by Jonathan Santiago and James Ham

Poor interior defense killed the Sacramento Kings, who lost big, 122-93, to the visiting Denver Nuggets Wednesday night.

“Not what I expected,” said head coach Keith Smart postgame. “I’m sure that wasn’t what our fans expected either.  I’m kind of embarrassed for our fans to watch us play that way, but we have to deal with it when things aren’t going well – on the road or at home.”

Sacramento allowed 92 points in the paint in the 29-point blowout.  The Kings inability to defend inside in their final January home game allowed the Nuggets to shoot 54.9 percent from the field.

A 13-0 Nuggets run midway through the second quarter broke the game open and increased the Kings deficit to 17.  Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari scored nine of Denver’s points during that span and would finish leading all scorers with 23 points and five assists.

Jimmer Fredette and DeMarcus Cousins were the Kings’ only bright spots.  Fredette, who started in place of the injured Marcus Thornton, finished with 19 points, his third-straight game in double digits.  Cousins, meanwhile, finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds, his fifth-consecutive game with a double-double.

The Sacramento Kings return to the capital region after a 1-2 road trip.  Their opponents tonight?  The streaking Denver Nuggets, who’ve won four in a row, all victories coming away from the Mile High City.

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The road struggles for the Sacramento Kings continued tonight as they lost again by double figures, 101-89 to the Portland Trailblazers. The Kings were without the services of Marcus Thornton (thigh contusion) and Chuck Hayes (dislocated shoulder), while veteran John Salmons went scoreless in 19 minutes after missing Saturday’s game with food poisoning.

DeMarcus Cousins continued his dominant play, scoring 18 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.  Francisco Garcia and Jimmer Fredette played well off the bench, combining for 25 points while hitting five-for-6 from three-point range.

Jamal Crawford scorched the Kings, scoring 26 points in just 32 minutes of action.  Ex-King Gerald Wallace chipped in 20 points and eight rebounds for the Blazers, who are now 10-7 this season.

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Every great team has an identity.

The Boston Celtics of the 1960s were known for their staunch defense, the New York Knicks of the 1970s were gutsy, the Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s had “Showtime,” and the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s had that killer instinct led by the greatest player ever.

While not great, the very good Sacramento Kings teams of the early 2000s were at least known for their crafty passing and the Phoenix Suns of the same decade had the “7 Seconds or less” rule on offense.

For this Sacramento squad to get to the next level, they need something to define them.

Head Coach Keith Smart wants to run, but admitted that the Kings are not quite ready to begin a continuous fast break.

“They are not in the type of shape that is necessary to have a team run, or how I have been able to coach teams to run.” Smart said after practice last week. “Everyone wants to run, but I have been given the opportunity to know how to train a team to be a running team.”

You may need a lot more than knowledge to take on this identity.

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It was finally time.

Diehard Sacramento Kings fan Kevin Fippin wanted to propose to his long-time girlfriend Lydia Nicolaisen. So before he popped the question on New Year’s Eve, he recruited the services of a Sacramento Kings fan favorite.

Congratulations to Kevin and the soon to be Mrs. Lydia Fippin!

H/T Jason Wise

Keith Smart is preaching two keys for the Sacramento Kings as they move forward with this season.

Freedom and spacing.

“A lot of the shots that we have are coming out of duress where we’re too close to each other,” the Kings new head coach said following practice Saturday at their Natomas training facility.

“I’m basically trying to create the proper spacing for this group so that they can have a better open look to shoot the ball, as opposed to having someone right on top of them,” he added.

Kings guard Marcus Thornton agrees with his new head coach’s philosophy.

“That’s a big deal in the NBA,” Thornton told reporters.  “Teams that have the best space usually win the most games.”

Smart is keeping things simple for the Kings.  He doesn’t want to overload them with too much information, considering the lockout compressed-calendar and recent firing of former head coach Paul Westphal.

“These are normally things you would do through the course of a training camp,” Smart said.  “But I gotta do it on the fly right now, while still trying to keep them free enough to play as athletes.”

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The new-look New Orleans Hornets come to Power Balance Pavilion this evening for a New Year’s Day match-up against the struggling Sacramento Kings.  Gone is superstar Chris Paul and all-star David West, but the Hornets still have a deep and formidable line-up, including former King Carl Landry.  The Hornets have gone 1-1 without Eric Gordon, who suffered a bruised right knee in the first game of the season.  Jarrett Jack has stepped into the bulk shooter role in Gordon’s absence, hoisting up 17 shots per game but is shooting just 38-percent from the field.

The Kings are in disarray.  Following the team’s loss last night to the Knicks, both Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins let comments fly to the media, questioning the direction of the offense.  The team has had moments of quality play, but overall, there is a clear lack of cohesion that must be remedied quickly.  After playing three games in four nights to start the season, the Kings are now in game number two of a five-games-in-six-nights set. Tonight’s contest is crucial with a daunting back-to-back-to-back string of games beginning Tuesday.

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In front of a sellout crowd tonight at Power Balance Pavilion, the Kings avenged last season’s emotional home finale defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers by beating their Southern California Rivals, 100 to 91.

If not for the city’s tenacious fight to keep the Kings last Spring, this evening’s game might have been played in Anaheim rather than Sacramento.

“It’s nice to be back,” said Head Coach Paul Westphal following the win.  “It was loud in there and our players really liked the feeling of that game.  The fans were just fantastic.”

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The coaching staff on day 2 of camp.

Yesterday was a disappointing day at the practice facility.  Media availability changed from evening sessions to morning sessions for Monday and Tuesday, leaving us with a front row seat to an empty gym.  Eventually a few players trickled in to shoot – Tyreke Evans, Francisco Garcia and Lawrence Hill.  A couple more came out for interviews after Coach Paul Westphal spoke.  But over all, it was a quiet day at training camp.

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