Pace, poise and physicality: How Kings are beating Warriors at their own game in playoffs
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Sacramento Kings in the Playoffs
Kings playoffs have arrived! Here’s everything you need to know.
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One of the biggest questions going into the playoffs was whether a Kings team with little postseason experience could match the poise, force and physicality of a battle-tested Golden State Warriors squad with a championship pedigree.
After the first two games of the series, the Kings have addressed those questions and the defending champion Warriors are the ones searching for answers.
The Kings hold a 2-0 lead going into Game 3 in this best-of-seven series Thursday at Chase Center in San Francisco. The Warriors will find themselves on the brink of elimination if they can’t find a way to win without Draymond Green, who was suspended one game without pay for his outburst Monday night in Sacramento.
“Obviously, he’s a big part of their defense,” Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox said of Green. “He’s probably the best defensive anchor in the league, as far as what he does, being switchable, just commanding everything. He picks out everything that you’re doing, but whenever you go play in someone else’s building, stars play better, but role players usually play best at home, so it’s going to be a tough game.”
Kings center Domantas Sabonis was a full participant in practice Wednesday after X-rays showed he suffered a bruised sternum when Green stomped on his chest in the fourth quarter of Game 2. Sabonis was listed as questionable for Thursday’s game, but Kings coach Mike Brown said he believed Sabonis would play.
“He’s feeling pretty good,” Brown said. “He looked good at practice.”
The Warriors are licking their wounds after the first two games of the series. Andrew Wiggins (shoulder), Jordan Poole (ankle) and Gary Payton II (illness) are all questionable for Game 3. With Green out, Golden State’s defense and depth could be tested.
Green received a Flagrant 2 foul and an automatic ejection after stomping on Sabonis. As he climbed up on the Golden State bench, grabbing his crotch and inciting the Sacramento crowd, Kings forward Harrison Barnes pulled his teammates together.
“There was a lot going on,” Barnes said. “The arena’s going crazy. There are a lot of emotions going on. We’re glad Domas is good, but it’s easy to let that emotion kind of take you out of what you want to do, and I think for us it’s just a matter of staying poised.”
Barnes didn’t have much else to say about Green’s ejection and the NBA’s decision to suspend him, saying he’s more focused on making sure his team maintains its composure.
“I don’t really have any additional commentary,” Barnes said. “I’m sure a lot has been said about that. I think our focus is just coming out in Game 3 and being ready to go.
“They’re a great team. I think throughout the season, a lot of people missed games and they found ways to win, so I don’t think it changes their approach to what they bring to the table and knowing that they’re a very capable team.”
The third-seeded Kings went 25-16 on the road this season, the best record in the Western Conference. The sixth-seeded Warriors went 33-8 at home while going 11-30 on the road.
Less than three weeks ago, Brown said the Kings were “soft” at home following a regular season loss to the lowly San Antonio Spurs. Now, the Warriors and many members of the national media are making the Kings out to be the Bad Boy Pistons.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported the Warriors feel Sabonis is using the ball as a “weapon.”
“There is some anger within the organization toward the league,” Lowe said. “There’s a sense in the organization that Sabonis is shoving people on offensive rebounds and playing with his elbows out and using the ball as a weapon on offense.”
Brown, who spent the past six seasons as Steve Kerr’s lead assistant with the Warriors, is pleased with how his team has responded to the increased intensity, force and physicality of the playoffs.
“I don’t think I’ve been asking for more physicality just for this series,” said Brown, who was named NBA Coach of the Year on Wednesday. “You go back and look and any of my press conferences. Even after wins, I’ve been asking for our guys to bring it physically all year.
“I was part of a championship run last year with the Warriors. We were an extremely physical team, not just last year during the playoffs, but throughout the year. If you’re going through that paint, you’re getting hit. If you’re going to get a rebound, you’re getting hit. Now, you factor in the playoffs starting and we’re going against the defending NBA champs, both teams are bringing a level of physicality that both coaches, I think, appreciate. So, we want it to stay there or go up, and I’m sure they do, too, because as you continue to play games during these playoffs, it’s only going to get harder and harder and harder.”
Brown went on to address the possibility that the series could be officiated differently given the complaints from Golden State and national media who tried to justify Green’s actions.
“They’re the champions at the end of the day and we’re going into their building,” Brown said. “We know we’re not going to get a favorable whistle probably going forward. I told our guys at the beginning, we’ve got to be physical and we’ve got to play with pace, and I added a third ‘P’ to it. I said we’ve got to have poise. If the whistle is not in our favor tomorrow night and/or going forward, we can’t react. We’ve just got to keep playing our game and try to find a way to get a win.”
This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
