The Sacramento Kings Beat the Defending Champs…AGAIN! | Locked On Kings

The Sacramento Kings Beat the Defending Champs…AGAIN! | Locked On Kings

All I can say is thank goodness the allstar break is finally here I think we all need it and what better way to head into a week off than with a Sacramento Kings victory in Denver on the second night of a back-to-back against the defending Champion nuggets the third

Time the Kings have beaten the Nuggets this season by the way Happy Valentine’s Day to all of us Kings fans and have a great vacation a great break Kings players you are listening to lockon Kings you are locked on Kings your daily Sacramento Kings podcast part of the

Locked on podcast Network your team every day and now ladies and gentlemen it is that time time for another episode of Locked on Kings hello and welcome into locked on Kings your podcast hub for Sacramento Kings coverage all season long today’s episode episode is brought to you by

Prize Pi the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports go to prize.com loock on NBA and use code all lowercase locked on NBA for our first deposit match up to $100 my name is Matt George I have the privilege of being your host here I’m a Sacramento Sports

Anchor and reporter for ABC 10 news and I’ll be honest with you full transparency I was expecting a Kings loss tonight I was after a hardfought loss to the Phoenix Suns last night second night of a back-to-back against the Denver Nuggets team that the Kings had already beaten twice this season

With the nuggets on the second night of a back toback I thought the table was set perfectly for the Kings to kind of Limp into the All-Star break for the Nuggets to get a little bit of Revenge but lo and behold in true doesn’t make Kings sense fashion the Kings find a way

To win this game and we’re very happy for it look we’re all ready for this All-Star break we all need this Allstar break and the Kings certainly looked like they needed it in tonight’s game now first off great win right excellent win for the Sacramento Kings the way

This game uh played out the Kings starting scoring just 16 points in the first quarter looking absolutely Gass no legs on their jump shot the offense isn’t there defense was fine and the defense actually ended up being better than fine holding the Denver Nuggets to under 98 points remember anytime the

Kings can hold any team to under a 100 points it is worth celebrating regardless of if that team is the defending champs were the worst team in the league doesn’t matter the Kings don’t do it often so when they do it it’s worth pointing out and worth celebrating so the defense did well

Tonight offensively it was a struggle for Sacramento and typically we know when the Kings struggle offensively more often than not they lose and the Kings went down by 16 points at one point in this game they did not quit they LED or got their first lead only in the fourth

Quarter so they played from behind for most of the game again second night of a back-to-back not just on the road but on the road in elevation is not easy to play up in that that Denver elevation it has a physical effect on your body especially on the second night of a

Back-to-back the king spot they overcome all of that they punch their ticket to a well-deserved All-Star break even though they don’t have any Allstars Keegan Murray is the only one heading to Indianapolis to compete in the rising stars challenge so good for Keegan I guess but maybe it’s good thing right no

Fox no sabonis no herder in the Three-Point Contest monk in the dunk contest everybody take a breather right get a rest you won a game shooting 27% from three-point range the Kings have not done that very much at all this season typically if the kings are winning they’re shooting near 40% from

Three when they’re losing they’re shooting like 32% or worse so for the Kings to have this poor of a shooting night and beat the defending Champions on the second night of a back-to-back it speaks to the fight of Sacramento which is great I think it also speaks to and

If we’re being honest here it speaks to kind of the fatigue of the Nuggets too right the Denver Nuggets look like they were more ready for the All-Star break than anybody right they were slow too they were fatigued they had some good moments but both teams played sloppy

Ugly basketball this was not a pretty basketball game by any means but one team had to Win It thankfully that team was the Sacramento Kings and there have been times this season where the Kings have won ugly basketball games and I have not been happy with that result given the circumstances the opponent

Where we’re at in the season what the kings are dealing with right now I will more than happily take a very ugly Victory like we saw here tonight really the Kings look physically tapped of course this far into the season right they they look exhausted but they also

Look mentally tapped a little bit and I think that speaks to a lot of The Heirs that we’ve been seeing really since 2024 started the turn of the calendar I feel like the kings of May more unforced turnovers and have not done a good job controlling the controllables that’s a big talking point

Of Mike Brown and a big pillar of of what the Sacramento Kings try to do there are certain things they can’t control right like officiating what other teams are going to do this and that how the ball bounces like stuff like that the Kings can’t necessarily control that but they can control how

Hard they work on the defensive end they can control their communication they can control their rotations they can control how much the ball is moving right versus isolation one one ball on offense they can control them playing their game versus playing into the hands of the opponents right the Kings have struggled

Controlling the controllables really since 2024 began they’ve had good moments in 2024 but for the most part I think consistently the Kings have been inconsistent in that area if that makes sense so that’s where I’m really looking to this All-Star break for the Kings to of course physically recharge get some rest

Get a breather get away from basketball a little bit if you have to don’t completely drop it right stay in shape don’t be like me on a vacation and sit on the couch and stuff your face with bad food and then try and return to to Peak Performance when you come back

Right don’t do anything like that and of course he’s a professional basketball player so they know how to handle themselves during an All-Star break but get some rest recharge physically get ready right that I look at guys like dearon Fox who looks like he’s been playing banged up for a while has had

The shoulder issue the ankle issue hurt his wrist today going for a dunk in the first quarter look at guys like damont sabonis who are a pinata for the rest of the league get hit in the face every single time down the floor also at one

Point he was grabbing his thumb the same thumb that he had injured last season so physically rest up get right get as healthy as possible because everybody’s going to need to be as close to 100% as possible with the way the West is to finish out this season but also mentally right

Recharge come back and hit the ground running when the Kings return to practice whenever that will will be but certainly when they return to action against the San Antonio Spurs on I think it’s the 22nd in Sacramento you have used up your get out of jail free cards

Or used up your safety net of bad losses against terrible teams right you’ve lost to the Pistons at home you lost to the Charlotte Hornets at home like you cannot at this point in the season with the way the standings are the king’s still in eighth place after tonight’s

Win with the way the standings are you cannot afford any more bad losses to bad teams right you have to beat San Antonio so look be ready to go right be ready to to attack that game not with a weak mindset not with a oh it’s the Spurs are the

Worst team in the west we should beat them no attack it like it’s the defending champions again and you want to beat them and you want to send a message right the kings came out of the All-Star break last season the hottest team in basketball like they lit the

World on fire during that that start to the quote unquote second half of the season and that’s what helped them secure that third seed the kings are going to need to come out hot again if they want any hope in my opinion of actually securing a playoff spot I’m

Talking a top six seed certainly not the third seed I think the top four I think homecourt Advantage is pretty much out of reach I could be wrong but I feel like those top four are solidified but five and six still up for grabs and if you can avoid the playin

Game and playing rounds Al together absolutely do so because all of us in Sacramento are starting to have this nightmare starting to creep into the back of our minds what if the Kings meet the Warriors in a single play in game that is close to worst case scenario not because I don’t believe

That the Kings can beat the Warriors in a one-off game both teams are two and two against each other this season but because game seven all over again Steph Curry steps up as probably going to score 80 points to lead the Warriors to that win we’re all thinking it Kings

Fans we’re all thinking it right of avoid those scenarios all together you’re going to need to play your best I think or close to your best for the remainder of this season to secure a top six seed even if you don’t have home court advantage does not matter get

Yourself into the playoffs avoid the play in at all costs if you’re the Sacramento Kings so use these next seven eight days to rest physically recoup mentally and attack that second half of the Season all right let’s switch gears now nuggets fans I know you’re watching

I know you’re watching because I saw all you bookmarking my stuff on Twitter after the Kings defeated the Nuggets a week ago when I I put out there I had the audacity to put out there that damont sabon has outplayed Nicol yic oh my God how could you say such a thing

Raise a banner Sacramento Kings he outplayed him for one game the bonus isn’t even in the same area code AS Nicola yada yada yada yada yada I saw it I read it all I dealt with it all my mentions were on fire even with me being

In Las Vegas covering the Super Bowl I couldn’t escape it you all had your fun oh the Kings celebrating a regular season Victory oh sabonis can only beat yic on the second night of a backto back here we are again the Kings on the second night of a back toback this time

In your own building elevation Advantage sabonis outplayed yic you can’t he did he outplayed yic again what do you want me to say 20 points 13 rebounds seven assists three steals he’s now at 32 straight I’m sorry 36 straight double doubles I think that’s

Right I got to check on that cuz I my chicken scratch I can’t tell if that’s 32 or 36 he has a lot of double doubles and it’s the longest double double streak now since Kevin L’s 53 double double streak which is incredible from 2010 to 2011 meanwhile jokic 15

Points five rebounds eight assists now joic looked very ready for the All-Star break don’t even blame him right don’t blame him whatsoever like jokic looked tired he looked gassed he and the Nuggets period were very frustrated with the officiating in this game yic was lucky he didn’t get tossed shout out

Mike Malone of course we love him former Sacramento Kings head coach now doing great things with the Denver Nuggets Mike Malone saved joic from getting tossed by nearly getting tossed himself and getting a technical foul so joic wouldn’t pick up his second one great move there by Mike to to save jic from

Getting tossed but regardless like this is clearly not yic his best I don’t think yic was giving 100% by any means I don’t think he was I can be honest and admit that but regardless the kings are three and0 against the Nuggets this season we know sabonis has outplayed

Joic in two out of those three games I won’t say all three because joic had a better stat line in my opinion than damont sabonis has did even though the Kings beat the Nuggets early this season in Sacramento regardless like facts are facts reality is reality and I again I

Bring all this up not to well one it’s fun to take a little Victory lap here because they’re few and far between with us in Sacramento and yes regular season wins matter more to us than the Denver Nuggets do because we’re the Kings regular season is kind of all we really

Know right I we got the playoffs last year but let’s just be honest with ourselves right so we’re having fun with it it’s victory laps when you’re the defending Champions there’s a Target on your back and anytime you can defeat the defending Champions fan bases are gonna

Celebrate that a little bit more right but the reason why I’m taking these Victory laps the reason why I’m being obnoxious about it is because initially to point out how well damont sabonis has played against joic how many times sabonis has beaten joic by the way sabonis is six and0 this

Season against joic ad and Carl Anthony towns it has nothing to do with those three players it has everything to do with sabonis how sabonis is looked at and how sabonis is treated he’s not an Allstar he’s under mind empty calories right he talked about and and diminished

In so many ways including by Denver Nuggets fans who refuse to acknowledge the reality that no sabonis is not as good as Nicola yic no sabonis isn’t better than Nicola yic we’re not dumb but damont sabonis is the closest thing in this league to Nicola yic damont

Sabonis is the only other player who’s capable of doing what joic does joic is the master he’s the two-time MVP for a reason going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer one of the greatest international players of all time no if ANS or butts about it but there is not a

Thousand foot drop off between joic and sabonis there isn’t and Nuggets fans refuse to acknowledge that they refuse to acknowledge it because joic is so good and they’ve gotten so used to this unbelievable pedestal that joic is on which rightfully so right defending Champion all that I give him all his

Flowers but Kings f I bring up sabonis in comparison to joic so much because again joic gets all this praise for the things that he do does sabonis has passed him by a healthy margin now in triple doubles has been ahead of him in double doubles second

Straight year ahead of him in double doubles second straight year outrebounding him and for sabonis it’s we have to see this or he hasn’t done that or empty calories this there’s always excuses it’s about how sabonis is looked at and talked about around the league so that’s why I bring it up

That’s why I take these Victory laps plus nuggets fans were so much in their feelings about it it was kind of fun I’m not going to lie but look yic a great player Denver Nuggets they’re going to be just fine they’re in a much better position in the standings than the

Sacramento Kings are right now we can acknowledge that we can have our fun with that and we can also point out the reality that when it comes to head-to-head matchups this season damont sabonis has outplayed Nicola yic would it be the same in the playoffs I don’t know and maybe we’ll get that

Opportunity to see everybody should probably put their money on joic versus sabonis in a playoff series sure and I hope we get the opportunity to see that that being said the basketball in front of us what we’re seeing right now point to your ring finger all you want Nuggets

Fans congratulations you won a championship whoop-de-doo for you happy for you was rooting for you literally rooting for you because of Mike Malone but during the regular season sabonis is playing really really well he’s continued to play really well having the best season of his career and his

Undermined at every turn if they’re going to do that outside of this building you best believe in this building and on this podcast I’ll continue to to talk about how great he is so that somebody anybody understands like I said at the top of the show today’s episode of the locked on Kings

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Code locked on NBA for a first deposit match up to $100 prize picks pick more pick less it’s that easy all this time singing the Praises of Damon sabonis and rightfully so but we got to talk about dearon Fox too specifically swipa the fox of course Swiper no swiping if you understand the

D the Explorer reference and dearen has been swiping a lot over the last handful of games right his steals are up up up and he had some big steals during a return of clutch Fox fourth quarter to help the Kings secure this Victory dear aight 30 points after scoring 40 last

Night eight rebounds eight assists two steals only one turnover I point that out because last night I think dearen turned the ball over six times if I’m not mistake it was either five or six times he and monk had 11 turnovers between the two of them tonight dear Fox

Took care of the basketball great to see great bounceback and there was a lot of conversation going into yesterday’s game against the Phoenix Suns that fox wasn’t scoring enough right there were five straight games or something like that or four straight games where Fox hadn’t scored 20 or more points well here’s 70

Points in the last two games including 15 points in the fourth quarter tonight and he scored 10 straight to help the Sacramento Kings win this game now dearen Fox let’s be honest dearen fox has not been as clutched this season as he has been last season let’s also be

Real about something too the Sacramento Kings themselves have not been as clutch this season as they’ve been last season part of that is I think some drop off on their end especially offensively some step backs on their end a lot of it also has to do with the Kings don’t catch

Anybody by surprise anymore right teams know I mean teams had an idea ahead of time that if it was a close game the kings were probably getting the ball to dearen Fox duh but I mean Fox and the Kings put on a clinic of fourth quarter scoring and fourth quarter execution

Last season they won so many close games last year just by winning that fourth quarter and taking control at the end of games this season they’ve struggled with that a little bit more because teams are doing a better job not letting the Kings get to their spots also in the case of

Last night against Phoenix Sacramento has been making some mental mistakes mistakes like bad fouls before inbounds passes or or not securing the rebound after a missed free throw and crunch time and allowing uh like the Phoenix Suns to go back to the foul line after missing a free throw and and icing that

Game at the line right mistakes that Kings have made this season so the clutch play by dearon and the clutch play by the Kings period has not been as good this season as it was last year that being said here’s dear again showing yeah I’m still that guy still

Can be that guy and thankfully it’s not just let me hit that step back three that he’s really added to his game this year that sometimes and I know other kings fans feel this way sometimes it feels like he relies on that a little too much well he wasn’t tonight he was

Getting downhill getting to his spots getting to the rim getting some great steals leading to transition baskets like this was just a reminder of like how great dearin is and I know part of the frustration is we know dear is great like we’ve seen it and we know he can be

That every sing single night just why isn’t he now I don’t know the answer to that right it’s how why dearon is great some nights and not great the other nights I don’t know if that’s an issue with him I don’t know if that’s a fatigue issue I don’t know what the

Situation is like if I knew that I’d be a probably Superstar sports psychologist and would probably be on the king’s payroll to help him figure that out I don’t know what it is I don’t I’m not going to diagnose him with anything I don’t know what it is I can just make

Assumptions based off of what I’m watching but I’ve talked about this a lot recently and it’s stuck in my brain since Monty McNair’s press conference I just think this Kings team has been coasting and they’re coasting too much and it looks like they were coasting into this All-Star break and hoping they

Could Coast for as much of the remainder of the Season as possible into the playoffs and then once they get to the playoffs that’s when they’re going to explode that’s when you’re going to see the Improvement that’s where you’re going to see what they learned from that first round playoff exit against the

Warriors last season and I get that to some extent look I have every confidence in the world that if the Kings get back to the playoffs I would like to say when but at this point with the standings if if the Kings get back to the playoffs I

Have every confidence in the world that dearon fox is going to be a superstar again every confidence in the world because I I I I said that going into Fox’s first playoff series and I’ve been saying that for years in Sacramento once Fox got to that stage people were

Finally going to see how good he was lo and behold he had one of of the best playoff debuts in NBA history last year he was a beast in that playoff series against the Golden State Warriors until he hurt his hand broke his finger right so I have every confidence in the world

That even if dearon is not playing his best basketball and not is is not the clutch Player of the Year this we year and playing as well as he was at the beginning of the Season or as well as he was in the second half of last

Season if the Kings get to the playoffs again I know the Kings have a Bonafide star that they can win with I truly believe that in dear but the question is how can they get there how do they get there without dearon having to be

That or if dear is not able to be that until that stage again maybe you can maybe you can use that as a criticism of fox that fox needs to get to the playoffs or needs to get to that stage or needs to get to big games before

Showing up as that big game Superstar player I don’t know I know he came out of the gate this season playing like an MVP and hopefully y with this All-Star break him getting some rest that can recharge the batteries and maybe get him back to playing that level of basketball

Look anytime Fox can score 70 points in two games combined on back-to-back nights that’s worth celebrating and that’s worth pointing out there are elements of dearon Fox’s game that we quite honestly take for granted there are also other elements of dearon Fox’s game where it’s like we know you’re

Better than this be better right Fox needs to figure that out just like the Sacramento Kings need to figure out how to secure that playoff spot they can’t Coast they have to earn it they have to go and get it but they can’t go and get it by burning the candle at both

Ends and having dearon Fox F physically or lit or figuratively limp his way into the playoffs because they’re going to need Fox at his best if they want any chance of making it out of the first round this year or making any sort of playoff run period Let’s Talk About

Kevin herder for a second this has been a big talking point in Sacramento over the last 24 4 hours I did not catch this because I was watching the I was watching the game in Phoenix last night at our uh lock on King’s watch party and so apparently

There was an in I still haven’t actually seen it but apparently there was an incident early in the fourth quarter or an incident between Kevin herder and Mike Brown where Mike called a timeout yelled at herder herder went back at Mike a little bit sat down on the bench

Didn’t come back in for the rest of the game the very next night Kevin plays 26 minutes through the first three quarters didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter suddenly to start the fourth quarter Here Comes Chris DTE in the game Chris Duarte who’s played three minutes since January 25th

Like I trust Mike Almost 100% almost wholeheartedly now I’m not going to blindly follow Mike although sometimes I’m pretty close to it like I love Mike Brown I trust Mike Brown completely I know Mike Brown has actually been in the position to get a team from good to

Great and he knows how to do it way better than I do and way better than most of us if not all of us do here in Sacramento right Mike knows how to do it so for the most part I trust Mike if there’s one area one area that I have the most

Criticisms or most doubt in my mind about how Mike has handled anything it’s how he’s handled Kevin hurder I just disagree with how he has handled Kevin herder I do not think he has done his job and put Kevin herder in a optimal position to succeed or at the very least

Taken advantage or used the abilities that Kevin herder has correctly if you believe that the Kings have to be this sort of way and play better defensively and and and and this is the way that they build and Kevin herder does not fit that mold okay I get that longterm I get

That maybe the king should have moved him at the trade deadline and to be honest with you I think the writing is on the wall I think Kevin herder’s days in Sacramento are numbered I would be very surprised very surprised if Kevin hder was the Sacramento King come

October next year when we’re at opening night of the 2024 2025 season that’s how I feel at this point in time that being said Kevin herder is on your team now Kevin herder is going to be on your roster from now through the end of the

Playoffs he is one of the best Shooters in the league and we’ve seen how effective he can be when he is on how important he is to the spacing and flow of the Sacramento Kings offense the offense that is the primary strength of your team I know you’re trying to

Improve defensively you need to improve defensively if you want to get to that Championship status but you also have to be real with the players on your roster Kevin herder is too good to play 26 minutes and then disappear granted tonight he did look a little fatigued he wasn’t necessarily knocking down his

Shots some of his shots were a little bit short like I’m not saying if Kevin’s having a bad night you absolutely have to sit him and I understand too I acknowledge that Chris Arte I thought came in and actually provided some really good minutes so maybe tonight is

A bad example but I do not think Kevin herder should be getting yanked and completely taken out of games in the fourth quarter especially close games as often as he has been recently I just do not agree with how Mike Brown has handled Kevin hder at this point in time

And I know I’m not alone in that because I heard discussion about this on DLo and KC today I read a lot about it on social media today I’m pretty sure there was a discussion about it on on on sack toown Sports 1140 radio as well like we’re all

Seeing it we’re seeing it play out in front of our eyes and I I don’t know the inner workings I don’t know what Kevin is doing or not doing what he’s being told to do and if he’s blatantly ignoring it if he has an attitude issue or anything

Like that I don’t have any indication to believe that that is the case but what I do know is you have this player an important player who absolutely is a starter on this roster maybe there’s a better argument out there that Malik should be starting over Kevin herder I

Think a lot of us agree that Malik is the better player for the Kings than Kevin herder is that being said Mike Brown is stubbornly stuck to Malik is the Sixth Man and is coming off the bench for this team that means that Kevin herder is the next best option at

Your starting two guard spot period he can’t be losing his minutes all the time to to Keon Ellis or Chris Duarte who maybe give you a little bit of a defensive boost and a little bit of defensive upside but consistently are nowhere close to making the impact offensively that Kevin herder does I

Just disagree with how the kings are using Kevin herder and I think the kings are going to need Kevin herder to be playing to his strengths and going the kings are going to need to figure out how to implement Kevin hder and be get him more involved consistently if they

Want a shot of securing a playoff spot and if they want a shot of making it out of the first round of the playoffs that’s just my read on the situation let me know how you feel about that today’s episode of the lockon Kings podcast is brought to you by better help

Sometimes we all need the opportunity just to get something off of our chest whether it’s a big thing or a small thing certain things can really start to get to you it’s important to let that out especially to someone who is unbiased who is a professional licensed

Professional who can come and and sit down with you and help walk you through the struggles of life look I know you’ve heard me talk about this before if you’re a consistent listener to lockon Kings I love better help as a sponsor because it helps me send a message about

The importance of mental health and and the importance of therapy I started seeing a therapist when I was uh or during during Co I’ve seen my therapist for the last three nearly four years his name is TJ amazing guy TJ helps me walk through things that I didn’t even

Realize were issues things from my childhood things from my past things that had become who I am as a person that I didn’t want but I didn’t realize was there we all carry baggage in life right it’s not just massive mental problems that people deal with although

If you’re suffering from that too I beg you to go and get some help and speak to somebody talk to somebody about it but we all have little things that turn into bigger things that we don’t even realize are weighing us down right that’s where better help comes in because we also

Have very busy schedules right our lives are chaotic not not a lot of us have time to sit down for an hour or to go somewhere to sit down on some couch and talk to somebody that’s where better help comes in help better help can help

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Important then try another one better helps not going to penalize you or uh make you pay for that therapy can be a Difference Maker for everyone and most of us have bigger problems than just rooting on our sports team and dealing with the losses and the roller coaster that our sports

Teams put us on right if you’re thinking of starting therapy give betterhelp at try visit betterhelp.com lockon NBA to get 10% off your first month that’s betterhelp hp.com lockon NBA in addition to the great game that dearon fox had awesome game from damont sabonis shout out Harrison Barnes HB

Nice bounceback Knight has continued to play better or played he’s had better games more than bad games since 2024 began which we love to see and we’re happy to be able to say tonight 20 points six of nine from the field three of six from three-point range five

Rebounds which we love to see that number one block for Harrison making an impact outside of just scoring but when he’s scoring he’s doing so efficiently I still would like to see him maybe take more than n shots in a game where he’s feeling it like this but again this goes

To show you Harrison doesn’t need a bunch of shots to make a noticeable scoring impact on a game so it’s a really solid Harrison Barnes game that might be brushed on the radar might kind of flow on the radar with how he plays in comparison to Fox sabonis and the

Other kind of Marquee Kings players but it’s one that shouldn’t go overlooked now before we wrap up I do want to talk about Keegan Murray and this slump that he is in you talk about the Kings needing someone to make their way through this we know Keegan Murray is

Looked at as a core piece of this Kings team many of us coming into this season we hoping that Keegan Murray could become the big the third piece of a big three here in Sacramento and certainly be that when the Kings got to the playoffs again well it’s better that

Keegan is going through these struggles now than when you get to the playoffs But ultimately we can all see that this has been a down season for Keegan at least offensively at least shooting the basketball and he’s in his second I would say major slump this season

Sophomore slump if you want to call it that now what should we be concerned about and what is not concerning at this point I’ll lay it out I have three things here what’s not concerning what’s a little bit concerning and one thing that I am concerned about let’s start

With what I’m not concerned about I’m not concerned about Keegan being able to still make a positive impact on a game even on nights where he’s struggling right he has established himself as the best defender on this king’s team period he’s the best isolation defender in the NBA statistically this year I know

Keegan can make an impact he had five rebounds tonight he’s had 20 rebounds over his last three games Keegan is capable of doing more than just score the basketball so as this slump carries on it’s not like maybe some other guys on the team where it’s like okay the

Shots not falling he’s not getting you anything get him out of the game right Keegan is still making an impact I’m not concerned at all about Keegan’s ability to work his way through the slump while still helping the Sacramento Kings and other areas and ultimately helping them

Win basketball games I am a little bit concerned about the three-point shooting because while Sacramento wanted Keegan to come into this season and wanted Keegan to be more than just a spot up three-point shooter which of course he was last year breaking the NBA record for three-pointers in a season as a

Rookie right Keegan was so good from three-point range this season we wanted to see okay can you become a three level score can you attack from the mid-range can you get to the basket be more aggressive getting to the rim get to the foul line well Keegan’s been trying to

Do that more has done a better job getting to the basket his foul he’s still not getting to the foul line nearly enough at all that being said just like the Kings have sometimes gone away from their primary strength on the offensive end Keegan three-point shooting is his primary strength on

Offense it is and that is gone down it’s taking a step back this season he’s down to 35% from three-point range and he’s now shooting 20% in the month of February now the good news is we’ve seen him work through slumps before we saw him do it

This season right in November he shot 26% from three-point range he’s had really bad shooting months before he followed that up with a 44% month in December and 39% month in January so we know he can work through it that’s why I’m only a little bit concerned about

His three-point shooting but the Kings will need that floor spacing they will need that shooting and that consistency from the perimeter certainly in the playoffs and in this road to the playoffs I believe finally the thing that I am concerned about and I’ve talked about this before so I’ll just re reiterate it

Quickly while Harrison has started to kind of take a step forward and be more involved and while Harrison is starting to succeed that’s where we’ve kind of seen the decline a little bit of Keegan and I know there are theories out there James ham laid out a really good theory

James ham from the Kings be and the Insiders on ESPN 1320 talked about how a lot of the first half of this season was trying to emphasize uh Keegan and and make him a part of the offense and and and get him more involved offensively

And kind of open him up to that bigger offensive role and because of that emphasis guys like Harrison and Kevin were kind of taking steps back were forced to take steps back now in the second half of the Season you’ve had a half to work on that now the second half

Is okay we got to get everybody more involved because this isn’t working Harrison’s disappearing Kevin’s not making an impact we need to go a little bit away from Keegan and not emphasize him as much I I kind of like that theory and if that’s the case then the Kings need to

Find a way to still be able to get positive impacts more often than not out of everybody I’m not saying there aren’t going to be nights where Harrison’s on and Keegan’s off or vice versa we saw it tonight right that’s natural not everybody’s going to have a great knight

At the same time although when the Kings do have great Knights at the same time this team is unbeatable but you cannot have a stretch in the playoffs or in this run to the play where Harrison’s maybe up to 15 16 17 points per game and Keegan is down in the 678

Range you got to find the balance there you got to find the consistency that’s what I’m concerned about at this point is can the Kings get close to the best out of Keegan or or a consistent good out of Keegan and Harrison and Kevin and other role players at the same

Time what do you thought what are your thoughts about tonight’s game what are you most looking forward to about this All-Star break certainly not going to be the All-Star festivities except for go Keegan and the rising stars challenge looking forward to that I’m just looking forward to this Kings team getting

Arrest I’m looking forward to us as fans getting AR rest to some extent now remember locked on Kings will be keeping going through all of it I have great guests scheduled we’ll look at the second half of the season will really gear up for what I believe is going to

Be a wild playoff race in the Western Conference it’s going to be crazy we got a gear up for it so we’ll talk about it we’ll preview it lockon Kings is not going anywhere over the next week we will get through these night without Kings basketball and of course get you

Ready for kings and Spurs when the Kings return inside the golden one Center because after that doesn’t get any easier right you got the Clippers you got the t-wolves you got the Nuggets again like it’s not getting any easier so the Kings got to be ready to go

Hopefully they can come out of the All-Star break the same way they did last season go on a run and get themselves back firmly into the playoff picture let me know your thoughts on this first half of the Kings season anything you want to talk about Kings

Basketball wise reach out to me ATM George sack on Twitter email me mtor Sports gmail.com and leave your thoughts in the YouTube comment section down below until next time Happy Valentine’s Day everybody I love you all I wish I had candy to give you but I don’t but I

Appreciate you can’t wait to have you join me on the next episode of lockon Kings until then my name is Matt George you’ve been listening to lockon Kings part of the lockon podcast Network

Matt George reacts to the Sacramento Kings’ third victory over the Denver Nuggets this season, heading into the much-needed all-star break on the right foot.

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