The big topic of training camp for the Sacramento Kings was defense. While there has been some improvement, there's still a long way to go, particularly for Domantas Sabonis. The loss to the Los Angeles Lakers featured Sabonis getting rolled by Deandre Ayton over and over.
As the Kings went into their first training camp with Doug Christie as head coach, the former player made it clear that defense is now the name of the game. That made sense as the Kings have had a shoot-first focus on offense for years to the point that it harmed their defense.
The problem for the Kings is that many of their players are shoot-first scorers who don't have a strong or decisive defensive presence. There are a few guys on the team, like Keegan Murray, Dennis Schroder, and Keon Ellis, who are solid defenders. But they are not the majority.
While Christie's goals are laudable, getting there is going to be hard. It requires NBA veterans who have been in the game for a long time to change how they play. It's doable, with enough time and enough effort. This is especially true for All-Star center Domantas Sabonis.
Sabonis gets steamrolled by Ayton
Deandre Ayton isn't the center who usually rolls over the opposition. To be frank, he's usually the one getting rolled. But against the Kings on Sunday night, he rode shotgun with Austin Rivers and helped completely dismantle Sacramento's defense for most of the game.
In particular, Ayton was all over Sabonis. He shut the Kings' big man down on offense while running right through Sabonis when he was on defense. Shockingly, he actually out-hustled Domantas for at least a couple of rebounds, which was weird to see. That's Sabonis' bread and butter.
Ayton is a fine center, but he's long been the poster player for unrealized potential. He shouldn't be able to take down a center of the caliber of Sabonis in any part of the game. This is a matchup Domas should be winning every time they face off without fail. He has to win at both ends of the court.
The double-double machine did strike against the Lakers, and did manage to bring some defensive hustle to the game in some big plays. But Sabonis needs to be impactful in the smaller defensive moments, too. He has to be able to hold players like Ayton in check if they expect to win.