The Atlanta Hawks hit the West Coast last night to blow out the Sacramento Kings by 33 points, then presumably headed to Anaheim to take in Disneyland. It's hard to win games when your team gets absolutely annihilated in both steals and blocks, stats the Kings are almost always behind in.
It was always going to be a rough night for the Kings. They walked into the game shorthanded with Zach LaVine and Malik Monk on the bench with Keegan Murray. LaVine is generally their top scorer, and Malik Monk is their Sixth Man. Neither are players Sacramento wants out of the game.
Regardless, almost everyone on the Kings had a relatively quiet game. That includes Russell Westbrook, who had been the hot hand on the team until he played limited minutes off the bench a couple of times. Even Domantas Sabonis didn't collect another double-double.
Obviously, the Hawks dominated the Kings in the score, but that wasn't the only issue. They also out-rebounded Sacramento 45 to 35, as well as almost doubling the Kings in assists. Those are telling issues, yet somehow not the most frightening ones. Or at least not the only frightening ones.
The Kings lose the defensive battle
As per usual, Sacramento's defense was about as effective as leaving a mannequin in the net for Arsenal F.C. The two most telling stats in last night's debacle were actually blocks and steals. It's not just that the Hawks owned those categories. It's how much they owned them by,
Atlanta finished the game with 14 steals and six blocks while the Kings had seven steals and one block. Even if you remove the comparison to the Hawks, those numbers are still terrible. Sacramento only mustered up one blocked shot in the entire game, and it belonged to Maxime Raynaud.
These two stats demonstrate exactly how bad the state of Sacramento's defense is. They almost always lose in these categories, though the Kings usually turn in a bit better performance than last night. It's a reminder of how much work still needs to be done on their defensive profile.
While Maxime Raynaud and Dylan Cardwell both have potential, they need time and experience to get where they need to be. Drew Eubanks also has flashes of defensive brilliance. But if this team wants to win, they need to block shots and steal balls. Defense has to come first for everyone on the court.