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The Sacramento Kings are in a free fall lower than one month into the 2025-26 season after dropping to 3-9 following a 133-100 loss to the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday evening. Sacramento has now misplaced three of its final 4 video games by at the very least 27 factors and is off to its worst 12-game begin because the 2017-18 marketing campaign.
“I used to be embarrassed,” Kings coach Doug Christie mentioned. “I want I might’ve placed on the jersey. At 55, I’d’ve confirmed you higher than that. A minimum of I will use all six fouls. I am unable to transfer, however I will foul the shit out of any person.”
Sacramento was out-rebounded 45-35, dedicated 20 turnovers and was decimated within the fast-break factors class to the tune of 33 to eight. Atlanta led by as many as 44 factors regardless of star guard Trae Younger not even being within the lineup.
The Kings had been coming off a 14-point loss to the Denver Nuggets and had misplaced their two earlier video games by 27 and 31 factors to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, respectively. The Kings have misplaced their 9 video games by a median of 15.3 factors.
“Placed on a jersey, symbolize it correctly,” Christie mentioned. “… I am f—ing embarrassed. Unacceptable. Interval. It’s. It is a easy one. This ain’t even arduous. Typically you come up right here and also you attempt to work out ‘nicely, you recognize, possibly I’m going look again and have a look at [the tape].’ I do not want to take a look at no tape. In all probability will not have a look at it. I’ve seen it as soon as reside. Rattling if you wish to have a look at it once more, however I’ll.”
Extra modifications to the beginning lineup coming?
Christie noticed his interim tag eliminated earlier this offseason after taking up for former Kings coach Mike Brown halfway via the 2024-25 marketing campaign. Christie, greatest identified for being a tenacious defender throughout his 15-year taking part in profession, was a key a part of the Kings’ core through the early 2000s. He joined as an assistant coach in 2021 earlier than taking up the franchise following the sudden firing of Brown.
Throughout his first season because the full-time coach, Christie has combined up the beginning lineup usually with the hope of discovering stability. By way of the primary 12 video games of the season, the Kings have rolled out 9 completely different beginning lineups. A part of the explanation for the foremost shakeup on a nightly foundation is looking for a lineup mixture to account for the lack of ahead Keegan Murray, who hasn’t performed a sport but after present process surgical procedure on his thumb final month.
Sacramento rolled out certainly one of its smallest beginning lineups earlier this month, which included Russell Westbrook, Dennis Schröder, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis. With LaVine out in opposition to Atlanta, he was changed within the beginning lineup by Valuable Achiuwa, who signed with the crew earlier this month.
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That dimension — or the dearth thereof — was on show in opposition to a much bigger and extra bodily Hawks lineup Wednesday evening. The Kings have been looking for one other playable ahead to fit subsequent to Murray since he was drafted in 2022, however they nonetheless have not discovered one. It is a part of the explanation why the Kings explored a doable sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors earlier this offseason for Jonathan Kuminga.
Nonetheless, lower than a month into the season, Christie remains to be searching for solutions and a constant lineup. And if you happen to thought extra modifications weren’t on the horizon, you’d be mistaken. Christie was requested about making extra lineup modifications after the bench unit outscored the starters 55-45, which included a team-high 20 factors for Keon Ellis.
“You have to,” Christie mentioned. “These guys are minus-31, minus-38, minus-34, minus-20. You bought to.”
What has gone incorrect for Sacramento up to now?
The Kings had a logjam on the guard place heading into the season after signing Westbrook days earlier than the primary sport and including Schröder by way of sign-and-trade earlier this offseason. Moreover, Sacramento returned LaVine, DeRozan, Malik Monk, Devin Carter and Ellis, and added Nique Clifford within the first spherical of the 2025 NBA Draft.
On paper, the Kings have a roster of veterans who’ve all achieved particular person success within the league. Nonetheless, the core collectively makes little sense on the basketball court docket due to their non-complementary and redundant ability units. It’s a part of the explanation why the Sacramento Kings may very well be staring down a doable hearth sale on the commerce deadline and a full-on rebuild with a lookahead to a loaded 2026 NBA Draft.
Ellis, who has been Sacramento’s most constant defender on the guard place over the last three seasons, has been in-and-out of the rotation via the primary dozen video games. Ellis has performed largely in rubbish time throughout the previous few video games after beginning 49 video games the earlier two seasons. Ellis not cracking the rotation on a nightly foundation is a byproduct of a flawed roster that’s heading towards one other lottery look.
“Yeah, it is a quantity’s sport,” Christie mentioned earlier this month. “There is a large logjam there, so evening to nighttime it may very well be completely different. It is not going to get any simpler after we get Keegan again.”
Christie’s postgame rant and frustration sum up what the final two and a half years have been like for the Kings since breaking the longest playoff drought in North American sports activities following a 48-win season through the 2022-23 marketing campaign. Since then, Sacramento has misplaced within the play-in event in back-to-back years and noticed face-of-the-franchise, De’Aaron Fox, exit by way of commerce earlier this 12 months.
The truth for the Kings is easy: Do you stick with the established order, proceed to place a bandage on a damaged product that is not fixable, or look within the mirror and face the truth of getting to hope the lottery balls come up in your favor to land a franchise-altering draft choose? The reply to that query might decide the outlook for Sacramento by the top of this decade.
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