Harrison Barnes of the Sacramento Kings, center, drives against Joe Harris of the Brooklyn Nets, right, and Jarrett Allen, back, during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Friday, August 7, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida (AP Photo / Ashley Landis, swimming pool)
AP
Kings forward Harrison Barnes wants to see the heart, the hustle and the responsibility in the next three games as the team ends the regular season in the NBA bubble.
The Kings are hoping to avoid elimination on Sunday when they face the Houston Rockets at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, but their days appear to be numbered. To reach the play-in round for suit no. 8 in the Western Conference, the Kings are expected to win the three remaining games and hope for a total collapse by the Portland Trail Blazers. Even then, the Kings would need the help of other teams to overcome the San Antonio Spurs, the New Orleans Pelicans and the Phoenix Suns.
If the Kings lose to the Rockets or the Blazers beat the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, Sacramento will be the first team eliminated from the game. The Kings avoided elimination on Saturday when the Blazers lost to the Los Angeles Clippers, but it’s probably only a matter of time.
The Kings will likely lose the playoffs for the 14th consecutive year, the longest active streak in the NBA and the second longest series in championship history. They risk equaling a dubious record set by the Clippers, who missed the playoffs for 15 consecutive years from 1977-91, if they can’t end the drought next season.
The Kings had high hopes for the reboot but lost four of their first five games in the bubble, including a 119-106 defeat to shortmen Brooklyn Nets on Friday.
“The frustration is high,” Barnes said. “I don’t know if that’s necessarily a disappointment, but it’s frustrating because when we got into this game we knew it was more mental than physical. He was meeting force with force. He was being disciplined. It doesn’t matter what pattern we have. It doesn’t matter what game plan we have. If we don’t have the effort to perform, it doesn’t matter, and we haven’t played with that effort tonight. “
Barnes offered a lengthy and sobering evaluation of the team’s play after the loss to the Nets, repeatedly citing “effort” and “responsibility”.
“I think it starts with individual responsibility only in terms of the effort we are putting out there consistently to win this championship,” said Barnes. “And, to be consistent, you have to do it every single night. Starting with myself, I know defensively in these last (five) games, I just have to be better. There is no real excuse for this. To make or miss the shot, you still have to go out and defend. You still have to go out there and bounce, and so far I haven’t been doing my job since we’ve been here. “
Barnes was one of Sacramento’s most reliable players. He started slowly after contracting COVID-19 and spent weeks away from the team, but averaged 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds shooting 51.1% from the field and 37.5% from 3 points in the last five games.
Barnes, Cory Joseph, Corey Brewer, and Kent Bazemore are the only players on the Kings roster with significant playoff experience. Younger players like De’Aaron Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield have never appeared in a post-season match.
The Kings failed to meet the level of toughness, intensity and attention to detail needed in what Joseph and Bazemore described as a playoff-like environment in the bubble.
“I’ll be the first to say it’s definitely about us as veteran players, guys like me,” said Barnes. “I will personally take responsibility because I was in the playoffs. I’ve been to the finals. I know the energy and effort it takes to win games, and when you don’t wear it, you lose.
“I definitely take responsibility there, but I think as a group we have to learn that you can’t just turn it on. We have moments where the guys have incredible performances. We do great runs, we make great comebacks and we win. And it’s great, but you can’t win that consistently, and it’s something we’re working on as a group. “
Kings coach Luke Walton has been preaching that message all season. After losing their first three games, the Kings turned on Thursday with a 140-125 win over the Pelicans, taking 53.8% from the field and 16 of 33 from 3 points. Then they went cold in the defeat to the Nets, shooting 42.7% from the field and making only 12 of 40 from over the arc.
“That’s why as coaches we constantly insist on being good at all other things,” Walton said. “When we start winning consistently, it won’t be because we are hot every night. (Maybe because) we don’t do a foul, we are disciplined in defense, we keep our man on the ball. I know there is a lot to do … but it has to happen. The frustrating part as a manager is more that we keep making some of these other mistakes that don’t allow us to win if we’re not hitting the ball well. “
The Spurs shot 53.3% from the field and 44% from 3 points in their win over the Kings. The Orlando Magic shot 52.4% in total and 47.4% from long range.
Sacramento held the Dallas Mavericks at 36.7% of the shot, but then the Pelicans shot 57.3% and the Nets shot 48.4%.
Bogdanovic was asked to identify the defending team’s biggest problem.
“Communication only,” he said. “Communication problems most of the time.”
Barnes summed up the team’s struggles in one word.
“Trust me,” he said. “As a group, we need to know if a kid gets beaten, his teammate will be there to cover him. If a guy is sick, he can trust us on a tightrope. We’ve shown moments of that, but over the course of these (five) games, we haven’t been connected defensively enough as a unit to get consistent stops. “
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