3 hot takeaways after Kings dismantle Trail Blazers in second preseason game

Mike Brown has already swung the Sacramento Kings culture in the right direction

The job is by no means done. In fact, it’s still a long ways from being finished. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t acknowledge what is already clear and what else becomes clear along the way.

This early, it’s clear that Mike Brown is turning things in the right direction for the Kings franchise. This is true both on and off the court.

Players are speaking very highly of him and have been since they started working alongside him and his staff. It is visible that the energy is more positive and there is a new sense of guys buying into the program being put in place.

The big thing, that is especially noticeable already, is on the court. As mentioned in the previous slide, Brown is promoting a competitive environment. That goes a long way for a team that has a number of unproven players who are being counted on to take the next step.

The way the Kings have come out of the gates in their first two games, especially in this one against Portland, shows a sense of urgency and expectation from the group that we weren’t seeing much of in recent years.

WithPortland playing Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic and Jerami Grant, it was awesome to see the Kings take it straight at them right from the opening tip. It worked, too.

The Kings were up 12 points at the end of the first quarter behind a well-balanced attack that was led by Domantas Sabonis. He had nine points while the starting backcourt of Kevin Huerter and De’Aaron Fox each chipped in six of their own.

The Kings were being aggressive with their shot selection while remaining smart about what kind of 3-pointers they were getting up. They forced 7 Portland turnovers and had assists on 8 of their eleven made field goals in the opening quarter.

It set the tone for the remainder of the game and the Kings carried that tone with ease for the remaining 36 minutes.