Through the first 10 games of the 2021-22 NBA season, the Sacramento Kings are 5-5. The last time they were had a record .500 or better through the first 10 games of the season was the 2018-19 season, the season before Luke Walton took over as head coach.
While Walton recognizes that the team’s record could be better, he doesn’t think his players should be disappointed with where the team is at currently.
“Look, how many teams have played 10 games and have been in every single one of them? Not many,” Walton said. I’m not surprised our team found a way in a game that we never found our rhythm in to have a chance. I’m proud of the group.”
Walton doesn’t want to see improvement in some areas, though, and it’s not in the scoring department, where the Kings’ star point guard De’Aaron Fox has struggled this season.
“I’m encouraged about our competitive spirit, I’m encouraged about our togetherness, I’m encouraged about where we’re headed,” Walton said. “Concern? I won’t even call it a concern: what I know needs to get much better is our rebounding.”
The Kings were out-rebounded 54-33 on Sunday night and for the season, they’re ranked 21st in rebounds per game (44.7) and 26th in rebound percentage (47.7%). In addition to their rebounding struggles, the Kings’ defense isn’t where they had hoped it would be at the start of the season.
And yet, in spite of the things that have worked against the Kings this season, they’re fighting for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, which is exactly where Walton wants them to be.
“We’re 5-5, we’ve had an incredibly hard schedule to start, which we love,” Walton said. “We love that opportunity to come out and play really good teams. We’ve got Phoenix tomorrow on a back-to-back and then back on the road again, so we love where we’re at.”
The Kings and Suns will tip-off Sunday at 7 p.m PT on NBC Sports California
Comment:-
Kings need to be more consistent with rebounding, I know after they had 56 in the Hornets game, they were 14th or 15th in RPG. Having only 33 against the Pacers really hurt the average. And the defense doesn't look too good as their points against average are in the bottom ten, but they were somewhere like 15th in FG, 6th in 3PT, and 8th in FT. I know defense doesn't impact another team at the line, but it's good to see other teams missing their freebies against them. In a lot of games I've watched in the past couple of years, it seems like the other team is perfect or near-perfect at the line most nights. I haven't checked the team D rating, but I think they are close to average. All in all, the Kings need to be more consistent. Scoring 140 against Charlotte then 91 against Pacers is really erratic. Especially when you have they're a 3-7 team missing brogan and Warren, two of their better players. Hopefully, they can shake the habit of playing to the level of their opponent. Not a bad start for the first ten games though, at least we're in 8th!
You must be logged in to post a comment.