Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown is having a stellar season in his first year as the team’s head coach. The Kings have turned things around drastically on the court and the feeling around the locker room is much more positive than it has been in recent years.
Brown has pulled the right strings with his approach all season. From his tone to the locker room to the comments he makes to the media, Brown has managed his roster incredibly well.
After the Kings got beat up on by the New Orleans Pelicans Sunday evening, Brown had an interesting takeaway from his group’s performance. He referred to the adversity in front of the Kings team as a “great thing”.
“I’m interested to see how we respond to this adversity, not just short term but long term, as a team, but more importantly as individuals. Because when you hit adversity as an individual, your true colors come out.”
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) February 6, 2023
🎙 Mike Brown on the team's showing against the Pels pic.twitter.com/I3m88S7qf3
A great thing is hard to find after a 32-point loss in the NBA. Brown sees the adversity that comes from this awful performance as a great thing, though, and it’s hard to argue with his reasoning. He explained how much will be learned about not just the team but the individual players on the team.
All season they have earned respect from those around the NBA and how they respond to this kind of embarrassment will show much of that respect they should really have. As the third seed in the west right now, the Kings look like a team poised to make a playoff appearance.
It’s still pretty early, though, and not responding to this type of adversity could be a sign of what’s to come this season. Mike Brown knows we could be approaching a vital moment in the Kings season and he made sure his players would hear how important these next few games could be for them.
Kings opportunity to respond
It’s a quick turnaround for the Kings after the loss to the Pelicans. They play in Houston Monday night and will go into that game on a two-game skid.
It’s the first of two straight games against Houston for the Kings. After that, they have two straight against the Dallas Mavericks, who are much better than the Rockets. If the Kings don’t get things sorted out in the next two games, though, they may enter the Dallas games with some major concerns.
De’Aaron Fox hasn’t been ruled out for Monday’s game yet. He has missed two straight for personal reasons.
Davion Mitchell started both and hasn’t done much with the opportunity. The ripple effects of not having Fox are evident and getting him back could alone be enough for the Kings to come out more prepared from the opening tip.