Kings head coach Doug Christie took responsibility for Sacramento’s third-quarter collapse in Wednesday’s 122-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
“These are the times as a coach you reflect and own a lot of it. That’s where I have to be better,” Christie said. “We got to make sure that we come out and are ready to go, and if there’s going to be a run, we’ve got to make subs and figure out a way to withstand that.”
Christie praised his team’s resiliency despite the setback. “This team is very resilient. We got some veterans and some young guys. I talk to my young guys quite a bit… to make sure their mind’s right. This isn’t how it’s going to be, but this is how it is right now,” he said.
The coach analyzed Toronto’s dominant third quarter, when the Raptors shot 73 percent from the field. “They got out in the open court, got some layups. We turned the ball over. You play right into what you didn’t do in the first half… some miscommunications on defense that we didn’t have in the first half,” Christie explained.
Christie also highlighted rookie Dylan Cardwell’s growth. “Sometimes in today’s basketball, even if a guy isn’t a quote-unquote shooter, you let them do what they do and then develop them. Dylan’s energy, rebounding, defense, physicality—we’ll work on the rest,” he said.
On realizing Cardwell could make it at the NBA level, Christie recalled, “Right away. For me, Scottie [GM Scott Perry], BJ [assistant GM BJ Armstrong], we value what he does. Defense really means something. Rebounding, rim protection, communication… when I saw him, I knew he had an NBA skill right now.”
Christie commented on Sacramento’s zone defense during the game. “Early, it was good. They ran one play with Quickley down the middle, and I figured they probably would coming out of the half. I believe they’re 27th or 28th in zone offense… and that was part of the game plan,” he said.
Reflecting on team standards and consistency, Christie added, “We had a really good four-game stretch where defensive metrics were top three, five in the NBA. Now we’ve regressed a little. Consistency is difficult in the NBA, but it’s the requirement of what it is to be here. My job is to coach that, and we have to correct mistakes or adjust.”
Toronto improved to 26-19 with Scottie Barnes scoring 23 points, while Brandon Ingram and Sandro Mamukelashvili added 23 and 22 points respectively. Sacramento fell to 12-32 as Russell Westbrook scored 23 points and Zach LaVine 19.
