Kings Blog and Q&A

News, observations and reader questions about the Sacramento Kings and the NBA.

February 14, 2013
The Morning After: Kings continue to struggle on defense

DALLAS - The Kings' best chance to win games is to not play a halfcourt game and push the tempo.

The Kings are 12-6 when scoring 100 points or more, so the Kings have only won seven times when not cracking 100 points.

So the Kings need to find the balance between finding their offense and getting stops or they'll have more games like Wednesday's 123-100 loss at Dallas.

Right now more possessions means more chances for opponents to score. And the odds are against the Kings in that situation.

The Kings allow a league-worst 103.8 points but can't score consistently to make up for their bad defense. Their opponents shoot 46.8 percent, third highest in the league.

The Kings are 16th in the NBA at 96.8 points per game and still one of the worst shooting teams in the league at 43.9 percent, 23rd in the NBA.

And when the Kings speed up the pace, they give the opponents more chances to attack their spotty defense.

"We want to play fast and win, but we also struggle with teams that play fast," said DeMarcus Cousins. "When we start to speed the game up, then the game speeds up its self and like you said we have to really find that balance."

Kings coach Keith Smart said until the Kings change their ways on the court they'll continue to be one of the worst defensive teams in the league.

"Until we can contest shots at the rim we're going to struggle defensively," Smart said. "Until you can rebound, shot goes up and you can secure the ball, you're going to struggle."

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