeter and find open looks is impressive, as is his demeanor on the court.

Lastly, rookie Keegan Murray is proving to be everything the Kings hoped he would be when they drafted him and then some. The 22-year-old missed the opener while recovering from Covid-19, but he’s made an immediate impact when healthy.

Through two games, Murray is averaging 17.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He’s shooting 54.2 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from 3-point range while leading the team in minutes per game at 35.5.  

While he needs to get his rebounding numbers up, Murray has proven to be extremely versatile and ready for almost any situation. He defended Paul George for stretches in his first game and had to work against Draymond Green in game two. He’s handled every situation with the same calm that we have seen throughout summer league and preseason. 

“At the end of the day, we played three really good teams so far, but we want to be a playoff team, so we have to beat playoff teams,” Murray said. “For us, we need to be able to pull these games out and against these teams, you have to play and execute for all four quarters.”

Murray ran out of gas late in the game against the Warriors, but that is to be expected from a rookie. He continues to shine and Brown appears ready to give him a more substantial role moving forward. 

“He started in the second half, so there’s a chance he can start going forward,” Brown said after the loss at Chase Center.

Negatives

We can look at the offensive and defensive ratings all we want, but the eye test says the Kings still have a long way to go, especially when it comes to stopping their opponent. Sacramento gave up 89 points to the Warriors in the first half and it could have been worse.

Adjustments have to be made, but the team also needs time to find defensive chemistry and build trust. It will be a process, but no one is going to wait around while the Kings figure it out.

As far as individual performances, there has to be concern about the play of Harrison Barnes early in this season. The veteran averaged just 7.5 points per game during the exhibition season on 31.4 percent shooting from the field and 12.5 percent shooting from 3-point range.

Through three regular season games, the numbers look similar, with Barnes posting seven points on 36.8 percent shooting from the floor. He’s missed all five of his 3-point attempts, which is alarming for two reasons. The misses are one thing, but the Kings are averaging 40.7 3-point attempts per game as a team, which ranks fourth in the NBA. Barnes, a career 37.8 percent shooter from deep, is hoisting just 1.7 attempts per game. 

Barnes’ offensive rating is just 104.8 and his defensive rating is 116.6, for a net rating of -11.8. In addition, the veteran forward is hitting just 53.8 percent from the free throw line. Again, these numbers are a tiny sample size, but carryover from the preseason to the regular season is cause for concern. 

While Barnes’ struggles stick out, there are other players who are off to a slow start as well. Davion Mitchell is currently averaging 4.3 points and three assists in 18 minutes per game off of Brown’s bench. He’s hitting just 30 percent from the field and 11.1 percent from 3-point range. 

Mitchell continues to play tough defense, but he’s drawing fouls at a high clip early in the season and it feels like he is pressing a bit. 

Malik Monk was having similar struggles to Barnes and Mitchell, but he looked more like himself in the loss to the Warriors. Monk finished the game with 16 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals against Golden State, which showed his versatility and where he can potentially help this Kings team.

It’s early and the Kings need more time in the pot to simmer, but the NBA schedule waits for no one. The Kings have a three day break to collect themselves and get ready for another top tier Western Conference opponent when the Memphis Grizzlies roll through Sacramento on Thursday.