Game 50 Notes: Perimeter Defense Haunts Sacramento Kings In Brooklyn
By Rafe Wong
The Sacramento Kings just couldn’t wait to get out of Brooklyn last night.
What seemed like a winnable game against a Brooklyn Nets team with a record of now 13-38, the Kings ended up getting run out of the Barclays Center losing 128-119.
There are multiples reasons why the Kings lost this game, but the biggest one of them all was their lack of defense.
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The Nets entered last night’s game averaging just 95.6 points a game (ranked 29th in the league), and yet they found a way to score a whopping 128 points to finish the contest. The Kings defense was terrible throughout the game, but their perimeter defense particularly was atrocious.
The Nets who struggle in most instances on offense, also struggle in their perimeter shooting. They were originally ranked 27th in the league in 3P% (32.8%), but last night they were taking advantage of Sacramento’s poor defensive switching in making their open threes. They finished the game making 18 three-point shots out of 28 shots attempted (64.2%).
The Kings have many deficiencies that they need to fix going forward, but their defense has been their Achilles heel which again cost them a game that they should have won.
Once their defense starts to improve is when fans can see this team turn it around and perform well on a consistent basis. Until then, fans are going to continue questioning what kind of Kings team they are going to see on a gamely basis.
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Notable performances last night for Sacramento were DeMarcus Cousins who recorded 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists for the night. It was his first triple-double recorded this season. Another King that was efficient was Rajon Rondo with 15 points, 15 assists, and just 2 turnovers.
Players for the Nets that helped their team get the victory were Joe Johnson who contributed 27 points and 11 assists and Brook Lopez with 26 points and 12 rebounds.
The next and second stop for the Kings on their 4-game road trip will be in Boston where they will go on to face the Celtics.