In the first game of the new year, the Sacramento Kings came into Sleep Train Arena with the need for a win after falling to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Facing-off against the Eric Bledsoe-less Phoenix Suns, the game would turn into the Kings’ best performance of the season. Sacramento would come out victorious scoring a season-high 142-119.
Here are the three takeaways:
Playing Through Cousins:
The Kings came out firing on all cylinders, mainly due to the play of their prized big man DeMarcus Cousins. The All-Star center was attacking the big men of the Suns and did not let up all game long.
Cousins put his entire offensive repertoire on display, beating his man off the dribble, with his back to the basket, and of course with his newly beloved deep ball.
His play gave both Tyson Chandler and Alex Len fits, and the frustration built up to a boiling point where Chandler would eventually hit the showers early and get ejected in the third quarter.
Number 15 would finish the game tallying up 32 points, nine rebounds and two steals.
The Kings Showed A Smile
With a 13-20 record and currently in the midst of breaking a two-game losing streak, not to mention a lot of fan speculation over whether or not it’s time to move on from their team’s franchise centerpiece. The Kings still came out with smiles on their faces.
You can say that when you’re winning a game and the calls are falling your way that tends to lead to smiles, but it looked to be more than that. The ball was moving around the court on each possession, and it was a sight to see.
“When we get stops, we are at our best,” Rondo said. “We were moving the ball, everyone was getting touches, and we were in rhythm. It was contagious.”
The most notable sign of the positive attitude, which also lead to a crowd cheer, was when head coach George Karl got a technical foul for arguing with a ref about a call made on Cousins.
So why did that lead to a crowd roar? Well after the technical was issued, Cousins would be seen walking up to his coach (both with grins on their faces) and giving Karl a high-five.
This player-coach relationship has been talked about since the day it began, and most of that discussion is never positive. Which given the reports, is understandable.
But that high-five and smile showed something that not even a three-game winning streak could do; it gave hope to this teams future with these two working together.
Will that happen? That’s still far from being known, but the little things count, and these little things can go a long way.
Karl Ties Phil Jackson
Entering Saturday’s matchup, Karl was only one game shy of tying Phil Jackson for fifth on the NBA all-time regular season wins total. Now with the final buzzer rung, that record now has two people at the number five position.
“The beer will taste like champagne,” Karl said. “It’s good, a fun thing with my family, my son, my daughter, my son-in-law and staff. We joke about it all the time. As I said before, he’s a great coach, maybe the best. I don’t know what our record is against him, but I’m pretty sure it’s not very good.”
It’s no doubt that Karl is on his way into becoming a first-ballot Hall Of Famer and the resume speaks for itself. Everywhere he has gone; Karl has shown that he can help a team improve.
Even with this season having their ups and downs, the Kings are on pace to crack the 30-plus wins and are in a battle for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Once again showing how strong of a presence Karl truly is to this team.
The Kings will have an opportunity to help Karl stand alone in fifth place on Monday when they look to go toe-to-toe once again with the offensively loaded roster of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This game is also taking place inside of an arena in which the Kings have yet to find themselves come out victorious.
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