Three things Kings must improve in pivotal rematch vs. Mavs

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Three things Kings must improve in pivotal rematch vs. Mavs originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Programming note: Friday’s Kings-Mavericks game will air on NBC Sports California at 7 p.m. PT, with “Kings Pregame Live” starting coverage at 6:30.

SACRAMENTO – In what was perhaps their biggest game of the 2023-24 NBA season thus far, the Kings crumbled under pressure as the Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving-led Dallas Mavericks handed them a 36-point blowout loss Tuesday night at Golden 1 Center.

The good news is the Kings have a chance at vengeance when they welcome the Mavericks back to their home court Friday for the second half of a two-game set.

With just 10 regular-season games remaining, the rematch won’t just be an opportunity to redeem themselves after an embarrassing, nationally televised beatdown, but the pivotal game will have playoff implications as both teams battle for the No. 6 playoff seed, the final spot that steers clear from the NBA Play-In Tournament.

Sacramento enters Friday’s contest as the Western Conference’s No. 8 seed, but a win over Dallas would result in a tie with the Mavericks record-wise, with Sacramento holding the season series tiebreaker and thus the seventh seed.

To do that, though, they’ll need to completely wipe away Tuesday’s loss and approach Friday with a clean slate. Here are three areas the Kings must improve in order to light the most important beam of the season:

Spray 3s/Offense

The Kings had a historic offense last season, centered around pace, ball movement, screening and 3-point shooting.

General manager Monte McNair and Co. brought back most of the same squad this season, but the offense hasn’t had the same success.

Still, that is the area that the Kings thrive in. As much as coach Mike Brown has emphasized defense, he doesn’t want his team to lose its identity – which is a high-scoring offense.

Sacramento scored 96 points on 38.9-percent shooting from the field and 36.7 percent from 3-point range. It was just the Kings’ ninth time of the season scoring less than 100 points – of which all resulted in losses.

The emphasis as of late for the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/three-things-kings-must-improve-184519010.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2024-03-29 19:29:42

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