The Sacramento Kings have been a disaster so far this season. After the Pelicans won on Saturday, the Kings now have the worst record in the Western Conference. Head coach Doug Christie has been trying to push the right buttons, and it hasn’t worked.
Not only has it not worked, but Sacramento doesn’t seem to have much of a plan moving forward. They are one of the older teams in the league, and their best player is injured. With Domantas Sabonis out, the Kings have no post presence, and they lost their best pure passer.
Christie continues to try to figure out which lineups work the best for the Kings. He has decided not to play Malik Monk, one of their key guards. He was asked to explain why he had decided to bench Monk in each of the last two games.
GettyKings guard Malik Monk celebrates. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
Kings’ Doug Christie Addressing Benching Malik Monk
After losing a game to the Trail Blazers, Christie was asked to address Monk’s status.
“We made the decision to go with Keon, similar situation when Keon wasn’t playing. There’s a logjam there. We’re 6-22, we’re trying something different. We’re going to turn over all of the rocks and try to make sure that we are locked in on that.”
Christie continued, alluding that effort may play a part in why Monk has been riding the pine.
“Not necessarily permanent. Not at all. I told him to stay ready. Your number might be called. If it’s called, you’ve got to be ready to step up…not necessarily permanent, but we made a decision to go in that direction with the record that we have…The main thing is that the product that hits the floor, first and foremost, plays extremely hard.”
GettySacramento Kings guard Malik Monk argues with an official. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
The Kings Are Not Going to Hit Preseason Expectations They Set
Christie’s team is not going to meet the preseason expectations that they set for themselves. The Kings were expecting to compete for a spot in the play-in at the end of the year. This year, they will come nowhere near meeting that expectation.
Sacramento has the second-worst offense in the league. Quite frankly, the chemistry looks very poor on the floor. At this point in the season, the Kings don’t look like they are having fun. The effort looks poor, and the stats are backing up what is happening on the floor.
The Kings could decide to make some moves at the trade deadline to change up their lineup, including moving Zach LaVine, who has drawn some outside interest. At this point, it would make sense for them to try to get rid of their core guys since nothing is going to be happening this season.
Christie needs to figure out a way to get his guys to respond to him. Otherwise, there’s a shot he won’t be around next season after the Kings get a high draft pick.
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