The Kings took down the Indiana Pacers as Sacramento closed out a four game road trip, going 2-2 and salvaging what could’ve been a disappointing series of away games.
Interestingly, the two victories came against the better half of the competition (Toronto and Indiana), while the two losses came against teams the Kings feel they “should” beat (Minnesota and a banged-up Washington squad). Which takes us to our first of the three takeaways:
WHEN WILL THE KINGS QUIT PLAYING DOWN TO THE COMPETITION?
The Kings have made a bad habit over the past few years of playing “down” to the level of their competition. Given their losing record, you’d think the Kings wouldn’t take any opponent for granted. However, this season alone has produced its fair share of disappointing games against lesser-quality opponents. While the Kings seem to play (somewhat) well against the league’s better teams, they often inexplicably drop games, such as the home loss to Minnesota, which might be considered “winnable” games.
When you’ve missed the playoffs for about a decade and you’re currently below .500 on the season, there are no guaranteed victories. The Kings’ players of all people should know this to be true. Here’s to hoping they can come out with the focus required to put away the teams that are below them in the standings.
DARREN COLLISON IS PLAYING BALL
Coming back from injury, Darren Collison looked a little lost on the court at times, but he’s definitely been playing well as of late. He looks more comfortable not only sharing the court with Rondo, but also with his role on the team.
“We don’t win without Darren Collison,” Kings coach George Karl said to the Associated Press. “It was a team effort in a lot of ways, but Darren Collison was special. I know he played (with Indiana). Sometimes coming back to places (motivates you).”
He came off the bench and provided a huge spark, playing his way to the tune of 24 points on 11 of 17 shooting. He also notched five assists, four rebounds and a steal.
Also worth a mention is Seth Curry’s play last tonight, but mostly because how deceptive it might appear in the box score. In five minutes of play, Curry tallied mostly goose eggs, with the exception being a lone steal.
However, he still made his presence felt on the floor in his limited time by playing terrific defense. Although the sample size is still small, Curry seems to have a future in the NBA.
KINGS STILL HAD A BAD QUARTER
Once again, the Kings seemingly couldn’t play the full-48 minutes of basketball. Coming out of the locker room at halftime, the Kings had a fifteen point lead. In less than four minutes, Indiana had reduced that lead to four points.
Basketball is a game of runs, but the Kings have to get out of the habit of letting teams back into the game. For all the talk about how competitive Rondo and Cousins are, I’d like to see them force the entire team to stay relentless and punish teams they have on the ropes. Go for the knockout punch!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
