Ex-King Christie sums up Sacramento’s defense in 7 perfect words
Throughout his 15-year NBA career, Doug Christie made his mark on the defensive end. He dug in against wing scorers and darted into passing lanes, finishing among the league’s leaders in steals seven times and earning four straight All-Defensive Team nods, all coming with the much-beloved Webber-and-Vlade-era Sacramento Kings of the early 2000s. During those years, the Kings routinely finished in the top 10 in points allowed per possession, boasting a defensive spine that provided the foundation for their high-octane, freewheeling offense.
These days, though, Sacramento doesn’t shut down opponents as much as it allows them the freedom to take whatever they’d like. The Kings have finished in the bottom third of the league in defensive efficiency for nine straight seasons, and are on pace to make it an even 10 this season as they continue to struggle to get stops under head coach George Karl.
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The latest proof of Sacramento’s sieve-like structure: allowing the New Orleans Pelicans, who had produced the league’s third-fewest points per possession since the All-Star break, to hang 74 points on 30-for-45 shooting in the first half of their meeting on Wednesday night, led by 21 points in 12 minutes from reserve sharpshooter Ryan Anderson. Watching Anderson get free and play Pop-A-Shot was evidently too much for Christie — now a studio analyst on CSN California’s Kings coverage — to take, and he blew his stack during the halftime show (emphasis mine):
Being a Kings analyst will make you go crazy. I can attest to this. RT @TheRichman87 @aaronbruski pic.twitter.com/s7ErAX5SZu
— Aaron Bruski (@aaronbruski) March 17, 2016
My God, man. A little defense? I’m just saying? Guys, seriously, come on. Ryan — can you double-team his ass? Something! I mean, we know he can shoot, right? Come on, fellas! This just doesn’t make any damn sense! Let’s go, man! Damn!
“This just doesn’t make any damn sense” is about as perfect a description as you can offer for a busted scheme in which guards basically lay out a red carpet to the rim for opposing ball-handlers in an odd man-to-man/zone hybrid that seems to confuse the Kings as much as it does the teams they play, creating conditions where opponents can make their way toward career nights with seemingly little effort.
The good news is that the Kings were able to cool off the Pelicans a bit in the second half, holding New Orleans to 49 points on 19-for-45 shooting while creating five turnovers that led to 11 Sacramento points. The bad news is that that still wasn’t nearly enough to make up for the first-half debacle, as the Pelicans cruised to a 123-108 win behind 56 combined points from Anderson and superstar Anthony Davis, who also added 14 rebounds in his 31 minutes of play.
The Kings have now lost six of seven and 10 of 12 to fall to 26-41 on the season, one loss away from ensuring their 10th straight sub-.500 finish. They now rank 24th among 30 NBA teams in points allowed per possession and opponents’ field-goal percentage, and dead last in the league in both 3-point attempts and makes allowed. If you were someone who made his money preventing buckets, having to watch that every night must be absolutely maddening. To be honest, the most surprising thing about Christie’s outburst isn’t that it happened; it’s that it didn’t happen until the 67th game of the season.
Hat-tip to @TheRichman87.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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