How the Warriors dominated the Kings and why it could continue to be a problem
Some of the Kings’ struggles against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night could be attributed to playing the defending NBA champions on the second night of a back-to-back after arriving at the team hotel about three hours before dawn.
Fatigue certainly could have been a factor, but coach Dave Joerger fears there was something else at play that might foretell a long, difficult season for a young team lacking the physical maturity to match the sheer strength of other NBA squads.
“We didn’t play with enough force, and we’re going to take some lumps this year,” Joerger said following a 122-94 loss to the Warriors at KeyArena in Seattle. “Physically, they just threw us around, got the ball to spots and got players to spots where they wanted to score.
“We’re going to be light in the rear most of the season. Teams that are older and more experienced are going to be individually throwing us around, but you really have to fight and try to make up for it in some other areas and try to push the ball out a little bit. We’ll have to do some of those things to cover up for some of those size issues.”
The Warriors shot 51.6 percent from the field and dominated the Kings defensively, holding them to 34.7 percent shooting.
“We were 17 for 57 in the paint,” Joerger said. “I thought far too many times we either avoided contact or settled. They want you to take 15-footers. They want you to face up and shoot jumpers rather than put pressure on the rim. I thought we fell into that early in the game.”
The Kings missed 16 of 22 shots in the first quarter. They shot just 32.6 percent in the first half and trailed by 30 at the break in front of a frenzied crowd that welcomed NBA basketball and prodigal son Kevin Durant back to Seattle for the first time since the SuperSonics left town in 2008.
“There were just a lot of shots that we missed, but I think we weren’t moving as cohesive as we should be offensively,” Kings small forward Justin Jackson said. “If you look at the Warriors, the way they played, everybody’s moving, everybody’s screening, everybody’s looking for guys. For us, if we can just continue to move as hard as possible, set good screens and try to get guys open and give them looks, then I think we’ll be a little more cohesive on the offensive end.”
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox was held to seven points on 3-of-7 shooting one night after he scored 18 points in 18 minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers. Shooting guard Buddy Hield had seven points on 3-of-12 shooting.
“We’re younger so guys just have to be physical,” Fox said. “Older teams are usually the most physical, but it’s something we have to work on. We’re going to have to do it if we want to win games in this league.”