Feb 6, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA;Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton (2) shoots a jump shot the ball during the first half against Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images
On Thursday night, the Sacramento Kings took on the red-hot Portland Trailblazers, who entered the evening on a five-game winning streak, and despite a back-and-forth affair, the Kings fell just short, losing 108-102. DeMar DeRozan led the Kings with 22 points, 4 boards, 7 assists, and 3 blocks, while Portland’s guards, Anfernee Simons (30 points) and Shaedon Sharpe (24 points off of the bench) pushed Portland to a win.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good:
DeMar – Bucket-getter: On the second night of a back-to-back, most of Sacramento’s players struggled to knock down shots from the floor. The team ended the night shooting 42% from the floor and 33% from deep, but DeRozan was Sacramento’s truly efficient scorer, as he put up 22 points on 9 of 16 shooting. Malik Monk (21 points) and Zach LaVine (22 points) were the Kings other leadings scorers, but it took the pair 39 field goal attempts to reach their 43 combined points.
The Bad:
Bench Differential: The Kings are waiting on one more deadline addition, Jake LaRavia, to make his debut, and his three-and-D play off of the bench will certainly be a boost, but Sacramento’s bench still looks pretty shaky at times. Keon Ellis (poor handle) and Devin Carter (too small, not a good enough shooter) can’t penetrate the lane, and the Kings were outscored 35-15 on the night. Jonas Valanciunas was aggressive and much more competent looking than Alex Len in his debut, but Doug Christie still lacks that punch and spark when the starters exit the game.
Broadcast Reply Timing: This is a minor pet peeve shared across the Kangzdom, but every time Kayte or Kyle mentions a critical play, the broadcast teams shows the play from two plays prior. Get on the same page, people!
The Ugly:
Starting Guards Defense: One of the most overlooked aspects of De’Aaron Fox’s exit was Sacramento losing their best point of attack defender, and those defensive shortcomings have been on complete display in Zach LaVine’s and Malik Monk’s last two games. The Blazers had little to no trouble penetrating the lane and either scoring or kicking it out to shooters, and Domantas Sabonis was often left defending two or three Portland players on his own, eventually resulting in his six-foul ejection. Injecting Keon Ellis into the starting lineup would help the issues, but none of the trio of Monk, LaVine, or DeRozan can realistically head to the bench. No guard defensive intensity and no rim protection will spell trouble for the Kings for the remainder of the season.
Play-in Chase: Thursday night’s loss will drop the Kings to under .500 once again, sliding them to sole ownership of 11th in the Western Conference, and they’ve now lost 6 of their last 8 games. In addition, the Blazers’ sixth win a row pulled them to within 2.5 games of the Kings. Sacramento will now be battling the Mavericks, Suns, Warriors, Spurs, and Blazers for three play-in spots.
The King of Kings
DeMar DeRozan: DeRozan led the Kings in points (22), assists (7), and blocks (3), and he was Sacramento’s most reliable offensive player.
Up Next
Saturday, February 8th @ New Orleans Pelicans – 7:00 P.M. (PT)
