An honest look at the Sacramento Kings | The Athletic NBA Show
Welcome to the slam and jam here on the athletic NBA show I’m your host Andrew schle with me as always is Alex Spears please go to the athletic.com NBA show get the athletic for a discounted rate uh the quality of the articles that are written on the athletic is just there’s
There’s nothing that you can compare to it it’s great U from the stuff that James Edwards is putting out there about the hor horrific Pistons to I mean law Murray is always pumping out something good Fred cats you can look at all of his stuff on the ogn and
Obi trade it’s just great and you can get it at a discounted rate and you go to the athletic.com show it’s wonderful uh with me as always Alex Spears Alex tell me what happened in the NBA this week well Andrew it all started last Friday night with two teams we haven’t
Talked about in a while the Brooklyn Nets and your Washington Wizards the Wizards got their sixth win of the Season beating Brooklyn 110 to 104 behind 26 from Kyle kusma and 213 and six from Denny abdia the Wizards continue to be a team playing in the NBA
For the Nets things aren’t looking great they are currently on a five-game losing streak and are two- 10 in their last 12 and if that doesn’t sound bad enough to you for some reason the two wins during that stretch were against the Detroit Pistons a team that is currently giving
The GM who took four years to construct the greatest loser in the sports history a couple more chances just to make sure speaking of those pistons on Saturday night all good things must come to an end and on this night it was the final episode of the best show on television
The Pistons ended their losing streak at 28 games with a 129 to 127 win over the Toronto Raptors Kate Cunningham put up 30 and 12 in the two-point win hitting all 10 of his free throws now if you enjoyed watching the Pistons over the stretch and are sad your favorite show
Is over the good news is the Pistons have been renewed for season two and are already on a losing streak again the Raptors were without starter OG anobi in the game along with precious auua and Malachi Flynn because we had our first trade of the Season prior to the game
The Raptors sent OG precious and Flynn to the New York Knicks in exchange for Emanuel quickly RJ Barrett and a Detroit Pistons second round pick on Sunday the New Orleans Pelicans took it to the Los Angeles Lakers leading by double digits for most of the game and finishing them
Off 129 to 109 after the disappointing appearance in Vegas against those same Lakers things have been looking up for the pels they are nine and3 since the inseason tournament with two big wins over the Timberwolves it’s been a great run though it is worth mentioning that the other seven wins during that stretch
Were the Wizards Hornets Spurs the injured Cavs Jazz Lakers and Nets not exactly a murderer’s row but hey the Pelicans are 21 and 14 and they have moved up to sixth in the west only a game back of tonight’s opponent the clippers for fourth for the Lakers it’s
That time of year the Lakers have lost three in a row in eight of their last 10 with much of the blame online going to head coach Darin ham could this be the end of ham in Laker land sham shiria tweeted later in the week that quote there’s currently a growing disconnect
Between darham and the Lakers locker room stemming from disjointedness around rotation and adjustments on Monday it was the debuts for all the players included in Saturday’s trade between the Raptors and the Knicks the deal was seen by many as a win-win trade and so far that take is
Looking pretty good because on Monday the Knicks beat the Wolves and the wraps beat the Cavs and later in the week the Knicks beat the Bulls while the Ws beat the Grizz for a combined 4 and0 record since the trade winwin on Tuesday it was the biggest
Test of the season for the young Oklahoma City Thunder with a healthy Boston Celtics team Coming to Town the Thunder were up by 18 with seven minutes left in the game when Boston turned it on getting it all the way down to a two-point game with a couple minutes
Left in the end however clutch shots from Chad hren and Jaylen Williams helped the Thunder escape with a 27 to 123 Victory the Thunder are now 23 and 10 and since we last spoke have gotten Western Conference wins over the 1 seed wolves three seed nuggets and four seed
Clippers on Wednesday those four seed Clippers were in Phoenix to play the Suns who are once again without one of their big three through 34 games the booker Beal and Katie Trio have played a grand total of 65 minutes together tonight it was KD who was out and
Despite Booker putting up 35 points on 15 shots it was the Clippers who won 131 to 122 their 11th straight win when kawhai Leonard plays despite the ongoing injury wos things aren’t awful for the Suns before the Clippers game they were had been on a 4 game winning streak and
They now sit at 18- 16 ninth in the west finally on Thursday night it was a great game between the 25-10 Milwaukee Bucks and the 5 and 29 San Antonio Spurs Victor wanyama put on a show on his birthday scoring a highlight fill 27 and9 with five blocks including an
Incredible block on Yannis an DMO in the final seconds of the game wemy got help from his teammates too including 34 from Devon vasel but it was Giannis and the Bucks who got the 125 to 121 win Giannis put up 444 and seven his highlights included a
Clutch three with two and a half minutes left to give the Bucks a late three-point lead for the Spurs it was a nice showing on national TV Unfortunately they are still somehow in the argument for worst team in the league with their league worse minus 11.4 net rating an incredible
Accomplishment in a season featuring the Detroit Pistons all right so at this point I wrote that last sentence I just said with about three minutes left in the Denver Golden State game I had it on in the background but honestly was mostly ignoring it because the warriors
Were up big I felt safe I don’t need to wait I I I I’ll just talk about the Spurs game but no we’re talking about both games last night because the warriors were up 123 to 105 with 651 remaining in the game ESPN analytics gave Golden State a
99.6% chance of winning at that point the final score 130 Denver 127 Golden State in regulation the Nuggets went on a 25 to four run to close the game and capped it all off with Nicola yic hitting a banked three from 39 ft As Time expired to get the win the nuggets
Are still good the Warriors are a half game up on the Jazz for the 11th Seas what a week it was Andrew what a week indeed Al I uh I’m gonna touch on the uh Steph Curry and the the Golden State Wars in my segment called five stats that made me
Say first stat this is actually like very Thunder heavy which is the team that we both cover and also the kind of the team of the week it seems like everybody wants to talk about the thunder this week so we’re going to talk about the thunder a little bit here too
So the Thunder starters have played 352 minutes together 352 that’s a lot of minutes SGA Dort giddy jdub chat at a plus 6.9 which is pretty nice some might say the second most played lineup is if you sub out Josh Giddy and put in Sharpshooter Isaiah Joe plus 22 that’s
Very good but it’s only in 37 minutes they’ve played 309 different lineup combinations this season that Thunder have according to nba.com and their their like second most played lineup is 37 minutes it’s yeah insane it’s insane and like other teams have played more lineups like Dallas has played more lineup Detroit has played
More lineups but a lot of that’s due to injury and for the Thunder they’ve been one of the healthier teams in the NBA yeah and they’re still just trying so many different lineup combinations and it’s really the only like true metric that you have on this team is a starting
Lineup and they’re pretty good but there are a lot of like lineups sprinkled in there that are obviously much better than a plus 6.9 but uh I thought that was interesting because you when you compare them to other teams their their profile is like that of a team that’s
Had a ton of injuries and they just haven’t had that so far and I would say there’s a segment of the Thunder fan base who that annoys greatly I i’ I’ve given up uh because I’ve got I’ve just used to uh dnal playing so many different lineups yeah yeah yeah but you
Know there are still moments like apparently he sat kenri Williams in their last game against Atlanta and he was healthy some people have have brought that up uh and we’re we’re quite frustrated because kenri is such a big part of this team’s success so right but
It’s it’s what the team has done going back since Deal’s been here so yeah and the team would say the Thunder would say they see it as an advantage that people just don’t know outside of their starters they don’t know quite what they’re going to do so right um and it’s
Worked it’s mostly worked this season uh stat number two that made me say Steph Curry he’s taken the most clutch field goals in the NBA so far this season at 58 he’s shooting 50 45 96 in the clutch so far this season and yet
W the Warriors are only 13 and 11 so you have Steph who’s taken the most shots and he’s like he’s hitting most of his shots except for last night where he missed two of them and had one of the most egregious turnover it was horrible last in the
Clutch but if you’re the Warriors like that made me like really worry because like some of it could be like shooting aberration from from Curry or whatever no he’s been amazing and yet they still can’t win these clutch games I mean and and that they’re getting in so many of
Those clutch games I mean you said 1311 so that’s 24 of their games been close at the end yeah yeah it’s too many it left left Curry it left Curry gnawing on his mouth guard last night in disbelief that shot he just sat there and whoever the shout out to whoever the
Cameraman was on TNT who just had the camera just zeroed in on Curry as he just stood there just like staring off into space just gnawing on his for forever um but shout out to Steph Curry he I mean this Warriors team is is kind of a mess I mean you could
Even see the panic in the lineups that they were playing down the stretch where they’re playing like Char and Trace Jackson Davis and like all these like my goodness like there their lineups they were throwing out there at the end of the of the game were just kind of wild
Like they just don’t know where to go you know from from night toight which signals to me that they’re probably going to have to make some kind of trade if they want to be like in the postseason mix uh shout out to Josh hustus who preseason said the Warriors
Aren’t making the playoffs or the playin like they’re going to be in which was a really bold take then and now it’s like wow like that could actually happen all right stat that made me say number three the Thunder not only have the best free throw percentage in the NBA at
84.7% if they finish there or above 83.9 which is the current record set by the 2021 Clippers they will have the best free throw percentage for a team of all time which I just don’t feel like is being talked about at all like how good
Like them and the six the Sixers are in this conversation too at 84.2% both those teams would be the best free throw shooting teams of all time and it’s happening this season and I just don’t feel like I really hear that being mentioned anywhere um I was just
Looking it up because that Clippers team they were 28th in the league in free throw attempt so they weren’t taking a ton of them what’s really impressive I mean OKC’s impressive but they also are below average in free throw attempts they’re 17th what’s really impressive is the
Sixers are number one in the league in free throw attempts and are shooting 84.2% they’re making making all of them but yeah I thought that was that that was that kind of blew my mind because I I really don’t feel like and I know it’s been discussed in like some corners of
The NBA but I don’t feel like I’ve heard it discussed on like a more of a national platform but 84.7 for the Thunder 84.2 for the Sixers both would be like the two best of all time all right stat number four that made me say the Minnesota Timberwolves starting
Lineup Mike connley Anthony Edwards uh McDaniels towns goar one of the best teams in the west you’d think man that’d be great 278 minutes together only a plus 2.1 which I was like huh that’s interesting if you sub McDaniels for nikil Alexander Walker they’re plus 10 and 119 minutes
Together and then even if you take out goar and put in Troy Brown where they’re playing more of like a a 2024 type of offense it’s only in 62 minutes but they’re at plus 29 in eight games together I just thought that was really interesting I I would have thought you
Know the the wolf starting lineup is one that’s played some of the most minutes in the NBA 278 minutes together and I just expected to see a better number from that lineup they they’ve really struggled really in particular to score the basketball with that group and and
Some of it is that like the like the true creator of that group is is a Edwards Conley can do it a little bit off the bounce but you know if you’re asking like towns or McDaniels or goar to create like they can’t and so I just thought that was kind of interesting
Where you know nikil Alexander Walker is not as good of a player as MCD but he’s definitely more of like a Creator off the bounce and so I wonder if that has something to do with it and some of it is like some of these numbers can be a
Little funny you know over time yeah I wonder because they’re I mean they’re not in a slump but they haven’t been as good lately they’re four and four in their last eight so I wonder if where that number was prior to the Sixers game on the 20th when this kind of mini slump
Started yeah but just something to watch for with that with that wolves team is like they like that is not exactly the profile of a team that would be number one in the Western Conference you know with a plus 2.1 only so something to watch for all right my last stat that
Made me say shay gild Alexander is not only an MVP candidate scoring over 30 points per game with his Shifty offensive plays but he’s also a hustle stat King first off he leads the league in total steals by a mile he has 80 total Steals on the season second in the
League but’s table at 55 like he just has an outrageous amount of steals he also leaves the league and loose balls recovered and deflections this season and so all this to say he’s his defense is part of the reason why the thunder are one of the best defenses in
The league they’re they currently ranked sixth they were fourth the other day before the Atlanta debacle like they’re really good and they’re able to use they kind of tether Dort and Chet together and then it allows Shay to kind of like play like free safety on defense and he
Is like thriving in that role so it’s also gonna be a big part of his MVP argument yeah at the end of the season because as as good as he has been on offense and he obviously has been he’s hyper efficient he what he’s offering defensively is just such a different
Player than what we saw two years ago mhm and and that is the reason he’s made this huge jump that he’s made where everyone is kind of talking about him as a top five player yeah yeah he’s he is fully locked in on both ends which I
Think should make him top two top three an MVP this season so all right those are the stats that made me say um all right Andrew everyone knows uh we’re Thunder fans Andrew just gave some Thunder stats and look we we really do try not to talk about Thunder that
Much on this podcast it’s true we we we don’t want to be seen as homers we want it to be about the league but sometimes it is unavoidable and their recent run which I mentioned earlier included wins over the other top teams in the in the top of the Western Conference it’s
Become a moment for this team you’re hearing every NBA podcast do a segment on the Thunder and one of the big topics of conversation around this team right now is are the Thunder a true Contender a lot of people answering this question with a resounding yes and I get it
Statistically it’s difficult to look at this team and not conclude that they are a contender per cleaning glass we talking about the fifth ranked offense sixth ranked defense third best point differential halfcourt offense is number one in the league half court defense is fourth in the league they’re the number
One three-point shooting team in the league number two mid-range team in the league every stat you find about this team is screaming at you that they are a contender which frankly makes me very uncomfortable Andrew I I don’t handle success well I’m bad at enjoying things
I was watching poku play 30 minutes a night what seemed like a few months ago and now we’re a contender I I don’t know if I’m there yet because of what the Thunder as a contender represent because not only are they young not only are they inexperienced but we’re talking
About a team being a quote unquote contender in their first playoffs yeah even in the face of all these amazing stats it feels inconceivable that this team could really be a contender now to put that youth and inexperience into context hispanos NBA the number one site for looking up this stat list the
Thunder average age as 23.7 which is only older than the Spurs and pistons Who currently have a combined eight wins for the playoff experience here’s a quick trivia question for our listeners because I know you know the answer this Andrew who has the most career playoff
Games on the Thunder I’ll give you a few seconds to think of a name the answer is Davis Berton with 45 career playoff games Davis is currently averaging seven and a half minutes per game in OKC his role on the Thunder is sometimes coming in and shooting three threes as fast as
He can and then immediately going back and sitting on the bench that is his current role all of OKC’s playoff experience and wisdom is largely tied up in that man but okay I say that the Thunder as a contender would be a historical anomaly but is that actually
True have there been any teams like OKC in the past that I could look to as an example a proof of concept that a team this young this inexperience could actually be deserving of the contender label in their first playoffs and so that’s what I went looking for I went
Back to the 1983 84 season which I picked because it was the first season the playoffs expanded to eight teams in each conference I started by looking for any team that had homecourt in the playoffs after having not been in the playoffs for at least the previous two
Seasons so in other words a team that was in the lottery for multiple years and then exploded onto the scene in their first playoff season the one exception to this that I made was the 8990 Spurs okay they did make the playoffs in the 8788 season which was
Only two seasons prior but they did it with a 31 and 51 record wow do you remember when they announced the playin you heard some people saying it was rewarding bad teams and that it was crazy to have 10 of 16 teams in a conference make the postseason back in
The 80s eight teams made the playoffs when they were only 11 and 12 teams in each conference only seven of the 23 teams in the league missed the playoffs and they call us the participation trophy generation anyway this got me down to 26 teams as an example last
Year’s Kings team qualifies as one of these teams last year’s Cavs team also qualifies both had homecourt in the playoffs after having missed the playoffs for at least the two previous Seasons then I looked at the average age of these 26 teams I decided to calculate
The Aver average age of the top eight players in minutes played for each team focusing on the main guys who are contributing I also looked at each team’s offensive and defensive efficiency numbers and whether they had an MVP candidate That season since SGA being one seems like an important aspect
Of OKC’s Contender argument having that top tier level of player makes it easier to say they’re a contender and I defined MVP candidate as someone finishing in the top five of MVP voting yeah and with that I started to whittle the list down okay first of all three of the 26 teams
Actually won the title and none of them have anything in common with OKC it was the bubble Lakers the oldest team on this list the 2022 Warriors another old team who really shouldn’t have made this list but did somehow miss the playoffs two seasons in a row and the 2008
Celtics another old team with experienced vets the only older team that I thought shared some similarities with this OKC team was the 08 Hornets Chris Paul was 22 his thir third season in the league he finished second in MVP voting Tyson Chandler was 25 David West
Was 27 they won 56 games and similar to OKC great three-point shooting team not an amazing rebounding team didn’t turn the ball over and top 10 in both offense and defense they ended up losing in the second round in that seven game series to the Spurs a great series average age
Was 28.6 though so not a perfect match the teams that made the finals without winning at all were all older as well with an average age of at least 26 and a half that was the 2002 Nets the 2015 Cavs which was LeBron’s first return
Season and the 2021 Suns now the 21 suns are an interesting comp for OKC obviously Chris Paul’s age brings up the average but the core outside of him was Booker who was fourth in MVP voting that year Bridges and cam Johnson who were all 24 and Aon who was 22 and similar to
The’ 08 hornets and probably every Chris Paul team and this year’s Thunder another good three-point shooting team that was below average in rebounding didn’t turn the ball over and were top 10 in offense and defense lost in the finals to the Bucks had a ton more playoff experience simply because of CP3
But otherwise not a bad comp looking at some of the younger teams on this list there’s some fun ones now the Thunder of all these teams are still the youngest team on this list but the second youngest team with an average age of 23.9 was the’ 05 Bulls the first Bulls
Team to make it to the playoffs post Georgia won 47 games and lost in the first round as the four seed another really fun team that I personally loved was the 09 Blazers who won 54 games had an average age of 24 had guys like Brandon Roy LaMarcus Aldridge Nick patum Greg Odin
Rudy Fernandez Travis Outlaw Martell Webster 25-year-old chaining fry can you remember when chaining fry was 25 just an overwhelming number of young players who you could get excited about I distinctly remember talking myself into Travis Outlaw right around this time did you know his nickname is Mr fourth quarter did you know
That I kind of remember hearing that but that that seems improbable that that would be his actual nickname that Blazers roster was not too dissimilar to the Thunder’s current roster makeup with young guys up and down the nightly rotation yeah so if you’re looking purely at roster construction I think
The 09 Blazers are the best comp on this list it’s easy to forget now but that team was loaded tent Brandon Roy was an allar alers was assumed to be allar Odin played 61 games that season that was his second season we all know what happened how injuries kind of derailed everything
But that roster was stacked with 24 and under talent and winning 54 games in their first trip to the playoffs is still a massive achievement they lost in the first round to the rockets in six so good comp but not if you want to believe in OKC as a contender another team I’ll
Mention which I think is a decent comp though again not necessarily as a true Contender the 2019 nuggets average age of 25.3 not too old joic was fourth in MVP voting That season their playoff rotation featured big minutes from joic 21-year-old Jamal Murray Gary Harris Malik Beasley Monty Morris all who were
24 under now they did have 33-year-old Paul milap he did bring their average up but pretty young otherwise top 10 in offense and defense they end up losing in the second round to Portland in seven that was the year that Portland went to the conference final the final team I’ll mention and arguably
The best comp if you really want to believe in this Thunder team is a team not on the list because it was a team from the 1970s the 1977 Portland Trailblazers average age 24.8 which is incredibly low for any team but especially a team in the 70s
When guys were coming into the league much older yeah their top four in minutes played were all 24 under led by allst stars Maurice Lucas and Bill Walton who was second in MVP voting That season in their first playoff appearance not their first playoff appearance in a couple years literally the franchise’s
First playoff appearance the Blazers won the title beating the Sixers in six games now you can’t really compare the two teams stylistically they didn’t have a three-point line although I will say that that 77 Blazers team is often talked about as you know an example of unselfish basketball which which you
Hear that a lot about the thunder as well but age-wise the 77 Blazers are the best argument for a firsttime playoff team being a true Contender so if you’re buying into the Thunder as a contender I think the 21 Suns and the 77 Blazers are the teams you want to hold
On to the teams that should give you some hope no team is going to be a perfect comp but in terms of having a young MVP candidate with a young surrounding core that was good on both ends those are the two teams that stand out so while OKC actually winning would
Still definitely be a once- Ina League event because again and they’re the youngest team of all the ones I mentioned maybe it’s not quite as far-fetched as I had once assumed Andrew yeah yeah that makes sense it except for like you have to go back like 50 years
You do have to go back 50 years it’s not crazy when they didn’t have a three-point line there were just a couple teams in the league whatever isn’t that that is amazing though about the Blazers that having an average AG just having an average age of 24.8 in
The 70s and then winning the championship that young of a roster I mean that it must have been impossible to have that many young guys on a team and if if if you’re interested in that team go read breaks of the game an amazing book there was about I think the
Third season after that season when things started falling apart they were barely making the playoffs at that point um largely due to injuries to Bill Walton but there’s a ton of stuff going on with that team it’s incredible book if you haven’t read it a classic in the
Genre well we’re going to talk about another really fun team with deuce and mo we’re talking about the Sacramento Kings right after this break all right Andrew it is time for the wheel of fandom our weekly segment where we spin a wheel it lands on a team and we become
Fans of that team for the next week two weeks ago the wheel landed on the Sacramento Kings now it was an up and down two weeks for the Kings who went four and three over that span with wins over Phoenix Atlanta Memphis and Orlando in a double overtime Thriller while the
Three losses included an understandable one to Minnesota and two absolute stinkers a blowout loss to Portland and a loss at home to the Hornets who came into the game on an 11 game losing streak the kings are now 20 and 13 fifth in the west per cleaning glass the Kings
Have the 13th ranked offense and 21st ranked defense Andrew if the kings are our favorite team who are our guests when we were talking about this I said there’s only one one group one Duo that I would like to have for the Kings dece Mason and Morgan Reagan from the
Deuce and mo podcast I’ve just been singing deuce and mo all just so gosh apprciate you guys for having us again than for being on again guys they’re in the studio so you got to go check out YouTube just to see them in the studio here on their tiny little SC their
Little screen with us on our screens it’s great it’s great um so through 33 games last season the kings were 18 and 15 this season the kings are 20 and 13 through 33 games last year was such a special season for Kings fans how different has the experience been of
Year two uh like compare it to to last year with the increasing expectations coming off last year’s run that’s it I mean it’s it’s so different and I knew it was going to be different there’s nothing like the come up right especially when you’ve had 16 years of
Missing the Playoffs I mean last year it was like the kings are at five 500 can you believe it you know like we’re all getting super excited just about being average and so now there’s increased expectations you know it’s like hey can they be better defensively what’s that
Number one ranked offense going to look like this year and this year started with dearon being bang banged up a little bit Keegan coming off a really slow start Kevin herder who’s really been a non-factor this year so it’s been kind of bizarre but then you’re like
Well they’re ahead of schedule a little bit compared to last year feel like obviously record-wise that they’re ahead of schedule but I think what’s also been disappointing in some of their losses they look bad and then in some of their wins it’s it’s powerful it’s like this
Is the team that needs to just show some consistency going forward and that’s why even at the end of 2023 it was like all right that win against the Grizzlies just a complete win on New Year’s Eve and then two days later a terrible loss against so horn it’s to start off
2024 you you mentioned uh the offense and last year it was number one in the league and at that time the most efficient offense we’d ever seen this season the offense has dropped off some despite Darren Fox suddenly becoming an incredible high volume shooter the offense is currently down to 13th in the
League what do you think are some of the primary reasons for the comparatively slow start for the Kings offense I know you mentioned the early injuries but I was looking even over like the last 10 games their offense has still been ranked 13 so it seems like even as
People have been been getting healthy the offense has still been a little slow compared to last season it’s definitely been up and down and what’s Wild is last year’s number one ranked offense in league history would actually rank eighth this year in the NBA and that’s what’s wild about what offenses are
Doing right now throughout the league I mean I I think the biggest thing is you look at two of the Kings most productive three-point Shooters last year Keegan Murray and of course Kevin herder those guys made over 200 threes over 40% clip Kevin herder is you know he’s not even
Starting right now they’re starting Chris Duarte ahead so it feels like they’re trying to figure out what’s going on with the shooting guard spot it seems like Keegan Murray starting to come out of this funk a little bit he’s showing more flashes of being consistent but he’s still a young guy I think
That’s hurt them a lot and I feel like they gone away from some of the stuff that made them successful last year they were heavy dribble handoff team they’re not playing as fast part of this seems like it’s deliberate like they want to make sure that they’re doing other
Things so come playoff time when teams are trying to take away the dribble handoffs and some of the things that they’re so comfortable with that they can handle that better come playoff time but yeah it’s just been clunky I mean Duce pretty much just said it all there
Right yeah thanks for taking every single answer there because that is what it was I mean you you look at the dhos and now they’re setting up a lot in that horn set where the two High screens come up and you have dear and fox you know
Just trying to go downhill on it and everything it’s great and it it’s it’s worked against certain matchups bringing some bigs out it’s been great but it’s like the dribble handoff like what that was doing for not only the shooters and you look at the way that they were
Coming off that creating that space from their Defender but then allowing guys like even Malik monk curling off of sabonis sabonis shoulder and being able to be this uh Elite playmaker which he still is but I just felt like it was creating so much more with their offense
That I go I get why you’re going away from it because you want to be more than that but also like if it’s not broke don’t fix it I also think they they’re still running it but it’s less efficient right when when Kevin herder is not being as
Impactful yeah that makes sense uh someone who is impactful Malik monk he’s so he’s talked about as like this like classic Sixth Man like microwave score kind of guy off the bench but he’s quietly been putting up career numbers this season not just in scoring but in playmaking too he’s averaging five
Assists per game and we got to see arguably his best game of the season in the double OT win against the magic where he put up 37 and nine along with seven threes in 46 minutes that’s more minutes than monk had played in the previous two games combined do you think
Malik monk deserves a more consistent like role with this team I mean I I think I already know the answer to this question from listening to you guys but like just talk about Malik monk for us so really quick too we make a joke all season long because you could look at
His minutes in every single game and it was he’s playing Off the Bench 28 minutes 29 minutes 28 and a half minutes it was never 30 minutes and we’re like what is this is is a bomb gonna go off like what’s gonna happen if Malik mon plays over 30 minutes we were just
Making jokes and finally you’re starting to see okay there is an issue he needs to play more minutes good things happen when he plays more minutes I don’t need him in that starting role but I need him not only finishing the game I need him contributing throughout the game a
Little bit more and I think Mike Brown is kind of turning a corner in realizing that as well because he is a special player I know he’s a Score first kind of guy but he can make such a quick decision that as soon as he gets in the
Paint and even leaves his feet he’s capable of making some crazy beautiful play yeah I think he is one of the most impactful bench players in the league I mean the guy’s confidence I say he’s First Team all confidence because you can’t like shake this guy like yeah he
Looks to get Buckets for sure but he loves setting his teammates up I mean the pick and roll game he’s got with sabonis he loves throwing lobs he just loves attacking so it’s not like he’s just coming in and chucking up shots he’s he he brings life to the Kings a
Lot of nights especially with the bench units that’s been up and down that roles have shifted he’s been the one steady thing with Sacramento and I think yeah he’s got to play more especially considering herder has not been effective Chris DTE hasn’t really been effective like monk needs more minutes
For sure so one of the uh other bigger developments this season for the Kings has been the defensive Improvement of Keegan Murray who’s in his second season as one statistical indication of this Improvement dunsen 3es currently has Keegan 23rd in defense of EPM easily the highest for any Kings player watching
Him every night what are some of the specific improvements on defense you’ve noticed compared to how he played in his rookie season well one he’s just being he’s just moving better like last year he was getting hunted a lot as most rookies do and he spent the offseason
Working out with dearen fox in Sacramento the entire time like they were playing one-on-one all the time and you know I didn’t think much of it at the time they’re just both in Sacramento hanging out but I think that just going up against dear and fox oneon-one is
Going to help your game like you’re gonna be able to take on some different types of matchups and you’ve seen his versatility he’s able to defend multiple positions now he’s playing More Physical without fouling and he’s got good size you know he’s eight 69 and long and I
Think he’s done a much better job he’s also a high IQ guy he he understands defense and you’re just seeing his growth where last year he’s being hunted this year Brown’s putting him on Steph Curry during a game right like he’s taking on some more challenging matchups
Yeah he’s going up up against some of the best players out there and I think also you know he’s always had his length but his second year in the league he knows how to utilize his length better he knows he has more control of his arms
His body and everything out there and so he understands the importance of not only being able to quickly move your feet but also contesting a shot and you’re you’re seeing that he’s able to contest shots against some of these guys that are usually capable of elevating uh
In the mid-range or elevating at the rim and I think he’s also being a lot more physical I know we’ve talked about him on the offensive end but he’s been able to be more physical getting getting to the rim but he’s also been able to be more physical with guys without
Fouling we’re almost a month away from the NBA tread deadline how how important do you think it is for the Kings to be active this tread deadline and what are some of the biggest needs for the team that fans have identified as like or maybe some obvious targets that like the
Fan base has identified yeah I I think being active is really important for this team because they have the same weaknesses that they did last year right I think teams look to Target Kevin herder a lot of nights especially when he’s in a starting lineup they go at Harrison
Barnes those are probably some issues right there just from a defensive standpoint that limits the Kings from reaching a their I don’t know their highest of ceilings right I think that has to get better those positions especially defensively having more athleticism a little more versati versatility it’s
What everyone wants right it’s like we want a whole bunch of guys that can hit threes and play def like it’s hard to acheve right but those are some upgrades that I think people look at like okay can you upgrade those spots um I think a
Lot of fans are looking around and they would love someone like marinin but it’s just like you’re not gonna get him and that’s the challenge that Monty McNair faces how do you raise a ceiling of this group when you don’t want to trade Keegan Murray yep yep and that’s it I
Mean that’s it part of it is you know you you can make some moves on you know with some of the guys we’ve talked about but part of it too is like can Keegan keep developing can he turn into a legit two-way stud yeah it it’s it’s do do not
Lose Keegan Murray in any of this and I don’t think that’s their goal you guys so um I I think in some ways like he’s off the table uh dearen Fox and sabonis off the table which and I wish Malik monk was off the table I just don’t know
Where this front office is willing to go um but at the same time yeah I I I told Deuce I go what about some of the under the radar under the radar typ type guys or just go to the Chicago Bulls and pick whoever you want you know yeah I mean
The other names that you know siakam’s gotten brought up a lot OG before he got moved and it’s just like I I think these teams are going if they’re picking up the phone talking to Sacramento for names like that they’re starting with Keegan Murray so that’s off the table so
How are you gonna upgrade this roster by keeping someone like Keegan Murray and I think they should keep them do do you off the top of your head do you know how many they have one outgoing first right from The Herder trade yeah the Hawks one
Which is weird how it’s going to be conveyed like it could be conveyed this year if they they miss the playoffs so that’s kind of you know that that’s the one that’s kind of hanging around but they could do some pick swaps and they have some desirable contracts it’s not
Like they have a whole bunch of bad contracts so I think there are moves that Monty McNair can make and part of it too I know you’ve talked about this with OKC before is like I know it’s not fun to be a little patient yeah and there you know there
There’s a window for sure when you’ve got Fox and sabonis at the same time like I kind of see want to see what Keegan looks like I I don’t I don’t want to feel like they have to go all in like it’s okay to make the playoffs again
This year and maybe get bounced out in the first second round yeah it’s how do you grow from here and part of it is just growing together and making some subtle tweaks around the edges well honestly just if Kevin herder just started if he just broke out of this
Slump like that would be like trading for a really good player someone who really helped this team last year I was listening to one of your I think it was one of your night chats and you’re talking about Duncan Robinson who similarly last year like he was out of
The rotation for the heat for a lot of last season and then he gets to the playoffs and it’s like oh there’s Duncan Robinson there’s the guy we paid all the money and now he’s having a great season and so you kind of just hope that like something similar can happen with herder
And this isn’t just like what he’s going to be going forward track record I mean that’s what we that’s what we keep trying trying to say with Kevin herder and I think we remember his ups and downs throughout um his time even with the Hawks and for so many people they
Want to see success and results now now now and I understand that Sports culture but if you’re at the top and you’re running this team you got to make sure that you’re still finding a way to understand the importance of some of these other pieces in their roles and
Sometimes it’s just their personalities and how they need to be communicated with differently to get the most out of them I think Kevin herder is just a confidence guy that has lost a lot of his confidence and not only is he going to find it when he starts making shots
Feeling his rhythm but I think he it’s not that he needs to be babied he just needs to be communicated with differently I mean this guy is like 25 years old he has a track record of being a really good three-point shooter we’ve seen his playmaking ability you can’t
Tell me that all of a sudden he’s just done as a basketball player and he’s been super ineffective so it’s you know it’s on him to try to get out of this but like morn said the coaching staff too and I think that’s the one thing you
Talk about the change with this with this team this year I think Mike Brown’s been a little more rigid this year I mean I think the leash has gone shorter when it comes to mistakes outside of fox and sabonis like if you are out there and you’re not doing if you make a
Defensive mistake sometimes you’re getting yanked and you’re sitting for a while Malik monk the game before he just had this 37o outing Mike Brown played him five minutes in the first half and then out the other night and said that was a mistake so I think Brown has this
Like he has these amazing goals that he wants this team to reach but I think there has to be some you have you you can’t treat every game like it’s a playoff game in the regular season you have to help these guys and put them in a position to
Succeed well thank you for answering all of our questions about the Kings but it is now time to play Andrew versus the beat our weekly trivia game show where Andrew goes head-to-head against a beat Raider or in this case two because the Challenger this week is Deuce and mo mo
Podcast that’s so mean that is so terrible teamate I’m bad at trivia but like you could at least pretect like hi I’m Kevin herder talk to me differently dude like I need some confidence in this I’m ready wow wow already some Strife in the de great this is this is working out
Great for me already this is great for Andrew um okay so how this works I’ve come with eight questions about the Kings you’ll give me a number between one and eight some are easy some are hard if you get it right you’ll get at least two points if you get it wrong
Andrew will have a chance to steal for one and we’ll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered so to start us off do and Mo and obviously you two have to agree on your all your answers we’ll try got consensus the whole
Time uh what’s a number between one and eight that you like go ahead thanks I’ll get this one right three three okay question number three the Kings currently have three players sabonis Fox and monk averaging at least five assists per game there’s only one other team in the NBA who has three
Different players averaging at least five assists per game who is it and it’s not some like you know guy who played two games and he’s averaging five assists all all these guys are regular rotation players for this team okay H um I think it’s the Clippers just my guess
Look at kawhai James Harden and Paul George okay is that you know what you like that one yeah because this isn’t Tri this is this is like a yeah yeah we have to move fast to go go Clippers great guess Honestly made me go and look it up to make sure it wasn’t
Right but it is not right unfortunately I was thinking because you didn’t mention Russell Westbrook you know how are they not right but they are not unfortunately was I close yeah he said that’s why you looked it up let’s see James Harden’s at 8.1 Westbrooks at 4.6
And then George and Kawai are 3.9 and 3.6 so no the answer is no you’re not so no man uh Andrew any guesses God this is tough um is it Denver I don’t know the Nuggets it is not would you believe it is the Los Angeles Lakers LeBron D
And Austin Reeves are all averaging wow at least five assist game oh that is wild great question okay I that’s probably the hardest one um Andrew board is yours number one question number one which of the following nicknames is not a basketball reference official nickname for javil McGee so
This is specific to jav McGee okay so I’m G to give you five nicknames okay one of them is fake the other four are real the nicknames are Pierre the big platypus the Great Adventure the big secret Big Daddy wook once again that is Pierre the big platypus the Great Adventure the big
Secret or Big Daddy wook the big platypus I was kind of watching Deen Mo during this just to see their reactions Daddy I don’t know I didn’t study his basketball reference before there was extra movement on the big platypus so I’m just gonna go with that one well I didn’t fool you Andrew
Because the big platypus is not a ja McGee nickname however in 2012 when he played for the Wizards he fooled Everyone by saying he had just purchased two platypuses or platy apparently you can say either and everyone thought it was real and uh turns out he he didn’t
Own any plat not even one what well it’s interesting really quick too because his family photo for Christmas this year he was holding like a a snake there and had a little Santa hat on it so like I wouldn’t be surprised if that was he
Also I don’t know if he still has but like is a sphinx cat like a hairless cat that has an Instagram account so he’s a big animal guy he’s a vegan I learned oh so it wasn’t the worst nickname that I came up with uh okay Dusen Mo Bard is
Yours let’s go number four question number four Keegan Murray scored 47 points in a game against the Jazz a few weeks ago since 2000 four other kings have scored 40 points in a game before turning 24 years old can you name all four now you do get a half Point per
Correct answer oh my gosh uh since what year was that 2000 this was since 2000 so there’s been Four Kings players who have scored 40 before turning 24 years old wow okay um DeMarcus Cousins good one that is correct for a half Point um it’s be someone random Kevin
Martin that is correct for a full Point wow 2,000 okay okay okay I’m just I’m so bad with ages so I was about to name off some guys but they probably were not 24 with the G just name one it’s okay you don’t have to it
Doesn’t have to be your final answer you can just throw it out you can discuss okay one that could help Andrew but you know one I was kind of thinking of was also did Marcus Thorton I’m not submitting that okay all right I’m not I
Don’t know how old he was I feel like it’s some big games think those bad teams you know Mike was older when he was here right and Andrew said he liked it so now I don’t like it Mike was older Mike yeah yeah he did
Not score 40 he was probably over 25 by the time he scored because he did score yeah I think he was over 24 okay um man I like that one Isaiah Thomas that is incorrect oh God I knew that was a gamble he played Four college ball okay
Uh Andrew you have a chance to steal there is one point remaining two names on the board the pages do it Andrew that is also incorrect ouch now the name you all should have gotten for sure dearen Fox dearen Fox One of the names oh my God and the other name Marcus thoron
No wow would have been a great one why wouldn’t you just it you should have you should have been like oh this isn’t submitting should just submit submit Andrew you even said that one was great why didn’t you just take it because you’re a liar because I thought it was
Wrong was great for me Oh Marcus Thorton man years he had some fun games he did I liked him a lot uh okay Andrew bard of Shores two to one Andrews in the lead question number two deonis sabonis is currently leading the league in rebounds per game with 12.8 since 2000 there are
Only three other kings who have averaged double- digigit rebounds for a season name all three and you have to give me all three to get the two points oh so no half points Here Andrew so you have just just throw out three names and then I’ll tell you once
You give me them all three double digit bounders since 2000 three double digit bounders since 2000 Kings players no age limit on this one no age limit that feels like a is that go I don’t know I say I think Chris Weber did it I’m pretty sure okay there’s one name
Um since 2000 Boogie okay that’s your second name do you have a third name I don’t know if this other guy when you said age limit it made me think of this one guy but I don’t know if he did it with the Kings I’m feeling nervous about it
Good I’ll say vlat but I just don’t know that he I don’t know that he got the bounds I don’t know that Vlad got the bounds all right so Andrew guested Dem Mar’s cousins Chris Weber and Vlad Devon Andrew that is incorrect do s Mo you
Have a chance to steal for one point would you like to borrow any of Andrew’s names yeah we we’ll go ahead and borrow cousins and Weber okay the last one Brad Miller that is absolutely correct oh me and the game is tied two to two and Andrew has
Frozen oh I think he I thought he was just disappointed for a second yeah wow he’s holding that face for a long time he do look really sad no we can still hear you though we can hear you though for the records I did whisper Brad Miller to Deuce Mason just let everyone
Know I can play this game thank you for putting that into the official record thank you um okay do some Mo the game is tied 22 with four questions to go which number would you like we’ll go with six please question number six in the game against Atlanta on the
29th I actually need Andrew for this question because it’s a back and forth one so I guess we will wait for he’s spinning right now earlier his his child came in uh three different times and we had to stop recording it’s been it’s been a rough
One wait why can’t the child just be like you know kind of there he he could be on your team Dad I need more switch time add more switch time he could be yeah he could come sit right here next to me all he wants but
Not when he’s yelling I need more switch copy that um okay so I’m gonna start with that question again Andrew I’m gonna add this to my notes okay in the game again okay oh my gosh in the game against Atlanta on the 29th dearen Fox hit eight three-pointers a
Career high in King’s franchise history there are nine other players who have also hit at least eight three-pointers in a game and we’re going to name them all so how this works du and mo you’ll give me a name then Andrew will give me a name and we’ll go back and forth till
One of you stumble so these are Kings players who have hit at least eight threes in a game and I will tell you this is I guess it doesn’t matter but this is specific to Sacramento Kings did they even have a three-point L I don’t remember when they moved anyways it’s
Just Sacramento Kings okay so duen Mo your first name Mike bbby yes that is correct Mike bbby did do it once all right Andrew buddy buddy hee of course buddy hee did it plenty of times all right back to De and mo man you think it gets a little M well
Then do the one that we’re positive with I’m not positive about this one either wait uh Kevin her s Kevin herder has done it yes that is correct back to Andrew what about Bogdan Bogdan banovich Andrew that is incorrect which means ju and mo get the points the other names on
The list Keegan Murray did it okay omy caspy Casp Mitch Richmond Barnes nman balita and once again Marcus thoron wow Thorton what I’m glad you got that wrong because I don’t know how many more of those I would have got right the Elita what a question I don’t know it’s gonna land on
Very many of those uh okay Andrew you’re now down by two three questions all right five question number five there are 12 Twan lineups that have played at least 400 minutes together this season for the Kings only one of those 12 lineups has a negative net
Rating oh who are the two players in that lineup and you get one point per correct answer wow Kevin herder Andrew that is uh doesn’t matter because you got the first one wrong uh okay do you have a chance to steal Davon Mitchell also incorrect would you believe that the only negative Twan
Lineup that’s played at least 400 minutes together deonis sabonis and Malik monk never would I yeah this is this is typical the athletic agenda against sabonis I like it’s disgusting I don’t appreciate that that right unfortunately you have a lead right now and you really want to bank this win
Okay we’re staying you got to stay for at least a couple more questions you play with five who do we care about two you know why do we care shut up all right is it our choice it is your choice we’ll take seven seven according to cleaning the glass there’s only one
Sacramento King who is in the 70th percentile or higher for two point percentage three-point percentage and free throw percentage who is it free throw percentage this whole team can’t shoot free throws let’s see to me it’s um that’s so mean I didn’t mean to say that uh my first
Reaction could be Keegan the 3.1 is the one that’s I’m questioning right now I was just looking at his mid-range numbers yesterday how’s his free throws because pretty good free throw shooter I think solid I know I’m question Malik monks a really good free Harrison he’s pretty
Efficient okay go with it I okay we’re gonna go HB wow going Harrison Barns and to be clear that was Mo’s choice I agreed though I endorsed it no that is correct for two points he’s efficient he’s frustrating but he’s efficient he’s frustrating but he’s efficient uh great
Guess you guys have basically you’ve won the week now we still have one questions left it doesn’t really matter but it’s a really one so Andrew here’s the question deamus sabonis has played 297 games in his career where he logged at least 30 minutes in those games how many times
Did sabonis fail to record at least five rebounds now you get to choose who answers first you can make do Mo answer first and then you go higher or lower or you can answer first and they will go higher or lower so 297 games in his career where he’s played at least 30
Minutes how many of those games did he fail to record at least five rebounds seven Andrew sets the bar at seven do some that’s funny I literally wrote down seven with a square around on my paper um why don’t we up him or like lower and go six six or eight six
Nice the correct answer is three which means dece and mo get another Point finish the week seven to2 win on Andrew versus the beat congratulations wow can I can I just say this real fast what do you the first time we played this we got dominated and
Mainly because we’re up until like four o’clock in the morning in downtown San Francisco so it was nice to be refreshed and ready to go and you know absolutely show what we’re capable of is this sounds like we have a a rubber match coming up sometime in best of three
You got that right God um at least I got the weird Javale McGee question that was that’s true very weird that’s just a pure guess hey you should go listen to the deuce and mo podcast you can watch it on YouTube you can download it wherever you
Get your podcast it’s a great show maybe you’re not a Kings fan maybe you’re listening to this you’re like I’m a Hornets fan or I’m a magic fan like doesn’t matter it’s a great NBA show you should go listen to it today thank you guys so much for coming on the show
Appreciate you guys so much are the best thank you all right Andrew that was Kings two weeks two weeks of Kings uh we’re going to spin the wheel let’s see how many teams we got left 22 teams a lot of names on the board there’s only a couple teams I
Wouldn’t want to watch most I’d be excited to watch so let’s see who we get this Week the okay playing well right now the Pacer see who uh who they’re facing this upcoming week yeah they’ve won five in a row they’ve got games against Atlanta and then Saturday against Boston at home Monday against Boston at home two games against Boston and then the Wizards on
Wednesday yeah against Atlanta there’s a chance that they both that that we reach the over 300 points scored true yeah it’s a rematch of that game yeah so hoping hoping to see that happen hey something else that I’m hoping to see is you guys leaving us a festar review on
Apple podcast and if you do that we’ll read it on the show just like this one from my guy Brighton Schmid he says love the slaming jam best NBA content out there and he wishes us a merry Christmas thank you so much for that review Brighton and again leave us
A review we’ll read it on the show hope you guys enjoy your weekend and the basketball and we will talk to you guys again next week
Slam & Jam on The Athletic NBA Show discuss:
0:00 Week in Review
7:14 5 Stats
16:51 Teams like the OKC Thunder
28:06 Sacramento Kings
