After Wednesday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets, another lopsided game that didn’t sit well with anyone despite coming at the hands of the defending NBA champions, an angry Kings locker room took matters into their own hands.
That is the extent of Sacramento’s rigorous standards.
Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee claimed that the Kings held a 35-minute players-only discussion on Thursday before to their flight to Minnesota, as a result of these issues.
It was the first players-only gathering since Mike Brown became the Kings’ head coach the previous campaign.
Kings guard Malik Monk told the Sacramento Bee on Friday, “We had a team meeting to talk about [how] we have to take this s-–t seriously because we got 23 games left now.” “We’re out; they’re playing, but the coaches will say what they want to say.
“We were aware that we needed to unite and outwork someone.”
Prior to a thrilling 124-120 overtime victory over the top-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday at Target Centre, the squad issued a self-imposed wake-up call, which Brown applauded.
“I absolutely adore it,” Brown told the Sacramento Bee. “This is me. I’ve been saying to our coaches, front office, and team internally that until you guys take ownership, we won’t be able to achieve the heights we can.” You can only push and carry the team so far in your role as head coach. There must come a moment when it originates internally.
They conversed with each other, held each other responsible, and accepted responsibility for whatever absurd situation was in front of them. Therefore, I actually went out and had a drink last night, man, for them to have that for the first time.
This season, the Kings have been an exception. Although Sacramento has a curious tendency of playing down to its opponents, it has also had a few blowout losses. Despite this, the club has been known to rise to the occasion and compete with the best teams in the league.
A hungry Kings squad was able to refocus their energies on fighting until the last buzzer every night of the season thanks to Thursday’s players-only meeting.
Kings guard Kevin Huerter told the Sacramento Bee, “I think a big part of it is just getting on the same page.” “I believe it was a chance for us players to discuss and own up to our actions. Discuss things that we believe are working for us and have been occurring on the court, as well as those that aren’t. Just be sure to have these conversations in a private space away from the instructors. Thus, it was fruitful.
Davion Mitchell continued, “We were saying that we just had to come together.” “When teams score points, we can’t just stop playing. When we’re not scoring goals, we can’t just shut up shop. All we have to do is play more.
In the Western Conference, Sacramento (34–35) is now ranked as the seventh seed and is one game behind the New Orleans Pelicans (36–25) for the sixth and last guaranteed position in the NBA playoffs.
The Kings still have plenty of time to improve their postseason positioning with 23 games left, but it’s never too early to create a feeling of urgency.
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