While the Sacramento Kings are coming off a solid win over the Miami Heat, that doesn't change how tough the season has been so far. The Kings currently sit at six wins and 17 losses. But it seems like Doug Christie has finally realized it's time to mix things up on the court to find a way to win.
When Christie came into his first training camp as the Kings' head coach, the word of the season became defense. It was the new focus for Sacramento, which was great then and remains great now. The lack of a defensive presence has been a huge problem for the Kings for a long time.
That new direction hasn't always been easy. Much of the roster was put together under the previous front office when the focus was on shooting over pretty much everything else. For players like Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis, who are not known for their defense, it's been difficult at times.
All of that combined is a big part of the reason that the Kings are having trouble finding a rhythm in 2025-2026. That will improve over time and as the rebuild progresses. Keeping that in mind, changes for the better don't have to start with a whole new roster and Christie is finally doing that.
Doug Christie mixes it up with the Kings
One of the frustrating things Sactown fans have been dealing with is Christie's apparent lack of desire to try something different. That doesn't just mean the focus on defense and building a more balanced roster. It's an important mission, one that could push the Kings in a good direction.
But Christie has been responding to these concerns and making changes to the current lineup. The first of these moves was making Russell Westbrook the starting point guard and moving Dennis Schroder to the bench. This benefited both players as well as the team as a whole.
More recently, he made another alteration to the starting lineup. Drew Eubanks had been covering for the injured Domantas Sabonis at center. After playing incredibly well off the bench, Christie moved rookie center Maxime Raynaud up to starter, and he killed it in his first game.
The rebuild will need years to take shape. In the meantime, Christie has finally entered the "throw it against the wall and see what sticks" phase of this era of the Kings. It's a good thing, as trying out everything will help Sacramento find combinations that may at least make them competitive.