Kings coach Luke Walton says All-Star break and nachos are ‘good for your soul’
Elevated feet, ocean air and, apparently, nachos are good for NBA coaches and their players this time of year.
The Kings are back in town to play the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center after a week away for the All-Star break. Some guys just can’t stop shooting, so Buddy Hield went to Chicago to win the 3-Point Contest during All-Star Weekend, but others used the time to get away.
Kings coach Luke Walton went to Mexico. He spent a few days in Cabo San Lucas with his wife and some friends.
“It’s good for your soul,” Walton said.
Walton was asked why it was good for his soul.
“The Sea of Cortez, the sunshine, the nachos,” he said. “All of the above.”
Walton was then asked if his hotel had a nacho bar.
“They had a nacho bar upon check-in,” he said. “While you’re waiting to check in – some chips and guacamole.”
The week off gave a few players time to lick their wounds. Marvin Bagley III and Richaun Holmes are still out, but two recent acquisitions appear to be very close to making their Kings debuts. Forward Jabari Parker was a full participant in practice Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Center Alex Len did noncontact work Tuesday and was a full participant Wednesday.
Walton said Len won’t play until at least Saturday when the Kings (21-33) visit the Los Angeles Clippers, but there’s a good chance Parker will play Thursday against the Grizzlies (28-26).
The Kings acquired Parker and Len when they sent Dewayne Dedmon back to the Atlanta Hawks on the eve of the trade deadline earlier this month. Both players came in nursing injuries. Parker has not played since Jan. 3 due to a right shoulder impingement. Len hasn’t played since Jan. 26 due to a strained right hip flexor.
Parker, the No. 2 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, averaged 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 32 games for the Hawks. He started for the Hawks while John Collins was suspended earlier in the season. Parker averaged 17.7 points and 7.5 rebounds in November. His career has been hindered by injuries, but his potential is still evident at times, like Nov. 27, when he had 33 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a blocked shot against the Milwaukee Bucks.
“We’ll see how he feels in the morning,” Walton said after Wednesday’s practice. “Depending on how he feels, we’ll see a little bit of him Thursday. He’s looked good. When the trade happened, as far as the schedule, we had a back-to-back and then we flew across the country, so we haven’t had a lot of practice time to get him familiar, but he’s been looking at video clips and we’ve been working with him on the playbook and the terminology, and he’s looked nice out there.”
Parker thinks he could be a good fit for the Kings, saying he can be a “guy that can score” and a “guy who can create at the offensive end.” Parker could add another scoring punch to a second unit that already features Hield, who has been red-hot while helping the Kings go 6-4 since moving into a backup role in late January.
Parker talked about what he has seen from his teammates since arriving in Sacramento earlier this month.
“Guys are very versatile, guys can play multiple positions and shoot the ball very well from 3, and that’s good for me because I’m a driver,” Parker said. “I like to score from the inside, so that will open it up both ways for myself and for them.”
Bogdanovic shines at the line
Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic made 90 free throws in a row after practice Wednesday. Hield and Bogdanovic remained on the floor for more than an hour after practice ended, working on their games. Hield kept count along with assistant coaches Bobby Jackson and Rico Hines as Bogdanovic made shot after shot from the stripe.
Free-throw shooting might have been a point of emphasis for Bogdanovic during the break. He was an 84-percent free-throw shooter as a rookie in 2017-18 and shot 82.7 percent last season, but this season he’s down to 69.9 percent.
The Guinness world record for consecutive free throws belongs to Ted St. Martin, a 55-year-old former dairy farmer from Riverdale who made 5,221 in a row in 1996. He broke the record held by Tom Amberry, a podiatrist who was 71 years old when he made 2,750 in a row in 1993.
Fox looks bouncy
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox was dealing with considerable ankle soreness when the All-Star break arrived following a 130-111 loss to the Dallas Mavericks last week. Fox missed 17 games earlier this season with a grade-3 left ankle sprain.
He was hobbled after games leading up to the break and usually seen immersing his foot in ice. A few days off might have been good for Fox. Walton said Fox looked bouncier in practices Tuesday and Wednesday.
Fox is averaging a career-high 19.7 points, 7.0 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals.
This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
