Brown pinpoints two areas Kings should repair to shut NBA season initially appeared on NBC Sports activities Bay Space
With the 2024 NBA All-Star break within the rearview mirror, the 31-23 Kings start the second half of the season in eighth place within the Western Convention, half a recreation behind the No. 7 seeded Dallas Mavericks and 1.5 video games again of the No. 6 seed New Orleans Pelicans.
The Kings, holding the identical report because it did after 54 video games in the course of the 2022-2023 NBA season, perceive they’ve to enhance if they’re critical about contending for an NBA championship.
In speaking to reporters Tuesday, Kings coach Mike Brown highlighted two areas his group has to repair in the course of the remaining 28 regular-season video games.
“As loopy because it sounds, defensively for us, we’ve made enhancements in a variety of areas,” Brown stated (h/t Fox 40’s Sean Cunningham). “The one space that’s hurting us — hurting us actually dangerous — is defending the 3-point line. We’re useless final in defending the 3-point line. Even when we have been principally common or barely above common defending the three — not even the perfect — our defensive charge, we’d be eighth within the NBA. That’s an enormous bounce. There are areas that we’ve got to enhance upon in the case of closing out not simply the new guys, however to non-hot guys as effectively.
“Offensively, the truth of it’s our free throw effectivity. If our free throw effectivity was higher than what it’s, particularly if we have been the identical as final yr, we’d be a top-10, possibly even top-5 offense, very simply.”
Kings head coach Mike Brown on his All-Star break in Lake Tahoe, decompressing a bit of within the midst of a season, what Tuesday’s first day again from the break was like, the upcoming stretch run for Sacramento and the concentrate on enhancing perimeter protection. pic.twitter.com/VOM9p3nsT3
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) February 21, 2024
Sacramento is useless final within the NBA in free-throw share (73.2) and opposing 3-point share (39.7).
Whereas straightforward to miss, Brown possible is aware of what number of factors the Kings have left on the desk on the charity stripe this season — 315 to be precise.
Defensively, Sacramento permits opposing groups to show into items of sharpshooters. A side arguably more durable to appropriate than sinking free throws, Brown is aware of it’s holding his group again from probably favorable defensive numbers.
A season and a half into Brown’s Sacramento tenure, the 53-year-old already has taken the Kings to new heights, snapping its 16-year NBA playoff drought.
However with championship aspirations, he’ll be on his group to attempt for extra, starting on the free-throw and 3-point traces.
“, our guys are doing a variety of good issues,” Brown stated. “They usually need to proceed to attempt to carry out at a excessive degree in a variety of completely different areas. However once more, there are a few areas that we will actually enhance on, offensively and defensively — I simply gave you most likely the one main one in every class.
“There are a few areas that we have to concentrate on and check out just like the Dickens to develop into rather a lot higher than what we’re proper now.”
