What's next for Sac town?

[sackings916]

They are a no defense team and it starts with their C. All the defensive criticisms levied on Jokic should apply twofold to Sabonis. He would be a PF in any other era.

Jokic is the Center and the defensive anchor, if he were so bad, how come his teams are always well above average?
this season they are 10th defensively, with a lineup that consists of two very good defenders in KCP and AG, an average defender in Murray and a below avg MPJ

Jokic has by far the best DRTG out of all the Nuggets players, year after year. also, their defense craters when he sits on the bench, in huge sample sizes over multiple consecutive seasons. he also consistenly scores highly in most of the advanced defensive metrics
the wildest thing this year has been his pnr defence, he's in the top in the league in defending PNR's when he's defending the screener

Jokic is much better than Sabonis defensively, he's not the best defender obviously, and not even close but he's a well-above average defender all in all and he can turn it up, as we can see by the Nuggets consistent 4th quarter and clutch defense for the past two seasons plus ofc - that championship run

he's a poor rim protector but he's also great in some other defensive skills and aspects
Sabonis simply isn't, he needs his Brooke Lopez or his Myles Turner..

What supports the argument that Sabonis is a bad defender? The advanced stats have him at about average. I don’t see this huge gap defensively between Jokic and Sabonis. The Kings are 15th, and if they had 2 defenders the level of AG and KCP they could potentially be top 10.

[sackings916]

WHAAAT

they have TWO 20 year old all stars not in their prime yet. I swear these takes

Sabonis is in his prime right now

Fox, you could also say is in his prime right now, most NBA players really enter their prime around 27.

Regardless, these guys are who they are, are they really anything more than a treadmill team?

Your obsession with the Kings continues lol. Didn’t learn last season to not make assumptions like this huh. The Kings roster is for the most part all in their 20s, it doesn’t seem like you’ve grasped the concept of player development.

[Woodsanity]

They are a no defense team and it starts with their C. All the defensive criticisms levied on Jokic should apply twofold to Sabonis. He would be a PF in any other era.

They are 16th on defense (pretty much average) and all their wings are below average defenders. From the games I saw he is pretty much an average defender and it reflects in the stats. Not saying he won't get exposed sometimes on defense but so do so called elite defenders like Embiid who get destroyed in the pick and roll.

Is Sabonis good on defense? No but he is ok. No one on his team can defend, Fox is a below average defender.

As for Jokic at this point its pretty clear he is an above average defender and can even play good defense in spurts.

[Exp0sed]

They are a no defense team and it starts with their C. All the defensive criticisms levied on Jokic should apply twofold to Sabonis. He would be a PF in any other era.

What supports the argument that Sabonis is a bad defender? The advanced stats have him at about average. I don’t see this huge gap defensively between Jokic and Sabonis. The Kings are 15th, and if they had 2 defenders the level of AG and KCP they could potentially be top 10.

bad is not the right word, but having a let's say - slightly below average defensive anchor at C without some DPOY level player at some other position is just a recipe for early playoff exits

the gap isn't huge but it's there

[ChipotleWest]

There's another game against the Mavs and almost a dozen games left why don't we let those play out before we rule their season over?

[Godymas]

There's another game against the Mavs and almost a dozen games left why don't we let those play out before we rule their season over?

no one said their season is over, but no one believes they will be able to win a playoff series

[He Filled it Up]

I continue to believe that the Sabonis archetype puts a hard cap on a team's ceiling, and if the Kings (and Rockets) are looking at Jokic as a template, they're fooling themselves. It's not just the poor perimeter defenders. Jokic is the best passer in the league and one of the very best scorers of all time. Your guy is not him and will never be him. Your team is too invested to get players that are good enough to fill that gap, and even if you could those players would likely have to be better than Sabonis himself.

[mademan]

Unless Sabonis can play 4 full time (extending his range and being able to defend there) alongside a defensive C, i dont see them ever being a serious team. Credit to Mike Brown for being able to mold this into an average defense, but its still far too exploitable in the paint.

[sackings916]

What supports the argument that Sabonis is a bad defender? The advanced stats have him at about average. I don’t see this huge gap defensively between Jokic and Sabonis. The Kings are 15th, and if they had 2 defenders the level of AG and KCP they could potentially be top 10.

bad is not the right word, but having a let's say - slightly below average defensive anchor at C without some DPOY level player at some other position is just a recipe for early playoff exits

the gap isn't huge but it's there

Yes I agree with this. But he’s not nearly as bad as portrayed here. Not a shot blocker but that doesn’t make him a bad defender. He’s strong, smart, quick and has good fundamentals. To be a good defensive team you need plus defenders around him though.

[bballfan1three3]

WHAAAT

they have TWO 20 year old all stars not in their prime yet. I swear these takes

Sabonis is in his prime right now

Fox, you could also say is in his prime right now, most NBA players really enter their prime around 27.

Regardless, these guys are who they are, are they really anything more than a treadmill team?

Sit on it and wait out the older generation. They are super popular fun young mostly injury free team. They are like a trade or 2 away from being contenders in my view. Perfect spot. Another star and why not? Super fun home atmosphere, lit the beam first time in 20 years. Idk why you would hate on them? In a league filled with aging superstar vets who have lost a step but can get 20 ppg no problem they are 2 away from being a contender.

Just need one fed up owner to smartly sell the farm to get 2 quality pieces... PG/Harden, Beal/Harden, Beal/Thompson,

Any 2 or 3 way trade for like 7 or 8 picks would turn Sacramento into a contender. Kings best 2 players stack up just as well as anyone over the next 5 years, rest of the roster is weak. Sell the farm and win a CHIP!!!!!!!!!

All those trades makes sense because I do not see any of the 4-10 seeds actually beating Boston/Milwaukee/ or Denver/Min/OKC for a chip any time in the next 5 years. The window has closed and I would be shocked otherwise

[Godymas]

all i'm saying is Sacramento has no bus driver right now it looks like

[dygaction]

What supports the argument that Sabonis is a bad defender? The advanced stats have him at about average. I don’t see this huge gap defensively between Jokic and Sabonis. The Kings are 15th, and if they had 2 defenders the level of AG and KCP they could potentially be top 10.

bad is not the right word, but having a let's say - slightly below average defensive anchor at C without some DPOY level player at some other position is just a recipe for early playoff exits

the gap isn't huge but it's there

Yes I agree with this. But he’s not nearly as bad as portrayed here. Not a shot blocker but that doesn’t make him a bad defender. He’s strong, smart, quick and has good fundamentals. To be a good defensive team you need plus defenders around him though.

Good defensive C, if we are not talking about max players, are bad shooters in today's league. Not going to work well with Sabonis who does not have 3s in his pocket. Big 3&D guy or stretch 4, like OG or Lauri Markkanen, might be the solution.

[shi-woo]

They need to find a way to get someone on the calibur of Herb Jones or Mikal Bridges at the 2, and replace Barnes with someone that can jump out of the gym and defend. Now that the Kings aren't smoking teams like last year, their defensive woes have really shown.

I like their core 3 guys in Fox, Sabonis, and Murray. I even like Monk as a 6th. But they need to figure out a way to turn Huerta, Barnes, After this year they have all their picks. They need to target guys that are clear upgrades from the players mentioned. They need to find their Aaron Gordon, Bobby Portis, Derrick White trade, and then build off of that.

I like Barnes, but this team could use a serious upgrade at the forward spot. Bridges, Grant, Hunter, Kuzma, guys like that. Kings have a solid core, they just need better players around them

[SweaterBae]

Purgatory. Just enjoy what they can get while hoping the next Steph/Giannis/Jokic falls to them in a draft.

[ryguy613]

i think they missed a big opportunity to make a splash at the trade deadline. status quo was never going to be enough to get them into the upper echelon of the conference. theyre very good, and they can go toe to toe with anyone but cant see them going far into the playoffs. they need another piece, probably a defensive wing.

[Tor_Raps]

Kings need to find a way to get a legit 3rd option who can also defend in the paint into their starting lineup. Won't be easy but a Scottie Barnes type is what they're missing.

[ShootersShoot]

They are a below average defensive team and do not have the offense to make up for it.

I do like Sabonis, but he needs someone who can help him defensively up front, who also spaces the floor. Those types of players are really not easy to find.

If they can upgrade any position outside of Fox/Sabonis, it would be a good step forward. Keegan I am not 100% sure of as a building block, but he is a young player with an intriguing skillset. He should at the very least be a part of the core or a solid trade chip.

[sackings916]

There's another game against the Mavs and almost a dozen games left why don't we let those play out before we rule their season over?

no one said their season is over, but no one believes they will be able to win a playoff series

You must not be familiar with Godymas lol. This man posted after 7 games last season that the Kings were horrible and would miss the playoffs again. I’m sure he enjoyed the last 75 games of the season. Since then he creates a weekly thread on the Kings looking for ways to bash them.

[madskillz8]

Kings will prob get swept but Kings fans will be like "Sabonis got 4 double doubles!"

No, as I proved you in the other thread, "4" is Randle's consecutive double doubles record.

Then you said, "but but but, triple doubles are the new double doubles" - to learn Sabonis is leading the league in triple doubles as well.

And now, you are at another thread to troll Kings fans. Again.

Just take the L and move on

[jkvonny]

OP makes another thread about the Kings/Sabonis.


Interesting.

No, you don't blow up a young upward trending, playoff team.
They weren't expected to be serious contenders this season, BTW.