In an already very complicated season, the Kings had given themselves a brief breath of fresh air in mid-January with a series of four consecutive victories. But in Sacramento, thinnings are rarely lasting. Quickly, the Californians plunged back into their faults: in the second half of the month, the men of Doug Christie have no longer won a single match and now have seven defeats in a row…
The latest fell this Thursday against the Sixers,at the end of a cruel scenario: Tyrese Maxey dampened the hopes of the Kings with a decisive basket one second from the siren.
Direct outcome: Sacramento now has a record of 12 wins for 37 losses,the worst in the league tied with the Pelicans. Obviously disappointing results, even if expectations had been lowered.
“We’re really not happy”logically blurts out Zach LaVine.“We have a bunch of All-stars, future Hall of Famers, All-NBA players and Olympic gold medalists, a former Sixth Man of the Year and excellent role players. But it doesn’t work,and our results show it. As a team, we don’t like it. We will continue to fight and try to play.»
Even before the launch of this 2025/26 campaign, the Kings’ defensive limitations were identified. Though, it is indeed especially in attack that Sacramento disappoints. With Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis and Russell westbrook, the squad had enough to bring down several defenses. Except that the reality is quite different: the Kings have the third worst offence in the NBA, with only 109.6 points scored per 100 possessions.
A future far from shining
Symbol of an attack that is struggling to structure itself: the end of the match against Philadelphia. While Sacramento had just signed an 11–0 to take a nine-point lead, DeMar DeRozanS partners lost the thread in the fourth quarter, committing seven loose balls over the period.
“We lost a few balls and we coudl have played better in attack”regrets the winger. “We gave them too many opportunities. But we still had the chance to win.Everything depended on our ability to limit their possessions and take advantage of ours. »
Alas, Sacramento cracked, like DeMar DeRozan’s missed shot just before Tyrese Maxey’s victorious shot.
With such a worrying record, the franchise no longer has many levers, other than hoping for a move by the trade deadline. A departure of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and/or Domantas Sabonis is mentioned, especially as the trio weighs heavily: nearly 115 million dollars committed to the payroll, without the results following.
“When things don’t go well, that’s what happens”breathes DeMar derozan on the rumors. “It’s part of the business. You have to continue to play and do your job. Put things aside… and continue to love this sport. »
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | To | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Fte | Pts | ||||
| Zach Lavine | 34 | 32:14 | 48.6 | 39.9 | 86.6 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 19.5 | ||||
| Demar Derozan | 48 | 33:18 | 50.5 | 33.7 | 87.0 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 19.1 | ||||
| Domantas Sabonis | 17 | 30:04 | 53.9 | 19.2 | 72.5 | 35:57 | 42.9 | 27.2 | 78.9 | 1.6 | 4.5 | 6.1 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 14.6 |
| Dennis Schröder | 38 | 26:21 | 41.0 | 34.0 | 81.1 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 12.6 | ||||
| Malik Monk | 39 | 22:23 | 45.0 | 42.7 | 86.4 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 12.5 | ||||
| Maxime Raynaud | 40 | 22:45 | 53.3 | 27.3 | 72.3 | 1.7 | 4.6 | 6.3 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 9.4 | ||||
| Precious Achiuwa | 41 | 20:53 | 51.0 | 31.3 | 52.9 | 1.9 | 3.7 | 5.5 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 7.5 | ||||
| Nique Clifford | 44 | 19:08 | 40.3 | 30.1 | 63.2 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 5.5 | ||||
| Keon Ellis | 41 | 17:32 | 38.9 | 36.0 | 62.5 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 5.4 | ||||
| Drew Eubanks | 30 | 14:00 | 60.0 | 25.0 | 55.8 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 5.2 | ||||
| Dylan Cardwell | 21 | 19:40 | 58.1 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 2.9 | 4.3 | 7.2 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 4.8 | ||||
| Doug Mcdermott | 7 | 10:00 | 34.8 | 34.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 3.4 | ||||
| Devin Carter | 13 | 8:18 | 33.3 | 25.0 | 100.0 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 3.1 | ||||
| Daeqwon Plowden | 1 | 14:00 | 20.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | ||||
| Dario šarić | 5 | 8:12 | 16.7 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 1.0 | ||||
| Isaac Jones | 3 | 5:40 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 1.0 | ||||