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After the Sacramento Kings' 115-106 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on November 29, head coach Mike Brown did not hold back in his postgame press conference. He told reporters that he was disappointed in the Kings' lack of mental focus and cited the team's 14 first-half turnovers as proof.
The game against the Blazers was on an NBA Cup Night. Brown recently had similarly harsh words for his team's performance on an NBA Cup Night against the Clippers. He told reporters after the game that the first half from the Kings was the worst half he had seen in his time in Sacramento.
Former NBA player Lou Williams asked Kings star De'Aaron Fox on “Run it Back” what his reaction to Brown's comments was. And Fox seems to be taking them in stride.
“I mean… we need that, at the end of the day,” Fox responded. “Obviously, you want your players- you want it to be a player-driven locker room, and things like that, but you need your coach to be able to hold guys accountable.”
Fox also acknowledged his role being different as one of the team's leaders on and off the court.
“And whenever he's on me, you know, I take the coaching, I keep going,” Fox added. “And if he's able to, you know, coach me hard – he's able to coach all the other guys hard. That's kind of where we are right now and being able to hit adversity early in the season could be good for us.”
The Kings' NBA Cup woes might not be over yet
The Kings' loss to the Trail Blazers on Friday eliminated the team from the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup. But Portland has one more challenge to face before its dreadful NBA Cup run is over. The team will host the Houston Rockets on Tuesday at 7PM CT.
Brown and Fox's Kings have dropped their last two games and seven of their last ten, while the Rockets have produced almost opposite results.
Currently in sole possession of the Western Conference's second seed, the Rockets have won eight of their last 10 games, including the last three. An NBA Cup Night win over the Timberwolves and the three-point win on Sunday over the menacing Thunder makes for a solid resume.
The Kings may have to face Houston without guard Kevin Huerter, who suffered an ankle injury in the game against Portland. Huerter did not play in the team's loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday because of the sprain. The latest injury report has the guard listed as questionable.
The Kings cannot change their NBA Cup fate with a win Tuesday night, but at least they would avoid a completely winless run.
