<\/p>\n
The Sacramento Kings<\/a> lost an absolute heartbreaker to the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> on Saturday, 136-134. There will be a lot of talk about missed calls, but this was a game the Kings absolutely should have found a way to win regardless.<\/p>\n Here are some takeaways from Saturday\u2019s defeat.<\/p>\n Say whatever you want about foul calls, fast pace and the Lakers hitting tough shots. Ultimately, the final result was giving up 136 points to a team missing Anthony Davis, Lonnie Walker and Austin Reaves. When you give up that many points, it\u2019s hard to blame the refs. <\/p>\n Even Mike Brown himself after the game<\/a> that the Kings are a bad defensive team. As of Saturday morning, the Kings are 25th in defensive rating, which is likely not going to be a good enough ranking to get this team to the promised land.<\/p>\n While there could be some schematic and playing time adjustments, the Kings really don\u2019t have many above-average defensive players on their roster. Looking at Sacramento\u2019s starting five, it\u2019s hard to point at one guy who is definitely an above-average defender.<\/p>\n Getting someone who can protect the rim in a meaningful way has to be one of the team\u2019s priorities when the trade deadline comes around.<\/p>\n Zooming out, the Kings have gone 10-12 since starting the season 10-6. At a certain point this season, the Kings had been good about handling the teams below them in the standings, but in recent weeks, the Kings have lost to the Charlotte Hornets<\/a>, Washington Wizards<\/a> and this injured Lakers team, who was on the second end of a back-to-back on Saturday.<\/p>\n Sure, you could look at each game individually and point out a call, or an injury here or there, but the bottom line is the Kings aren\u2019t coming out with wins as frequently as they need to.<\/p>\n Coming up, the Kings play the Orlando Magic<\/a>, Houston Rockets<\/a> (two times) and San Antonio Spurs<\/a>. Anything short of 3-1 in this stretch would be a massive disappointment, and realistically, 4-0 should be the goal here. If the Kings are serious about breaking the 16-year playoff drought<\/a>, they really have to win the \u201ceasy\u201d ones.<\/p>\n Fox was having a ho-hum game on Saturday until he completely exploded in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 of his 34 points. For whatever reason, Fox has a special type of confidence and execution in the fourth. He just always seems to get to the spots he wants in that period.<\/p>\n Fox is returning to his early season form of dominating on a near-nightly basis, although that hasn\u2019t quite translated into wins yet for Sacramento. If Fox continues this play and the Kings can win a few more of these close games, there is a real chance Sacramento can have two players in Salt Lake City for the All-Star game<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe Kings are a bad defensive team<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Kings have come back to earth<\/strong><\/h2>\n
De\u2019Aaron Fox continues to dominate the fourth<\/strong><\/h2>\n