Week in review: Covid hits Sacramento hard, uncertainty reigns in the Kingdom

Kings overwhelmed by Covid-19 outbreak

Author

James Ham
December 18, 2021

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Kings record: 12-18

Kings record on the week: 1-3

If you're not laughing, you're crying.

That's the new mantra in Sacramento as the Kings move forward with an incredible amount of uncertainty during a massive outbreak of covid-19 amongst the players and staff.

The week started off just like any other. The Kings were pounded by an upstart Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday evening to drop their second straight on a three game road trip. 

Maybe it was a hangover from a pair of missed free throws by De'Aaron Fox the night before in Charlotte, but the Kings didn't show up at all and were bullied off the court in a 117-103 loss.

The Kings finished off their three game trip with another embarrassing showing in Toronto. Nine players scored in double figures for the Raptors as the Kings' defense reverted back to its early season form in the 124-101 drubbing.

After an embarrassing 0-3 trip, the Kings returned home and all hell broke loose. It started with a positive covid test by interim head coach Alvin Gentry on Tuesday, but it quickly snowballed out of control.

While the team isn't allowed to confirm positive covid test results without players' consent, one King after another hit the injury report under the league's "health and safety protocol."

With Gentry, Marvin Bagley and Terence Davis out due to health and safety issues and Richaun Holmes still sitting with an eye injury, the short-handed Kings rallied behind Fox, Harrison Barnes and acting head coach Doug Christie on Wednesday.

Despite the chaos hanging over the team, the Kings hammered the Washington Wizards late, coming away with a 119-105 win to snap the three game skid.

Health and safety protocols once again became the theme of the week when Fox, Alex Len and Davion Mitchell all joined the injury report on Thursday and Friday. Playing with just 11 bodies, including Robert Woodard, Jahmi'us Ramsey, two-way player Neemias Queta and newly signed Justin Robinson (10-day contract two hours before the game), Christie's band of misfits were no match for the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, falling by a final of 124-105.

Injuries

Where do we start. Holmes has now missed five consecutive games after undergoing a procedure on his right eye. The team has yet to update his condition other than to say that he is day-to-day. At this point, it seems more like week-to-week. In addition to Holmes; Fox, Bagley, Davis, Len, Mitchell and two-way player Louis King are all locked into the league's health and safety protocol. The players need two negative tests within a 24-hour period to return to the court. There is no timetable for any of their returns, which is problematic with the team about to venture into a back-to-back with the Spurs and Warriors. There are also no assurances that the outbreak is controlled and there is potential for more positive tests over the next few days.

Player of the Week: Doug Christie

We don't usually choose a coach for the weekly award, but Christie had sat on an NBA bench for just 28 games heading into Wednesday since retiring from the league during the 2006-07 season. He got an early morning call that Gentry was out and he was in and he somehow made it work against a Wizards team that is currently in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. It wasn't always pretty, but Christie's players rallied behind their coach and came out on top. The second game didn't have the same results, not only was the team missing seven players, but assistant Mike Longabardi missed the game as well, leaving Christie with even less of a support staff.

Previous winner: Terence Davis

Stats of the Week

  • 6: How the league thinks it is okay for a team to lose two coaches and six players due to positive coronavirus testing and still suit up to play is beyond comprehension. "The show must go on" mantra is not only short-sighted, but it's dangerous. Good luck to the Wizards, Grizzlies, Spurs and Warriors who already have or will face the Kings as they go through a complete outbreak of the virus.

  • 1-1: The argument could be made that Christie wasn't ready to take over the Kings in regular times, be it as an interim or as the full-time coach of the Kings. But taking over a team in the midst of a three game losing streak and missing half its players? This team very well could be on a five game losing streak.

  • 100.45: That is the team's current pace, which ranks sixth in the league and has steadily climbed over the last two weeks under Alvin Gentry. The defense is a completely different issue, but at least the team is playing to its strength.

  • 9: This is the number of players that were listed on the Kings' injury report before Friday night's game against the Grizzlies. Tyrese Haliburton and Chimezie Metu were able to play, but the other seven watched from home. It's tough to win under normal circumstances in the NBA.

Quotes of the Week

"Obviously I'm frustrated by it, a lot of players are. It's a players safety thing to me. I can't eat anything in the locker room, I've got to eat in the hallway because I can't risk getting covid, but I can go out on the court and breath in dudes' faces, but when I come in the locker room I've got to space out. It's frustrating. I understand that we've got to play and it makes sense, the show must go on." -Tyrese Haliburton

"When I say unfinished business, this is a proud city that deserves a high level of basketball when they come out and watch." -Christie on taking over the team on a short-term basis

"There's no other place that I'd want to be than on the court with our team." -Christie

"I hadn't lost until I got here. So for 18 years of life, 19 years of life, every step that I played basketball I was winning something. I don't know how you do that, make it to the NBA, and now you just don't care about winning." -Fox on whether he cares about winning following the loss to the Raptors

"Right now, I'm not playing to the level that I'm capable of playing at. That's on me to continue to get better and do more for my team. If I wasn't at a level where I could play, then I wouldn't be out there." -Barnes on his health following the loss to then Raptors

"Hey, we're not quitters, I can tell you that right now. We're going to keep battling our ass off and we'll find a way to get through this." -Gentry after the loss to the Cavs on Saturday

Videos of the Week

Christie on the chaos of taking over the team on the fly:

Christie on unfinished business:

Neemias Queta makes his NBA debut, becoming the first player from Portugal to play in the NBA:

Fox with some emotion: 

Fox on playing hard (profanity warning):

Haliburton on playing while in a covid outbreak:

Weekly Reading

Weekly Podcasts

In addition to the audio, we now have the podcasts available on YouTube. subscribe to the YouTube channel and give us a thumbs up!

What's next?

Kings vs. San Antonio Spurs, Golden 1 Center, Sunday 3PM

Kings vs. Golden State Warriors, Chase Center, Monday 7PM

Kings vs. Los Angeles Clippers, Golden 1 Center, Wednesday 7PM

Kings vs. Memphis Grizzlies, Golden 1 Center, Sunday 3PM

Kings Beat Notes

We are continuing to build out The Kings Beat, with more exciting add-ons coming over the next week. We'll also be upgrading some of the look and feel of the YouTube show as time permits.

We've scheduled the second Kings Beat Off The Record Happy Hour for Thursday Jan. 6 from 5:30-7pm, although the first one ran long after a couple of Old Fashions! The only way to get the Zoom link to the Happy hour is to become a premium subscriber to The Kings Beat!

Sean Cunningham has a birthday on Monday, Dec. 20 (which he shares with De'Aaron Fox). Make sure to give him a follow and wish him a happy birthday @SeanCunningham on Twitter. 

Lastly, the NBA has been a good indicator of things that are happening around the world when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic. Please take care of yourself and be safe in the coming days as we see a ramp up in positive tests. Happy holidays! -James

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