Nique Clifford Reflects On Kings’ Loss To Clippers

In his postgame interview, Clifford told reporters that he has been trying to find a flow in the second unit and trying to establish his role with the team. The first-round draft pick has shown confidence and a willingness to run the offense and create opportunities for his teammates when given the chance. 

Unfortunately, that particular skill was not on full display on Wednesday night. After dishing out a team-high nine assists in the Kings’ first preseason game against the Toronto Raptors, Clifford did not register a single assist against the Clippers.

Clifford then stated that what he wants to bring to the team is energy and defense. As coach Doug Christie has mentioned repeatedly this offseason and training camp, the Kings need to establish a defensive-minded identity. The team has not found it yet, as they are giving up an average of 121 points per game thus far.

As for what went wrong for Sacramento against Los Angeles, Clifford placed the blame squarely on himself and the rest of the second unit. Clifford pointed out that the starters held up their end of the bargain but the reserves did not.

“For us, as a second unit, we have to be sharper. We have to come out and continue what the first group is doing and add on to that. I think that’s honestly why we lost the game, was our second unit coming in, and they took a large lead and it was hard to crawl back after that.”

When diagnosing the specific problems the second unit had against the Clippers, Clifford brought the conversation back to defense. He also remarked that the issues aren't limited to Wednesday night’s game, but have been evident in all three of Sacramento’s preseason games to this point.

“All three games we haven’t defended as well as we are capable of, or the identity that we want to establish as a team. We want to hang our hat on defense, but we haven’t really guarded at the standard we need to. I think as a team we need to come together and continue to build on that. A lot of things we were just beating ourselves; easy defensive mistakes that if we just clean up, it’s a way closer game.”

Clifford’s optimism is admirable, but it is unlikely to be a simple fix. Keegan Murray’s thumb injury has certainly dealt a huge blow to the Kings’ outlook this season, and if Sabonis misses any significant amount of time the impact will be devastating. 

In the meantime, the Kings have two more preseason games to right the ship and find their identity on the defensive end of the floor, as well as their shooting touch.