Alvin Gentry knows fate will be decided ‘pretty quickly’ following Kings’ loss to Clippers
Interim Kings coach Alvin Gentry seems to understand the end is near.
Gentry coached the Kings in Saturday’s 117-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at Cyrpto.com Arena and he will lead them into Sunday’s season finale against the Phoenix Suns, but there is widespread speculation he will be fired as soon as Monday.
During his pregame news conference, Gentry was asked if his future with the organization has been addressed and if he would like the opportunity to coach the team next season.
“I’ve not talked to anybody about that and I’m sure that’s going to come quickly after the season is over, so I’ll leave it at that,” Gentry said. “I’m sure that’s something that’s going to happen pretty quickly after the season.”
A number of names have emerged as potential candidates in Sacramento. Veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein identified former head coaches Terry Stotts, Mike D’Antoni, Mike Brown and Steve Clifford as likely candidates. Kenny Atkinson has also been rumored as a possibility.
Gentry has tried to make the best of a bad situation since taking over after Luke Walton was fired in November, but the Kings haven’t been able to find a formula for success. They struggled at both ends of the floor and quickly fell behind by double digits against the Clippers.
Paul George had 23 points, eight rebounds and 12 assists for the Clippers (41-40), who will go into the play-in tournament as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. Normal Powell came off the bench to score 20 points. Ivica Zubac had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Rookie guard Davion Mitchell had 22 points and seven assists to lead the Kings (29-52). Trey Lyles had 15 points and six rebounds. Damian Jones finished with 12 points, four rebounds and four steals while rookie center Neemias Queta scored 10 points in 19 minutes.
The Kings trailed 9-0, 12-2 and 17-6 in the opening minutes. George, who recently returned from an elbow injury, personally outscored Sacramento 11-9 over the first 7:38.
The Clippers led by 15 at the end of the first quarter. They went up by 20 on a 3-pointer by George midway through the second period after going 10 of 18 from beyond the arc to start the game. The Kings, meanwhile, went 0 of 10 from long distance before Harrison Barnes finally got one to fall. That was his only basket of the game.
The Kings cut the deficit to seven early in the third quarter, but it wasn’t long before the Clippers opened up another 20-point lead.
This game was hard to watch, and at times, it seemed, no one was. The clock stopped for 11 seconds in the middle of a second-quarter possession for the Clippers, but nobody noticed, giving the Clippers all the time they needed to set up another 3-pointer.
The Clippers shot 48.8% from the field and 48.8% from 3-point range. They finished 21 of 43 from beyond the arc.
The Kings shot 44.2% from the field and made just 7 of 28 (.250) from 3-point range.
