The Sacramento Kings haven't been an elite team in 2024-25. At 6-5, the Kings are hardly over .500. However, before their game against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, the Kings have had a chance of winning every game they've played in.
Before the Spurs game, the Kings' greatest margin of defeat was nine points. In their other three losses, they lost by four points or less, with two of those games (against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Toronto Raptors) coming down to the final shot.
In that nine-point loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, the Kings managed to lose by ten points despite shooting 11.5% from three (3 for 26). Meanwhile, the Clippers hit 46.7% of their shots from beyond the arc. Who knows what the result would have been had each team's 3-point percentage been closer to even.
The Kings' ability to keep every game close is a big reason why they carried the seventh-best net rating (+4.6) in the NBA into their Monday evening clash. Unfortunately, their net rating after the Spurs' game (+2.4) has pushed them all the way to 11th.
The Sacramento Kings get crushed by the San Antonio Spurs
As we've been alluding to, the Kings were thrashed by the Spurs in their first meet-up since Harrison Barnes was traded. Barnes was solid in his first game against his old team, posting a box score line of 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists on a plus-minus of +14 in 30 minutes of action.
There is some justification for this defeat. First, the Kings were on the second leg of a road back-to-back, one where the first game required a fourth quarter comeback and overtime. The Spurs were able to rest the day before.
And second, the Spurs were red-hot from three – draining 22 of their 46 3-point attempts (47.8%). Meanwhile, the Kings were ice cold (a growing trend), only making 26.3% of their 38 attempts.
The loss of Malik Monk was greatly felt. The Kings' already downtrodden bench only managed to produce 21 points. On top of that, Jordan McLaughlin – one of the players filling Monk's minutes – was an abysmal -14 in his nine minutes of action (getting hunted like he normally does on the defensive side of the ball).
Considering that the Kings will have to be without Monk for at least a few more weeks, more games like this could be in their future. Unless, that is, they start hitting their threes and getting some more output from their bench.