What we learned as Kings turnovers spark blowout loss to Trail Blazers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO – The Kings have had their share of ups and downs this preseasonand Sunday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Ora 1 Center definitely ranks in the latter category.
Although there were some signs of things going in the right direction, there wasn’t much consistent consistency on either end of the floor and the end result was a 105-85 loss that dropped the Kings to 0-3 in the preseason with less. than two weeks before the regular season begins.
De’Aaron Fox paced the Kings with 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals but he had five fouls in the first half and finished minus-19. Keon Ellis also scored 11, Keegan Murray had 10 points, Domantas Sabonis added nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists while DeMar DeRozan had eight points, four assists sand was minus-33.
Alex Len added 13 points while Jordan McLaughlin scored 10.
Points in the preseason don’t matter that much in the big picture, so there’s not too much reason to get too worried or pessimistic. But head coach Mike Brown has to worry about the problems his team had against a Trail Blazers team missing two of its best players and almost certainly going to be one of the bottom feeders in the Western Conference.
Portland was particularly effective going in and scoring almost at will in the paint. Even when they failed to score down low, the Blazers repeatedly grabbed the offensive board and got quick layup scores.
Sabonis and Monk had a good rhythm going early, and Murray gave the Golden 1 crowd some energy late in the second quarter when he dunked off a lob pass from Sabonis, then made a steal on the Blazers’ ensuing possession and drove down the lane for a one-handed layup. jam
Sacramento couldn’t keep up the momentum for very long and gave up 35 points to Portland in the second quarter as the Blazers went on a 9-0 run then closed out the first half with three consecutive scoring drives by Scoot Henderson.
Things didn’t get much better in the second half
The Kings trailed by as many as 24 and were held to 24 points below their preseason scoring average.
Now it’s on to the road for Sacramento’s final two preseason games before the regular season begins at home on Oct. 24 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Here are the rules for Sunday’s game:
Monk Back In The Mix
Malik Monk did not play Friday’s 109-106 loss to the Golden State Warriors for personal reasons but he was back in uniform on Sunday doing what he does best – making plays on both ends and providing a high level of energy.
Monk had eight points on 3-of-10 shooting to go with two rebounds and two steals. Monk was aggressive almost every time he touched the ball and quickly attacked the rim. That style made him a main contender for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award last season and is one that will keep him right in the middle of things for the Kings in the 2024-25 campaign.
Ball Security
The Kings have plenty of explosiveness on offense but it doesn’t matter much when they struggle to take care of the ball, which was the case for much of Sunday. Sacramento committed 27 turnovers (14 in the first half) that led to 33 points for the Blazers.
The problems came from almost everywhere. Sabonis turned the ball over five times while Fox and Monk had four turnovers each.
Spread The Wealth
One of Brown’s basic tenets is ball movement, and the Kings did a pretty good job against the Blazers.
Sacramento had 25 assists on 35 shots made, an amazing rate that prevented Portland from shutting down its defense in one player. Four Sacramento players had three assists or more.
