Sacramento remains a team that can’t close out a game. Hit the rim and the game is over. This loss in the ‘big D,’ even without Rajon Rondo, Omri Casspi, and Willie Cauley-Stein, shows that this team cannot be trusted to finish anything.
This loss was a pure lack of basketball IQ and a failure to recognize the situation. In a season with many disappointments, this week has been a rare glimpse of the talent this team has to offer, then capped off with a reminder why the Kings have a 14-21 record.
“When you’re down seven with 1:20 to go, you have to pitch a perfect game,” Carlisle told the Associated Press. “The odds are 1 in 100 that you can actually do it, but you’ve got to have belief.”
Oh and it happened. The Kings gave away this game just as they did in Charlotte.
This fan base needed a win, to help bring them back from the near death they felt a mere week ago. This team needs to figure itself out, or some serious changes are coming.
THE FOURTH QUARTER TRUMPS THE OTHER THREE
After losing the first three quarters, the Kings kept fighting and believing. They won the fourth quarter by eight, then forced overtime.
The dedication and motivation shown to stay in this game was a great sight to see and a huge positive moving forward. As a team, they came close to a victory but ultimately fell short.
“I think it was an incredible game,” Cousins told the Associated Press. “There were big shots from them, big shots from us. I guess it was just whoever made the biggest shot. It was a good game. It was a fun game.”
The Kings are a team with a 14-21 record, and as such should be as hungry, or more hungry than most teams they face. If they continue to show this type of effort when the whole team is healthy, they will be hard to stop unless they continue to stop themselves.
DARREN COLLISON IS NOT RAJON RONDO
Darren Collison should not be blamed for this loss, but if he hits the rim, the game is over, and the Kings are still undefeated in 2016. No one player can ever shoulder the entire loss, but sometimes having one percent more situational awareness can be the difference between a much-needed win and a devastating defeat.
THE ROAD IS A HARD PLACE TO WIN
Even though fans are still breathing fire, and the team is still cursing their misfortune tonight; remember that it is hard to win on the road, and the Kings did put up a valiant effort.
As much pain as the Kings are in after this loss, they need to ruck up and move forward. This game is over. It is a lesson learned and a battle lost. Move forward towards the next game using the dissatisfaction they felt when Deron Williams struck them in the heart.
With that said, one thing is for certain, if the Kings play with this type of intensity, the wins will come and a playoff berth will become realistic.
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