Suns at Kings
The Sacramento Kings are taking steps in the wrong direction and are coming off a home loss to the NBA-worst Philadelphia 76ers. The Kings will try to snap a three-game slide when they host the equally dysfunctional Phoenix Suns on Saturday.
A road loss at the NBA-best Golden State Warriors is easily explained, but a 110-105 loss at home to Philadelphia brought out boos from the home fans and had coach George Karl again questioning his team. “I told the team inconsistent intensity, inconsistent focus, inconsistent toughness and mental discipline,” Karl told reporters. “Too many times we’ve come out on this court and been the quiet team, or the soft team or the cool team and not the man team.” The same things could have been said at times this season about the Suns, who were a trendy playoff pick but have instead had to deal with shakeups on the coaching staff and the recent loss of point guard Eric Bledsoe. Phoenix saw its slide reach seven straight games with a 110-106 loss at Oklahoma City on Thursday as Bledsoe’s replacement in the starting lineup, rookie Devin Booker, went 4-of-11 from the field.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, NBATV, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), CSN California (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE SUNS (12-23): The only good thing to come out of Thursday’s setback was at the offensive end, where Phoenix’s 106 points marked its most since a 108-101 win over Minnesota on Dec. 13. The Suns had six of the eight players that saw the court on Thursday score in double figures, led by T.J. Warren’s 29 points. The problems still persist at the other end of the floor, and the Suns are allowing an average of 107 points in the last seven games.
ABOUT THE KINGS (12-20): Sacramento is enduring its own problems on the defensive end and allows an NBA-worst 107.3 points. “My feeling is we have too many offensive players and not enough defensive players,” Karl told reporters. “We don’t have enough guts to make stops.” New threats on the offensive end have been popping up of late, with Marco Belinelli’s 28 points off the bench in Wednesday’s loss joining Omri Casspi’s recent hot stretch.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bledsoe had 19 points and eight assists in a 118-97 home win over the Kings on Nov. 4.
2. Phoenix F Jon Leuer (ankle) sat out Thursday and is day-to-day.
3. Sacramento has recorded at least 20 assists in 28 straight games.