The Good, Bad, and Ugly From Kings' 124-123 Loss To Trail Blazers

Keegan Murray would also pick up a thumb injury and not return after the first half. Let’s get into the good, the bad, and the ugly from this one. 

The Good:

Zach Lavine

LaVine was the only starter who looked in sync offensively, especially from deep. LaVine and Sabonis are starting to look much more comfortable with their two-man game, and LaVine remains one of the best shooters in the league. 

LaVine had 16 points in the first half while only playing 15 minutes with four triples. Other than LaVine, just one King made a three-pointer in the first half. Zach only played a few more minutes in the second half, but he would end the game as the Kings’ leading scorer with 19 points on 7-11 from the field. 

LaVine is just an effortless scorer, but the Kings need to find a way to give him some help offensively. So far, Zach has also looked much more engaged on the defensive end and looks like one of the only starters who has bought into the identity that Doug Christie wants for the Kings.  

The Reserves

Devin Carter still has to work extremely hard for his offense, and it never looks very fluid, but he gets the job done. Isaiah Stevens, on the other hand, was looking very comfortable getting to his spots in the fourth quarter. Stevens and Carter led a nice run by the Kings in the fourth that kept the team in the game when the Blazers were threatening to blow the game open. 

Nique Clifford would start to put his stamp on things with about five minutes left in the game with a great kick out to Dario Saric for three and an and-one afterward. Ultimately, they weren’t able to get the job done, but it was a great effort from the young guys again. Clifford would end with 15 points, and Saric would go 4-4 from three with 14 points as the two led the bench unit that scored well over half of Sacramento’s points. 

The Bad:

Rebounding

The Kings could not grab a board to save their lives in the second half and gifted Portland way too many second chances. 

With Sabonis and Eubanks on the bench, Maxime Raynaud and the rest of Sacramento’s back-up front court needed to make their presence felt on the glass, and they were not up to the task. Raynaud especially needs to be a lot more physical on the boards. Sacramento had issues rebounding with Sabonis out last season and will need to get better on the glass when the season kicks off. 

Dennis Schröder 

Schröder didn’t look very comfortable against Toronto, and that seemed to continue in Portland. The EuroBasket champion has yet to look anything like the player he was for Germany, and a lot of it has to do with him playing next to three other players who need the ball to be effective. 

It has only been two preseason games, but so far, it’s tough to say that I can see if Schröder actually makes this team substantially better as the starting point guard. Schröder would end the game with just six points and three assists as Devin Carter, Nique Clifford, and others took over the job halfway through the third quarter. 

The Ugly:

Shooting

With the exception of Zach LaVine and Dario Saric, the Kings were ice cold from three. LaVine had five triples on his own, and Saric went three for three from deep. Nique Clifford also knocked down a few threes, but that was it as Sacramento would finish 11-34 from behind the line. 

On top of the poor numbers, many of the shots just looked ugly. Sabonis had a few rough-looking threes along with Schröder, Murray, and really most of the team.

The Kings showed a few signs of life, but this team still looks like it’s a ways away from being in the playoff picture. The starters’ chemistry is as bad as it was last season, and maybe even worse with Schröder added in. 

It’s fair to hold off any judgments until the regular season, but two losses to two teams that the Kings should beat isn’t a great sign. Sacramento will have a shot to turn things around next Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers and Kawhi Leonard.