Week in review: Happy Holidays to all from the Kings Beat!

Despite challenges, Kings continue to fight through adversity

Author

James Ham
December 25, 2021

Welcome to The Kings Beat. A friendly reminder that this is a free preview of soon-to-be premium content. If you want to support original columns just like this, make sure to get a premium subscription to The Kings Beat. Only premium subscribers receive the invite to the upcoming Off The Record Kings Beat Happy Hour on Jan. 6.

Kings record: 13-20

Kings record on the week: 1-2

Just hold it together.

Every week comes with a new vibe and mantra for the 2021-22 Sacramento Kings. The covid-19 outbreak has run through the franchise, sending seven players into the league's health and safety protocols, as well as two coaches and approximately 10 staff members. 

Expectations are out the window until the Kings, and so many other teams around the league, find a way to get through the current situation ravaging the league. As I write this early Christmas morning, there is still no word on the availability of any of the Kings' coaches or players for the team's next game on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Under acting head coach Doug Christie, the Kings are now 2-3. Christie's band of fill-ins and replacements started off this week with an impressive 121-114 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, which had the team feeling good about themselves.

The win didn't come without drama. Moe Harkless had some loud words for Buddy Hield at the end of the first quarter, which seemed to light a fire under the team. Hield couldn't miss late in the game, scoring 24 of his team-high 29 points in the final 15 minutes of the game.

They carried that energy into Monday's back-to-back against the Golden State Warriors, but with De'Aaron Fox, Terence Davis, Alex Len, Mavin Bagley, Lou King and Davion Mitchell all in protocols, and starting center Richaun Holmes on the shelf with an eye injury, the Kings ran out of gas late against one of the best teams in the Western Conference.

All five starters scored in double figures in the loss to the Warriors, but Sacramento's bench scored just 11 points and the team faded down the stretch. Steph Curry, Damian Lee and Draymond Green all put up solid numbers in the Warriors' 113-98 win.

Rookie center Neemias Queta was added the Kings' health and safety protocols list on Tuesday, but Christie received some good news when Holmes finally made his return on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers. 

Holmes missed a total of seven games with a lacerated right eye. He didn't quite look like himself on the court, but that was to be expected after a two week lay-off. 

The Clippers threw a few new wrinkles into their game plan and they played a physical style as they walked all over the Kings for a 105-89 win. The loss sent the Kings to 13-20 on the season and pushed them to the twelfth spot in the Western Conference standings.

Injuries

The outbreak is real. Seven players are currently out in health and safety protocols with no set date for a return. Gentry, Bagley and Davis were the first wave of Kings to hit protocols somewhere between 10-11 days ago. The second wave of Fox, Mitchell and Len fell into protocols a day or two later. There is no early word if any of these players are ready to return, but Sunday could get interesting if half the roster is cleared to step back on the court.

Player of the Week: Tyrese Haliburton

When Fox was put on ice, it opened a door. Haliburton is the player who stepped up and showed that he was ready for more. The Kings' second-year guard is currently riding a four game stretch of scoring 20 points or more and dishing out at least 10 assists. Over the stretch, the 21-year-old is averaging 23.5 points and 11.3 assists in 39.8 minutes per game. He's shooting 50 percent from 3-point range and 52.9 percent from the field during the stretch and showing that he is ready for primetime.  

Previous winner: Doug Christie

Stats of the Week

  • 19: That is the number of players, coaches and personnel that are currently missing. Gentry and defensive coordinator Mike Longabardi are using Facetime to help Christie game plan, but this is a team that is turning to unproven players to get them through and they don't even have an equipment staff to create new jerseys. The team has added Justin Robinson, Ade Murkey and Emmanuel Mudiay just to field a team. It's a wild time in Sacramento.

  • 3: Before taking over the team last week, Christie had spent just 28 games on an NBA bench as a coach since retiring from the league during the 2006-07 season. When the Kings let Luke Walton go and elevated Gentry early in the season, they did not replace the assistant spot. With Longabardi and Gentry out, Christie is basically down three assistant coaches. This isn't ideal, but the fact that he ran a 2-3 record over the last week without support and down nearly half his roster is impressive.

  • 20-10: Haliburton is the first player to post four consecutive 20-point, 10-assist games for the Kings since the franchise relocated to Sacramento from Kansas City prior to the 1985-86 season.

  • 1: Before falling into the league's health and safety protocols, Queta played a total of 10 minutes over two games for the Kings and became the first player from Portugal to make an appearance in an NBA game. The 7-footer hasn't scored yet, but he has a nice skill set and there are a lot of people behind the scenes in Sacramento who love his potential.

Tweet of the Week

Portugal loves Queta:

Quotes of the Week

"I don't think I'll ever play another game without goggles after this experience." -Holmes after returning to the court after a seven game absence

"My bad is not going to cut it in this league. You lose doing that." -Christie following the KIngs' loss to the Clippers

"I'm going to continue to learn - blitz, box-and-1, ice - they threw a lot of different things. It's my job to make sure that we've got something else and prepare for it. So, in many ways, I take this one for the guys." -Christie after the Kings' loss to the Warriors

"Quiet teams lose, you know what I'm saying. So we've got to communicate more, we've got to talk more and that's going to help us in the long run." -Haliburton 

Videos of the Week

Christie on the spat between Harkless and Hield on the sidelines against the Spurs:

Haliburton on Harkless...and then Hield:

Holmes on his eye injury:

Haliburton on his seven turnover game:

Christie on the experience of coaching five games:

Weekly Reading

Weekly Podcasts

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

What's next?

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

Kings vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden 1 Center, Tuesday 7PM

Kings vs. Dallas Mavericks, Golden 1 Center, Wednesday 7:30PM

Kings vs. Dallas Mavericks, Golden 1 Center, Friday 3PM

Kings Beat Notes

We are continuing to build out The Kings Beat, with more exciting add-ons coming over the next few weeks. 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!

Lastly, happy holidays from The Kings Beat crew. It's a crazy time we are living in. Hug your loved ones and be safe out there!

Reply

or to participate.