De’Aaron Fox & Malik Monk Turn the Sacramento Kings into the Kentucky Wildcats | Locked On Kings

36 comments

1. Huerter is not an NBA starting shooting guard he’s barely serviceable as a bench player. He’s played poorly for the Kings longer than he’s played well. Since ‘23/24 he’s been a liability on offense and defense. He’s been a major contributor to the Kings poor play with his inconsistency on both sides of the ball. It’s been time for the Kings to move away from him. He was not playing well regardless of what Matt and Katy tried to tell us he was. Anyone honest about his performances could see that. He was benched by Brown for a reason and it was long overdue.

2. I can’t defend Huerter anymore. Even if he finds his rhythm, we’re not gonna get anywhere in the playoffs with his inconsistency.

3. Definitely do the starting lineup with Crowder at the 3 and Derozan at the 2.

   Crowder was A+ tonight and acting like a true vet though I only watched the 4th quarter. Granted it's one game but if Crowder can keep that positive/greatful attitude that he's getting quite possibly his last chance on an NBA roster then it'd be an excellent pickup by McNair though I have a feeling Brown endorsed it as well.

   No idea why He didn't make the team in the first place.

4. I said it during the summer the kings had too many nice guys we do need to be the villains!!! The league already treats us like we are anyways

5. Bench Murray

6. Trade Keegan

7. Why is huerter even playing nba anymore

8. I don't know about an official starting lineup with Crowder starting, Idk if he can give you enough offensively long term, we will see. I think Issac Jones will be this year's Keon Ellis, a gem that is gonna grow during an opportunity (Trey being out so long). He's big and long, and he was great offensively today, decent passing and did A LOT defensively for us and was rebounding like a beast, he did it all tonight. If he gets more, grows more with us, I think he is someone that can fill in as the 3/4 here along side Keegan… but who knows what happens, maybe by then Devin Carter will prove why he was such a valuable draft pick and Keegan will regress even more. Who is to say, but after seeing how Issac played in these recent games, he brings a lot we need to the table and it's showing that these undrafted two way guys have heart and hustle to go with their skills.

   Our core 3 Fox, Sabonis, Monk is good enough, Demar is obviously as well added to that…. our youngER players like Keon and Issac Jones show a lot of promise on both ends of the ball, Keon is our best shooter, and hits open 3s… and I truly believe Devin Carter will be a game changer when he gets playing time cause he is LONG and will be great on both ends of the ball. I firmly believe this is enough pieces, that if you trade away the other pieces and some picks for like a Cam Johnson, that we've got enough of a team and bench to make a real run.

   That being said, Demar needs to play more in THIS offense, the Kinds fluid movement offense, we can't slow it down for everyone all the time cause we are not good as a whole in that kind of offense. When things are really bad, like that 3rd quarter tonight, that's where Demar slowing things down and just getting buckets helps us a ton. But as a whole we primarily need to be focused on fast, fluid movement, passing the ball around the horn, pick and roll with Sabonis with Monk, and drive and kick to OPEN shooters like Keon. It's what always works best for us and is most consistent. We can't slow down and have everyone standing around waiting for Demar to ISO. I'll also point out, Sabonis didnt have a ton of turnovers this game like in recent games, trying to slowly back down someone in the post… because the offense was free flowing and moving a ton, he didn't need to do that while everyone stood around and did nothing. We need to be moving and cutting.

9. The energy and fight was there and you could see them have that fire and crowder brought them juice and intensity something they desperately need Malik and deaaron are awesome Isaac fantastic keep this up

10. Keegan and huerter suck

11. Don't we also have drew timme?

12. I loved your Idea of the new starting 5
    Keegan obviously needs help, and more size is necessary when starting the game

13. Fox, Monk, Keegan, Isaac/Lyles or Crawder and Sabonis – our starters must be based on these lads.

14. If kings jinx on their home court continues. There's no playoff. Fans & Vivek all know it 💣💣🤣

15. I wished they picked crowder up early on. Glad they went back to him

16. John Collins and Monk pick and roll off the bench would feed families

17. I know probably many wont agree but huge part of this win was that derozan was out and we had better then average wing defender in his place. Ball moved so much better, and it looked almost like 22/23, we only lacked huerter and murrays threes. Imo main reason why kings won was balance. Fox was leader, sabonis was agressive at the beginning letting fox save some energy and steped back in 4th and finally monk was that not even a spark but more like an asteroid from bench. Our 3 top guys were having their right roles. It just proved that we need derozan only in those moments when we really struggle, like 3rd q. Most of the time player like crowder or dfs would fit so much better.
    So we have a problem how properly to use derozan, or how to explain him that he must adust not whole team. To be honest i would love to trade him and give a chance for monk to try to be that 3rs star and second iso player. He really deserved that.
    Damn min and kings are in such a similar situation. Both have great players that dont fit and fail to adjust and that hurts.
    Also wtf is wrong with murray. He barely looks like a nba player. Crowder even somehow looked better. They need to find a way to fix it. Maybe its bc he plays at PF this year. I honestly thought he fits at this position better then at SF.
    Anyway no hype yet. Lets see how game with por will look. This team needs like 4-5 games streak of good games to bring back some believe in them again.
    Also as Matt said is so good to feel positivity.

18. I really think Demar don’t fit in sacramento system if ever he play again please put him in his natural position which is the SG. Now that Jae Crowder is there he can replace the position of Harrison Barnes to take out some load from Domas and Keegan.

19. Trade Demar for real 3&D pieces

20. kings fan in new york here 👋🏾 i’ve been following kings from new york through your podcasts, matt. i just got access to youtube TV so tonight’s game was my first game in awhile. And we got to LIGHT THE BEAM

21. When they were down 98-86 I almost turned the game off. I thought I’ll see what happens in the next few minutes. Then boom!!!

22. TRADE HURETER JAE CROWDER STARTING TELLS U EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW. The fact hes still on this team is mind boggling. He should’ve been gone right when he wet the bed and got exposed vs gsw in the first round

23. To get rid of huerter I honestly think u have to attach a first to him hes awful man thats the reason the heat got stuck with duncan robinson

24. Yup Fox Sabonis and Derozan are the engine of the team but without Monk's fuel and spark plug "every night" this team will be in trouble

25. I like Heurter. I know he tries, but he's got to go.

26. Fox and monk play so much better without derozan on the floor! Better ball movement too and chemistry without him! Welcome crowder, like his defense, trash talking, attitude and he makes 3s. O YEAH, knecht with 20pts. We should of drafted him!!

27. This just supports my thought that DeRozen needs to come off the bench. Fox can play his style and when he needs a break DeRozen can then play his style and throw a curveball to the defense of the other team. That will also give Fox longer time to take a break. Then he can return and hit them with speed when the defense starts to get used to a slower pace. If you think I’m crazy look at the games Fox played without DeRozen and he plays like we know he can.

28. Felt like it was a step in the right direction… I really like Isaac so far and Crowder. It was fun to see Fox and Monk on a heater, but they are going to have to be more team oriented for it to be sustainable- I felt like some guys disappeared out there in crunch time. Seriously, what happened to Kevin and Keegan’s shooting? That would be such a difference maker if they were shooting at 40%.

29. Crowder doubter

30. What is your thoughts? I notice an interesting style of play in the 2nd qtr from this game! This could possibly be a formula on how to combat an oponents 3 pt shooting. I noticed offensively in the 2nd qtr, that you may as a bi-product use the midrange to put your opponents in foul trouble quickly. This style of offense can lead to softening up and slowing down your opponents 3pt shooting. The 2nd quarter the Kings attacked so much offensivelly with their mid range, they got to the line alot. They got Minnesota Wolves players in foul trouble leading them to scramble to their bench. If I am Mike Brown, I may want to figure out how to take advantage of this type of offensive tattic. I have Fox, Sabonis and Da' Rozen that thrive in the midrange game. I can use there game to hopefully generate those foul calls. It seems like this maybe a way for a Sacramento weak shooting 3 pt team to level the playing field on a apponent. Get those 3 pt shooters on defense in foul trouble…

31. A much needed win! As much as I am excited it kinda reinforced my original opinion that DeRoz just didn't fit. So maybe they should look at moving him to the bench to spell the non Fox scoring minutes we need and to help keep his minutes down. Crowder will help and he got in Randles head late and sort of made him loose focus, without Lyles they didn't have anyone to be spicy. Now with him barking and Monk strutting the Kings showed the swager they have been missing this season. Props to Issac Jones, please more of that guy

32. Drew Timme will be a starter before Malik Monk.

33. Standing On My Sofa Clapping! The return of the KING OFFENSE and the must see NBA team! We got to witness the Malik and Sabonis 2 man game, which un-locks Sabonis and opens up the floor for the King shooters. We got to witness the Kentucky Back Court, Fox and Malik are a top 5 NBA back court. “We can only hope that Coach Brown, plays Fox and Malik over 30 min a game, they are magic together!” Malik is not a bench player! Jae Crowder! Yes he FITS the way the Kings play, he is not a BALL STOPPER, like Demar. I know Keegan loves Jae! Why? Jae can actually guard people like Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon, Lebron, Zion, etc big wings! Keegan is not a 4! Keegan can guard 3s and 2s! The King’s Owner has to be asking his coaching staff? Why did we need Demar Derozan? Smart People say that a guy like Kyle Anderson, Jae Crowder are better fits for what our team loves to do. Kings best 5 now! Fox, Malik, Keegan, “Jae or Trey”, and Sabonis! Jae and Trey can hit 3s, this opens up the court for Fox and Malik to attack the paint. It also gives Malik and Sabonis space to run their two man game! Jae Crowder is a better fit for this King team. Last night 3s by Fox and Malik got the Kings back into this game. Not tough 2s. I repeat teams are not playing 2 post guys anymore. Demar hurts, Sabonis game, he hurts Fox game, he hurts Malik game, Why? Demar basketball, kills the Kings pace of play, and spacing they need. Coach Brown and Monte, have a problem, play Demar and lose, and both will probably be calling U-Haul fast. Jae Crowder was a smart pick up! I repeat the biggest singing this summer was Malik! Not 35 year old Demar with a bad back. One hopes that Demar, watched the game last night, and saw how the ball has to move. If the Kings want to Keep Fox, Coach Brown needs to play his buddy Malik more! Malik playing 35 minutes or more helps the Kings win, and takes pressure off Fox. Good Win! On to the Portland! Fox, Malik, Keegan, Jae, and Sabonis Thank You! For making Kings basketball fun again!!!

34. The eagle was golden in his debut, the dog was a bull and the cats went wild against the wolves. At least for tonight, Sacramento were Kings. The question is, from here on out which K would show up?

35. It was a great win.

36. 34:16 my suggested 5 for the next few games was Fox-Ellis-Derozan-Crowder-Sabonis. Good mix of defensive solidity and firepower. Keegan can come off the bench to focus on giving his all on both ends of floor for less minutes and take more control of the rock when it’s mostly just him, Monk and Huerter making plays in the 2nd unit