Kings Weekly Roundup: 11/4-11/11

Nov 11, 2018, 12:00 AM | Updated: Jan 4, 2019, 11:36 am

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Sacramento Kings Beat Writer

By Franklin Cartoscelli – Sports 1140 KHTK

After a start that surprised the entire league, the Sacramento Kings have had a humbling past seven days.

Starting off the year with a 6-3 record, the Kings have lost 3 of 4 and now sit at 7-6 as we head into a new week. Although the Kings have cooled off, there are some positives to look at as Sacramento stilll holds the Western Conference’s eighth best record.

Here’s the weekly roundup for this week’s Kings action:

Kings vs Bucks

Sacramento suffered their worst loss of the season last Sunday in Milwaulkee against the then 8-1 Bucks. The Kings lost to a final of 144-109, as they struggled to slow down the Bucks, who had eight scorers in double figures.

De’Aaron Fox continued his consistencey with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

Two-way player Troy Williams impressed yet again as he vies for a permanent roster spot with 11 points in 16 minutes.

Raptors vs Kings

The Kings had another tough test on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center when Kawhi Leonard and the Toronto Raptors came to town. After falling behind early, Sacramento battled back against the 11-1 Raptors.

Down 16 points in the fourth quarter, the Kings cut the deficit to seven before a late three pointer by Leonard pushed the lead back to double digits with three minutes left to seal the Raptors victory.

Buddy Hield and Willie Cauley-Stein each had 24 points in the loss.

Timberwolves vs Kings

Sacramento bounced back on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 121-110 victory. It took an team effort to overcome a monster game from T-Wolves big man Karl Anthony-Towns, who put up 39 points and grabbed 19 rebounds.

Towns’ former Kentucky teammate Willie Cauley-Stein scored 25 points en route to a victory.

Another former Kentucky Wildcat named De’Aaron Fox had his third double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 assists.

Minnesota All Star Jimmy Butler played his last game for the Timberwolves on Friday, scoring 13 points on 3-of-12 shooting. Butler was finally traded to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday after requesting a trade over the summer.

The Kings had a very exciting run in the third quarter thanks to Nemanja Bjelica, who had 11 points in the period.

Lakers vs Kings

In the most anticipated Kings-Lakers game in years, Sacramento couldn’t get their offense going as they fell to LeBron and the Lakers 101-86.

Nothing seemed to fall for the Kings, who had their worst offensive game of the year scoring only 86 points on 34% shooting from the field. Buddy Hield struggled on Saturday as he went 3-for-17 from the field and 1-for-6 from three point land. Sacramento shot 24% from behind the three point line.

The lone bright spots for the Kings were De’Aaron Fox and Willie Cauley-Stein.

Fox scored 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Cauley-Stein, who battled foul trouble the entire game, had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Bright Spots

De’Aaron Fox continues his breakout season. Fox holds per game averages of 18.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 7.1 assists. It’s pretty fair to assume if the 2017 NBA Draft was done today, Fox may have come off the board before the fifth pick.

Thankfully for Sacramento, he didn’t.

Although he had a rough game against the Lakers, Buddy Hield continues to be the go to guy for Sacramento. Hield is averaging 19.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He is still having an amazing year from the field, holding shooting percentages of: 48% from the field, 43% from three, and 87% from the free throw line.
Willie Cauley-Stein has shown he is coming into his own as a center in this league. Willie holds per game averages of 16.8 points and 8.2 rebounds.