The Kings earn a playoff seed while the Blazers retain their lottery position.
On Blazer’s Edge Kids night, the Portland Trail Blazers stayed close to the Sacramento Kings without Damian Lillard in the first half. The second half was a different story altogether as the Kings dominated Portland with an easy 120-80 win. Shaedon Sharpe didn’t leave the kids too disappointed, though, opening up the highlights reel multiple times en route to a 30-point night.
Both teams did not convince at the beginning. Portland led early but suffered from repeated defensive errors, including a game where they simply forgot about the inbound. But the Kings couldn’t hit their open threes. The Blazers led 20-19 after the first quarter. The Kings made a few more shots and slowly moved double digits forward in the second quarter, only for Shaedon Sharpe to lead the Blazers in an energetic run to stay within 4 at halftime.
In the second half, the wheels slowly came loose. With their threes still not falling, Sacramento worked the ball inside, with Domantas Sabonis coordinating the action while their backcourt took care of the points. The Kings outplayed the Blazers by 15 points in the third, then their three-pointers started to fall. They opened the fourth with a 16-1 run and took a 34-point lead. At that point it was long gone.
Let’s talk about the kings
With today’s win, the Sacramento Kings made the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. That deserves a special mention.
For decades, the Sacramento Kings have been the classic NBA cautionary tale. “If your team doesn’t make smart moves, they become kings!”. But here we are.
In a season without really great NBA teams, you can squint and see parallels to the ongoing NCAA tournament where the Final Four are all ranked 4th or lower. Likewise, every above-average team this season has a chance to make a big NBA playoff run. The Kings, previously an underperforming team with average management, have finally made the right transactions to make their team relevant again. After many failed attempts.
Now fans of all underperforming teams with mediocre management can dream of being relevant again. However, no franchise.
With that said, let’s take a look at the good and bad of today’s game.
The good
- The kids may one day say they saw Shaedon Sharpe as a rookie. He wowed fans all night and finished with 30 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. He also shot 6-13 of three. It’s too early to tell what Sharpe’s cap might be, but he’s nonetheless revealed why he’s likely to play a key role in the future of the Blazers. If the Blazers don’t make a desperate off-season trade to hold on to the present.
- Jabari Walker had some fun out there tonight. He finished with 12 points on 9 shots, along with 5 rebounds and an assist.
- It’s low praise, but thanks to the first half, this game didn’t really feel like a 40-point blowout. Sometimes, in your second straight season of watching your team drop their stars and lose night after night, it’s the little things.
The bad
- The blazers couldn’t stay relevant long enough in the season for the kids to see Damian Lillard, who is at the peak of his prime. This is disappointing on several levels.
- This should be the moment for Nas Little. He hasn’t been a huge part of the rotation at times this season, but with the team in full ‘youth movement mode’ his minutes have skyrocketed. He should impress us in his fourth season, but he just can’t do it consistently. In 40 minutes he scored 10 points on 4-17 shooting, with 4 turnovers and 1 highlight block. He still has time (and probably an opportunity) to improve, but he should probably thank his agent for instigating a four-year deal ahead of the season.
- The Kings looked like they rarely left second gear all night, boosting energy long enough to make key plays to keep the Blazers in check and then continued to pour them when their shots finally closed started falling. It’s wild to see the kings and blazers moving in opposite directions so strongly.
- Watching the kids lose is a lot more fun than watching the veterans lose. You’d think this would be on the “good” list, but it definitely isn’t.
box score | Match analysis of Marlow Ferguson Jr
What’s next
Another date in Portland with the same Sacramento Kings Friday night, same Blazers time, same Blazers channel.
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