Chris Biderman, The Sacramento Bee – Confidence Level In the Kings

Chris Biderman, The Sacramento Bee – Confidence Level In the Kings

Uh Chris Beerman uh live in Minneapolis with us here uh we were just talking road trips and cities there during the commercial break man happy that you’re with us uh I asked your partner over on the Candlestick Chronicles uh Kyle Matson about this earlier I’ll ask you

What’s your concern level on a scale from one to 10 with Sacramento and how this season may turn out for them I think it’s relatively concerning you you look at all of the teams that you know there’s that um bunch of teams that are in that sort of five through

Eight spots in the in the west and they’re all separated by what two or three games um the Kings over the last 10 are four and six and among that group that’s that’s the worst record so um I think it’s fair look you you got to to

Be concerned because you know you got dearn Fox banged up he’s been banged up for for a significant portion of the season now whether it was ankles his his ankle early on in the year his shoulder sort of Midway through the year he talked about you know needing uh needing

Some time during the allstar break to get that shoulder healed and now he’s dealing with the knee issue and we’ll see if he plays tonight I I saw him at shoot around um I wouldn’t say it looked promising but it’s it’s kind of tough to to judge dear’s gate because um he’s

Kind of got that old man run to him anyway uh even when he is fully healthy but um yeah so I I don’t know if he’s going to play again tonight but obviously you know if you if you don’t have him against Minnesota after what we saw Wednesday against Denver that’s

Pretty concerning so you know for the warrior for the Warriors for the for the Kings like you really want to avoid being in the playing you you don’t want to get LeBron James or Steph Curry potentially in in a one game scenario so it’s a it’s a tough stretch and and it’s

Another tough game tonight so I I think it’s fair to to be reasonably concerned but um we know this team can can play as well as anybody in the league on any given night um it’s just the inconsistencies that’s that have been sort of cosing them and have been the

Story throughout the season so um we have a frozen Beerman oh man and and how fitting he’s in the Twin Cities and he’s froze oh and you know the rules we got to leave Beerman up on the screen man he just my man just froze everything

And he he’s he froze in 4k yeah like J get all uh you know Pixy yeah James is going to be on dialup for like minutes later on and freeze solid freeze right here too looking out the Minnesota windows out there probably looking nice weather something probably looking at

Prince’s house like who knows and yeah just a just a tough look as our as our as our man froze here and I and I have a I have a follow up for him because you know he said not sure whether it really looked promising but it’s it’s hard to tell

What dearen it shoot around I’m curious like well what did it look like the other the other day yeah CU When when when Beerman said he was was a full go at um a full go at uh warm-ups in yeah I I I thought oh he’s he’s good uh Beerman

Is thoughted out he’s back with us um you you I had just told the guys but you you said he weren’t really uh may not really be promising for dear what did you think when you saw him the other night in Denver because when you tweeted

That uh he was a full participant we were on the air I was like oh full you gonna play and so I was really surprised when you reported later on that he didn’t or wouldn’t yeah um it’s hard to say like he uh like like I said he’s

He’s kind of got that old man gate to him even when he’s healthy so he’s he’s kind of got that Herky jerky um but he didn’t look great at at shoot around today um and and it’s kind of similar like he was like you said he was a full

Participant Wednesday and then ended up not playing um and and that was decided I don’t know roughly an hour before the game on Wednesday um so I haven’t gotten to talk to him yet I tried to talk to him at shoot around that didn’t happen

So we we’ll find out again today um but it I I didn’t think he looked great today um just be being honest but maybe maybe he feels better maybe he doesn’t I’ll talk to him before the game today hopefully and and get a better feel for

It but um yeah not sure we’ll find out did you um did you did you think on Wednesday that the Kings had a chance to win before that game without dearra Fox because I asked that because a lot of people seem to be um like they they’re

Just like oh man Wednesday was so alarming or whatever like this is this is super concerning and if you asked probably everybody before the game like hey Fox isn’t playing you think they’re going to win they’d probably say no so like what was it the fact that they were

Leading and they lost the lead so quick and then they got blown out that was alarming I I don’t know I think me and Damian were the only ones that just kind of came away from that saying it was just a loss move on to the next game

Everybody else seemed to think it was a um it was a referandum on what this team is going to do for the rest of the season did you feel that way no I I didn’t because I thought the Nuggets played really really well and you and you look at the stretch that they’ve

Been on recently um since the Kings went to Denver and beat him in the last game before the All-Star break they’ve been the best team in basketball and look like they’re in Championship form and frankly that looked like Championship type basketball that they played against Sacramento in the second and third

Quarters of that game and it also happened to come when Darren Fox is Sidelines so um if you know if if you’re wondering whether or not the Kings can beat the Nuggets in a playoff series then I think then I think it was alarming just given how good the nuggets

Are it’s it’s less about the Kings um but after the game there were pretty clear signs of frustration in the locker room and and I wrote about it a little bit for the be like Kevin herder had mentioned you know I asked him about the second and third quarter and what went

Wrong and he said you know I wish I was out there more and and Kevin is usually pretty measured in um in what he says and it was I you know I haven’t had a chance to follow up with him yet but it was an admission that he wasn’t exactly happy

With his minutes in in that scenario and and I’ve talked to him earlier in the year and he said you know this year is a roller coaster and um obviously his numbers have been inconsistent he he lost his his starting spot uh I think it was late December through you know five

Games in early January um he’s obviously been mentioned in trade rumors and then you know I I talked to D sabonis on on Wednesday after the game and he said he didn’t think they had good coverages um and he he didn’t really elaborate know defensively he didn’t really elaborate

On whether or not that was a coaching thing or an execution thing um but the guys were were were pretty frustrated with with how it when it wasn’t one of those uh yeah we were we were short-handed against the defending champs that was that was kind of to be

Expected there was there was a lot of frustration in that locker room I thought and um and I’m curious to follow up with the with the guys on it today um but that that to me like we’ve seen the Kings The Vibes have been good right like since Mike Brown has gotten here

The Vibes have been overwhelmingly positive throughout the vast majority of of you know his year and a half here um but I wonder if there if things don’t go their way down the stretch here if if that’s going to be something to worry about from a locker room perspective or

If if this team has enough you know physical or emotional resolve to to handle something like that I can’t front that gives me a little um of confidence is the word I that makes me feel a little good about tonight’s game fact they didn’t just yeah like oh it’s just another game they

Were kind yeah the fact that they and and and domas kind of said something postgame you talked about the guys being measured of course he said it to you um about we could have done a little bit better with our our game plans uh for some of their key guys indicating like

This whole thing was off a little bit against Denver the other night and you know we could talk about the Kevin herder stuff in a minute but given the fact that those guys were really upset following that game that actually gives me a a a little a little confidence that

They’ll they know the te they they know that this is another really tall task ahead of them and they’re not willing to lie down for it just because Minnesota’s the top or a top team in the Western Conference yeah because I I think that’s

A good point and and you look at some of the disappointing losses that they’ve had um you know they when they lose to you know like Detroit like obviously they’re frustrated but it never really felt they they it’s kind of been like out it’s one of one of 82 right it’s

These things happen um it’s the NBA you you got to play well against everybody there there hasn’t been a feeling that this team at least from my perspective that this team is like really upset about any of those losses that they’ve had and I do think if you wanted to to

You know sort of spin it positively you could say all right it’s good to see them being emotional about losing at this point because I I think they I don’t know if it’s a leadership thing like dearn Fox is not an overly emotional dude I mean we see him we see

Him get emotional on the court now and again but like when he’s talking to us in the locker room he’s definitely not the type who who gets overly emotional or or who reacts too high or too low one way or another um and you know that I think the Kings

Overall the the team kind of reflects that um and I I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing but I think for them to show emotion after losing is a little bit of a change and to your point probably a positive one because they you

Know they they have around the same record that they had last year obviously last year went a lot better for them given where they were in the standings but now you know they’re they’re really fighting for their lives in terms of trying to get a top six seed and avoid

And avoiding the play in so I do think you can make a case that it’s good for them to feel emotional um after losing a game like they did Wednesday against Denver because you know these games really matter this is this is a really important stretch obviously those those

Are important opponents in the Western Conference to play and uh and given that you know these other teams that they’re grouped up with are starting to play better including the teams behind them and the Lakers and the Warriors um who are in that those n ninth and tth spots

It’s a it’s a really important time for for them to to get it together hey Chris the schedule is the schedule it is what it is um but I I’ve said for a while now I don’t think a lot enough maybe has been made about what the Kings have had

To deal with the last two months the way the schedule was broken for them not a lot of home games lot of long road trips um when they get home it’s usually like they came off a seven game home uh road trip they’re home for two games and then

They got to go out for another three or four games and it’s going to balance out a little bit here in March and I think that is going to be the time to make the move if I was being um if I was plotting this out a little bit like hey keep your

Head above water in that tough January and February because it gets a little murky not home a lot or whatever keep your head above water put yourself in position to really make that run in March when they they I think 15 of their last 24 games are at home I think it is

Um and that’s where they’re at that’s what they’ve done you know people may not like it I don’t like it but hey you’re kept your head above water and now you got to the point where you’re in a situation where you I don’t want to say control your own destiny but you do

In these final games with a lot of home games coming up yeah I would agree like you look at the January and February schedule there was I think it was a five game road trip with two at home and then they went out on the road for seven more

Um and you know this trip trip they’re after this trip they’re currently on they only have two more trips where they play more than one road game on each trip right so they have they have two East Coast swings um and it’s all basically all West Coast Road games or

Just home games for the rest of the way so yeah it’s an opportunity for them and and it’s an opportunity for them to to play I think with more Force at home like you know they they’ve let far too many teams particularly bad teams and or teams you know missing their top guys

Come onto their home floor and outplay them um and so having having a stretch where you do have a lot of home games allows you to get into a rhythm um allows you to play with more Force and and allows you to sort of solidify where where you’re going to be in the

Standings to to your point I think it’s a great one that like they they have an opportunity and and they know that like regardless of how tonight goes you know you have a you have a winable game on Monday against Chicago you have a trip

To play the Lakers which is going to be a really important game given that right now you’re only separated by a game and a half right um but yeah they need to take advantage of what of what they have with the schedule um and I think one of

The frustrating things about them for for this season is that you know they haven’t really done that it doesn’t feel like you know as loud as Golden One Center is and and as good as of an atmosphere as it is um it doesn’t feel like teams are all that worried about

Coming in and and playing there and and I think that’s um that that speaks to just I I don’t know like the Kings have talked about it over and over again that sometimes they feel like they can just kind of Cru to to wins at home and and it it’ll come

Back to bite them but they’ll have an opportunity now with all these home games to to get it right and uh and they’re going to have to take advantage Chris why do you think they haven’t been able to take advantage of these moments this season it feels like you know

There’s been a lot of up ups and downs with with Sacramento this year I I think it’s urgency like what when they play like I think about that Clipper game um what was it Sunday right that felt like the most urgency that they’ve played with um and when I say

Urgency how that manifests is like physicality on defense um getting out to three-point Shooters not not getting burned by by you know dribblers to the Lane where the defense has to collapse and then you leave Shooters out open on the perimeter um I think it’s I think

It’s just kind of an urgency thing and I think the Kings know that they can score um but sometime and and I think it’s just in the back of their head that you know we’re going to go want to run here at some point so you know we’re we’re

Going to score at some point and I think that just the League’s too good to have that mindset you just have to have that that mindset where you have to bring it every minute you’re on the floor of of every game and Mike Brown talked about

It last year like and I’ve said it to you guys a bunch of times but I think it’s probably the most important thing that Mike Brown said is that you know it’s easy to go from bad to good it’s really hard to go from good to great and

That’s the battle the kings are fighting right now because going from good to Great is about consistency and he’s talked about it with Deon Fox he’s talked about it with his roster as a whole it’s just the consistency to play the defense with the intensity and the

Physicality game in and game out that you need to to win games um is really been this team’s biggest issue and I I think it’s it’s kind of as simple as that and I don’t know what switch you have to flip to to improve that I think that’s one of the more confounding

Things about this team is that you know it’s been talked about the answer is in front of everybody but but they just haven’t really done it on a consistent basis and until they do it doesn’t it it feels like this is kind of going to be

Where they are um as long as the Western Conference continues to to be as form formidable as it is do you um what do you feel about this team do you think they can get into that top six I think they can N I knew you were

Gonna say that do you think they will get into the to I think they will um I mean if they’re if they’re healthy that’s tough uh I I would need to do a dive on on the rest of the schedule but I mean they should like they they they honestly should they

Dearen Fox you know I think Kevin herder uh he went on the the point forward podcast I was watching that clip before he came on with you guys saying that dearn fox is a top three-point guard in the league I I agree with him um I think

You know what Deus sabonis brings them offensively is obviously you know he’s he’s one of the most important offens players in the league when you just look to the value to his team relative to you know what the team does and what the team relies on um but you know can can

You get a consistent stretch from Keegan Murray where he’s scoring 20 points a game for weeks on end right can you get a consistent stretch from Malik monk where you know it’s it’s 1520 points nightly instead of you know 2530 and then six the next night right like it’s

There there are just so many players outside of fox um just are kind of riding this roller coaster of a season and you haven’t gotten all of them sort of firing on all cylinders at once and and maybe that’ll come and if that comes the kings are a really really hard team

To beat um when they have the full you know when you when you’re getting Trey lyes hitting four threes Off the Bench and Malik monk scoring 20 points and running pick and rolls with domas and you’re getting you know double digits in the fourth quarter from Fox like the

Kings are just really really difficult to beat no matter how they’re playing defensively um but offensively it’s been a little bit uneven and and you have I would say three four five guys that you can point to that have kind of had roller coaster Seasons offensively and I

Think that that’s that’s a serious issue in terms of how you look at them in terms of getting to the six seed so right now I would say you I would lean no just because of how how thick that grouping is in in the west that that everyone they’re contending with and you

Have teams that have won Playoff series um where the kings are still trying to find their footing and do that this year um so you know not to be like Debbie Downer but I I just it’s hard given given what I saw maybe maybe my opinions

Colored too much by you know the Heat game uh on Monday and then the Denver game Wednesday um but for right now I would say it’s it’s looking difficult but if they go on a run where they win five straight games maybe I change my mind you mentioned Keegan Murray there a

Minute ago we talked uh quite a bit throughout the week um about Keegan’s second year how would you evaluate you’ve been covering this team for two years now how would you evaluate Keegan Murray’s second year you definitely see flashes of of a like growth in his game

Growth and evolution in his game right like last year he was mostly used as as a spot-up shooter and and I think that’s one of the transitions that the Kings have been making this year is they’re relying on Keegan to be more of a secondary playmaker to be a driver to

Use a mid-range game um and the cost of that has kind of been to Kevin herder right because Kevin herder was getting a lot of triple handoff stuff a lot of um a lot of pick and rolls with sabonis and now herder is sort of the guy that um

That is on the other end of Keegan Murray getting more opportunities on offense and that’s that’s one of the transitions the kings are going through overall um but I would say Keegan it it’s the flashes have definitely been there um and his his game is far more well-rounded offensively than it was and

And I think that that all goes back to summer league and that was the main top talking point when when Keegan was playing really well in summer league for those two games free games whatever it was but I would say the consistency is the thing right like when when you don’t

Have dearen Fox Wednesday in Denver you look at the first quarter you say oh Keegan’s aggressive like maybe if Keegan you know if Keegan scores 30 or 40 points here and and is hot from three like this maybe the Kings can make this a game and make up for what they’re

Missing without dearen Fox and then after the the first quarter it just kind of goes away and so I think that’s that’s really the next big challenge for Keegan is how can he adjust when he’s the focal point of a team’s defense right because Denver is a really really

Good defensive team and they don’t really have any weaknesses defensively and talk about joic a little bit but he’s not he’s not the defensive liability he was earlier in his career um but when you’re playing a really good team in a high leverage situation can Keegan Murray be a go-to scorer um

Because you know Mike Brown said it over and over again that’s what the king need to take that next step and you see signs of it but you haven’t seen it um you haven’t seen it for any extended period And I think I I think you know Keegan’s

I I’m optimistic about Keegan getting there I just think maybe right now when he’s what 22 years old it might be tough to get that from him at this point in his career but next year the year after that um I could definitely see Keegan evolving into that secondary score that

Pushes the Kings to a different level um because right right now you know even uh sabonis scores plenty but he’s not a guy who can create his own offense when you know Deen Fox is taken out of a player de Fox isn’t playing right so that’s

What the Kings need from Keegan I think he’s shown signs of his game evolving and improving but it hasn’t been there to the point that the Kings need it just yet last question for me do you you look at this situation with Kevin herder and we we’ve said a number of different

Times on here they need Kevin Herer to do what they want to do do you see the relationship or the up and down nature of playing time and do you see that changing between Kevin and Mike Brown uh that’s that’s a good question um I think it starts defensively right

Because it’s it feels like whenever Kevin herder is taken out of a game and and just kind of relegated to the bench it’s because he’s Mike Brown is going to a better defensive option whether it’s Chris dwarte or you know Kessler Edwards even um so if Kevin herder improves his play

Defensively that will allow him to get more opportunities to stay on the court unlike Wednesday where he had a turnover he missed a couple free throws um he didn’t shoot the ball particularly well and then you know sat that was taken out with eight minutes left in the third

Quarter and didn’t go back into the game um and in part obviously Mike Brown emptied the bench in the fourth quarter so that’s that’s obviously part of that but um I it’s tough I I think herder’s had one of those difficult Seasons where the expectations last year were so high

Given um how well he played in spurts and given how important his shooting was to to the offense and for him to kind of I don’t know if taking a backseat is the right way to put it but to be on the other side of them saying to Keegan

Murray all right you’re going to take more more offensive responsibility and and Kevin’s going to be more of the spot-up shooter now um he’s just a rhythm player and he’s struggled to get in Rhythm all year and I think you know I think the trade deadline stuff and all

The rumors and all the discussion I I think that got to him and and you know I haven’t heard that specifically but to you know talking to Kevin and have him say this season’s been a roller coaster for him emotionally you know reading between the lines that that’s kind of

What that’s kind of where where my head goes is that like you’re part of you know you see your your offensive role um get get sort of limited after having a really good season last year you’re mentioned in all these trade rumors they end up keeping you and not dealing you

Um but you’re still going to be in all those trade rumors in the off season and and he might see the writing on the wall long term potentially um but he’s very much a rhythm player and he’s talked about how difficult it’s been for him to

Get in a rhythm this year um and you know until that changes and I think for him to get in a rhythm he’s going to have to improve defensively to get those opportunities to play in a rhythm right so um that’s that’s where I think his

Focus needs to come because he’s a type of shooter who can get hot um really at any moment and if he if he really focuses on defense and plays well defensively then Mike Brown might be willing to stick with him more and then those shooting numbers could potentially come back up for

Him real quick the crazy thing about Mike Brown playing it that way is it almost never works yeah like you’re like oh I’m gonna teach him a lesson and go with a better defensive line you don’t win and it doesn’t make herur or better so what are we really doing

Frustrating yeah yeah that’s fair and definitely something you know mikee Mike Brown spoke last night um before the players did and obviously had I had I gotten you know had I spoken to herder and then Mike Brown I would have asked him about that and and I plan on asking

Him about it tonight and see I’ll see what he says um but yeah it’s it’s been you know I think when it comes to progression in the NBA it’s never quite linear right like it’s easy to look back and see the team the Kings be a three SE

Last year and just assume all right they’re they’re going to be better next year because they’re a young team and they’ll they’ll have you know more time together but the West got a lot better and you know the Kings have had to deal with some injuries whether it’s fox or

Um you know and and and other things like it’s it’s just hard to continuously ride that same trajectory and and I think the kings are learning that and uh I think ultimately they’ll be better for it long term but right now I think they’re definitely in one of those

Difficult stretches to be fair to herder it’s perfectly okay to be frustrated like the season that he’s had dating the training camp and all of that stuff like it’s but but we said and and I think our frustration lies with you we said at the trade deadline or excuse me not the

Trade deadline um the All-Star break one of the most important components to the rest of this stretch Chris is they’ve got a Mike and Kevin whatever is going on or has been going on those two need to get on the same page because like Casey like we need Kevin hter to be a

Certain type of player for the Kings to get where they want to go and now we’re like three games in to this and Chris is right that the context is important like Mike didn’t play anyone he played domos long enough to get a rebound he didn’t

Play anyone in the fourth quarter but it felt like herder kind of was already out and yeah it’s like no this is not what this we do not need this well what one of the reasons why Malik monk works with Mike Brown is because Malik will go

Right at Mike right like Malik will go at Mike and they have enough respect to where you know they they might be yelling at each other during a game but then they’ll talk about afterwards and Hammer it out and and that Dynamic is is healthy and if you talk to Malik about

It he’ll say yeah I love Mike but like we’ll yell at each other but it’s all good I don’t know that Kevin and Mike have that have that same Rapport and I don’t know that Kevin’s built that way um so you know I don’t know I don’t know

If maybe he should yell at Mike or or if he should go at Mike the same way Malik does I don’t know that that’s necessarily in his personality but I I think that’s that’s one of the Stark Stark differences between those two guys is Malik will go right back St you where

Kevin you know might not take to the hard lessons in the in the same way great stuff Chris we know you got a long night ahead man thanks for carving out uh a pretty good amount of time with us man we really appreciate you my friend

Yeah for sure sorry about this uh Hotel Wi-Fi early on oh man it was great just just just one little hiccup nice little reset you’re back in 4k man it was perfect perfect man I appreciate you guys thanks for having me likewise s our man Chris beat him in right

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