Sacramento Kings Need To Start And Finish The New Year Fast

Recently, De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield said they wanted the Sacramento Kings to run again. So far in their lone game in 2020, it has been a success.

Before entering the new year, the Sacramento Kings were at rock bottom. The team was currently on an 8-game losing streak and foreseeing their playoff drought increasing to 14 straight years.

Before the team’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies, the starting backcourt of De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield expressed their motivation to play at a faster pace going forward. Since that proclamation, the Kings have kept their word and it resulted in them winning their first game of 2020.

It was great to see the Kings get back to winning, but it was how they won that was encouraging. The purple and white returned to their exciting uptempo pace that tired out opponents last season.

Especially for the Kings’ backcourt in Fox and Hield, the change of pace benefitted them as they combined for 53 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds, and 5 steals. The team as a collective whole also shot around 49% from the floor and 41% from the perimeter.

This season has been a rollercoaster for the Kings, and a big reason why has been because they have been one of the slower teams in the NBA. It was only one game, but the purple and white showcased their fast style of play that many of their fans loved seeing them commit to last season.

Playing fast was the Kings’ identity last year which caused them to win 39 games (most since 2006) and have their opponents gassed after games. Hopefully, Luke Walton makes sure that increasing the tempo is an emphasis for his guys going forward. The Kings have had a nightmarish season so far, but they are still only 2 games back from the playoff race.

Now is the time to get back to running and performing the way that fans envisioned this Kings roster playing when they believed they were a playoff-caliber squad.