Sacramento Kings: Team’s stumbling start not necessarily a bad thing

The Sacramento Kings dropped to 0-2 on the season, after being thrashed by New Orleans – yet, it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

You wouldn’t think another team hanging 149 points on you – in regulation – as the Pelicans did to the Sacramento Kings would necessarily be a good thing. And it’s not. Obviously. But, the 20-point beatdown New Orleans delivered to Sacramento isn’t necessarily a bad thing, either.

It’s all a matter of perspective.

Sacramento is a very young team, and has some solid young talent. Of course they’re going to get paddled now and again, as they learn to grow together, and play this game. And while that defense surrendered 149 points, and they got blown out by 20, there are still some positives that can be gleaned from the effort.

More from Golden Gate Sports

• Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
• 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
• Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
• 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
• 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve

Some fans, no doubt, will be frustrated by the 0-2 start, and the fact that they didn’t look good on the defensive end against the Pelicans, it’s a good reminder to temper, and manage your expectations of this team.

Virtually everybody outside the locker room doesn’t expect much of the Kings this season. Most don’t expect them to come close to the playoffs, with many predicting a sub-30 win season. And truth be told, there probably aren’t many inside that locker room who expect much more.

This is a young team, and they’re going to take some lumps. HC Dave Joerger has done his level best to manage the expectations around this team, heading into what is now year three of his tenure. The’ve gone through the turbulent times, and now they’re busy laying the groundwork for more long term success.

And they’ve got a core of players in the likes of Marvin Bagley, Harry Giles, Justin Jackson, and Willie Cauley-Stein that could make the Kings a force in a stacked Western Conference, with a little time and seasoning.

It’s a core though, that they’re going to have to pay a bit to keep together, as Cauley-Stein is heading into the final year of his rookie deal, and will be a restricted free agent after the season. He’s already declared that he’s going to be “looking to get paid,” in the coming offseason, so the Kings will need to do some number crunching when the time comes.

But, that’s a concern for another day. At the moment, what matters is how this young team is performing. Or perhaps, more essentially, how this team is going to handle the rigors of a regular season that will likely include more thrashings like they suffered at the hands of New Orleans.

Things will be bad, before they get better, and how they adjust to adversity, how they overcome difficult situations, and stinging losses, will help determine what kind of a team they have going forward.

Will they be able to have short memories? Will they be able to shrug it off, and come back more focused? Will they be able to learn from their mistakes, and shortcomings on the court, and come back the next game with a more determined effort?

A game after they hung tough against an up and coming Utah Jazz squad – falling just short 123-117 – they let the Pelicans come out and run roughshod over them. New Orleans pushed the pace relentlessly, and the Kings just couldn’t keep up.

Though Sacramento scored 63 points in a sizzling first half, defensively, they gave up 72 to the Pelicans. On the night, Pelicans forwards Nikola Mirotic (36) and Anthony Davis (25) combined to score 61 points, and pull down 19 rebounds (Davis with 10, Mirotic with 9). Davis (6) and Mirotic (2) also chipped eight assists.

It was a full team effort by New Orleans, as they had eight players record double figures in the game.

On the other side of that ledger, the Kings had five guys score in double figures, led by Cauley-Stein’s 20 points, and seven rebounds. Point guard De’Aaron Fox chipped in 18 points, seven boards, and six assists.

Frank Mason added 18 points, Buddy Hield tossed in 17, and Bagley – who played just a handful of minutes in the opener – was on the floor for 33 minutes, and recorded a line of 19 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.

More from Sacramento Kings

• Sacramento Kings: Re-grading the team’s 2019 free-agent signings
• Sacramento Kings: Why Fans should be excited about new GM Monte McNair
• Sacramento Kings: Introducing the Harry Giles conundrum
• Sacramento Kings could land the steal of the 2020 NBA Draft in Elijah Hughes
• Sacramento Kings can afford to re-sign Bogdan Bogdanovic

It was a good showing by Bagley, and one that should hopefully earn him more minutes on the floor. The only way to develop players, and get them used to the pace and flow of the NBA is to give them the experience of actually being on the floor in live action.

And since this season likely isn’t going anywhere anyway, why not get the young guys some minutes and experience?

This is a team that’s going to experience some growing pains. They’re going to get pasted now and then. But, if rookie Bagley’s attitude is anything to judge by, fans should take heart in the future of this organization, as he seems able to keep things in perspective.

"“I did all right, I would like to win. Get that going in that direction, but it’s a process. This is game two of a long season, so we’ve just got to figure out what we need to do to pull gameslike that out.”"

Sacramento Kings

Joerger, to this point, has this team buying in. He has them understanding that this is a process – one that will be painful and frustrating at times – but, a process nonetheless. And as long s the young guys can keep the perspective Bagley has, that this is a process, and it will take some time to figure out, this is a team that will turn a corner sooner, rather than later.

This is a team that should look to the Jazz, who beat them just a couple of nights ago, as a baseline of progress. It wasn’t all that long ago, when Utah was in the midst of their own rebuild. Five seasons ago, they won 25 games. Then in 2014-15, they won 38. Then 40 Two seasons ago, they won 51 games, and them 48 last season.

It’s been a steady progression upward for the Jazz, as they’ve assembled their own core of young stars, and have a smattering of veteran talent, just like the Kings do. It’s a Jazz team many believe will earn a playoff berth, and one that many teams want no part of. They’re a wild card.

And they’ve gotten to the point they’re at by remaining patient, and developing their own talent – which is what the Kings are currently doing.

Sacramento is a team that has a solid core of young talent, who can become forces in this league if developed well and correctly. You can see it in bits and flashes, here and there. But, it’s going to take them a minute to catch up to the NBA game.

But, so long as they can keep their same attitude, even after suffering a beatdown like New Orleans gave them, and continue to understand – and buy into – the process, this is a team that can be explosive. Dynamic. That can be a solid factor in the Western Conference for years to come.

So long as they continue to trust each other, and trust the process.