Kayte Christensen credits Kings recent success to defense, pace, and Christie

Sacramento Kings TV broadcaster Kayte Christensen credits their recent success to the improvements to defense and pace.

Jan 15, 2025, 9:52 AM

The Sacramento Kings seven game-win streak came to an end Tuesday afternoon in Milwaukee, but their positive climb up the standings remains.

Kings’ color analyst Kayte Christensen joined The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross on Wednesday to discuss how they’ve been getting it done, Doug Christie’s impact as head coach, and how DeMar DeRozan tried to get his teammates to understand their new leader better.

Being 7-2 under Christie is better than most would’ve expected when Sacramento elected to move on from Mike Brown. Their apparent stylistic differences as coaches have stood out early as Christie continues to solidify his style.

Kayte highlighted his uplifting messaging and how that’s seemed to uplift this roster.

“Doug’s mentality is very much about elevating you from a mental standpoint, and you need that. You need that from a coach,” she said. “That’s just who Doug is. It’s who he was as a player. It’s who he is as a coach, and I think that that really is resonating with the players on a really high, high level.”

“You’re kind of gradually getting a glimpse of who Doug Christie is as a head coach,” Christensen continued. “He’s very much of a player’s coach.”

Their pace and defense have been stellar, but the personality change from Brown to Christie has been obvious as well.

As the veteran on the team, DeRozan likely has the most knowledge of Christie’s on-court abilities and he decided to help relay that message to his teammates. During the three-game road trip, the guard had Sacramento’s video staff put together a Christie defensive highlight reel to help everyone get a better understanding of their new head coach.

Christensen got the chance to speak with Christie and DeRozan about this and shared what she learned.

“A lot of these guys probably didn’t see Doug play,” she said was DeRozan’s message. “I thought it was important for them to see him play and the way that he’s played on the defensive end so that everyone can understand when someone is asking you to do something like Doug is, where it’s coming from, and that’s what he’s expecting from us, that’s what he’s demanding of us because he gave that every day on the floor.”

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More Sacramento Kings coverage on Sactown Sports

The Sacramento Kings win streak finally came to an end. After emerging victorious in their seven previous games, they fell 130-115 to the Milwaukee Bucks in Fiserv Forum.

Malik Monk did not participate due to right groin soreness, with Keon Ellis starting in his place.

A 21-2 Milwaukee run in the first quarter left the Kings facing a 28-point deficit in the opening frame. Despite their remaining belief and efforts, the Kings never climbed back within striking distance.

De’Aaron Fox (20 points, 11 rebounds, six assists), DeMar DeRozan (28 points, six rebounds, four assists), and Domantas Sabonis (16 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists) had big nights. Still, their defense, which had the most vital improvement during their win streak, was lacking. Nothing shows that more than giving up 130 points.

Bucks dominate Kings in first quarter, ending Sacramento’s win streak

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

Sacramento will return home for a three-game homestand that will begin on Thursday night against the Houston Rockets in front of a national audience on TNT.

Back on December 3rd, the Kings delivered one of their best showings of the year against the Rockets, winning by a final of 120-111 behind a 14-of-30 (46%) showing from beyond the arc.

Be sure to catch all of the Kings vs. Rockets drama right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before action tips off at 7:00 PM PT from downtown Sacramento.