BBNBA: Sacramento Wildcats -- er, Kings fall in Game 7

AdamStrattonKSR

If you were to have asked my thoughts on the Sacramento Kings at any point in my life, I would have shot back a puzzling glare. Why would anyone be asking this? Does anyone have an opinion on the Sacramento Kings? Is this some kind of scam?

But alas, I found myself on Sunday watching their Game 7 matchup against the Golden State Warriors with the type of angst I would a high-profile Kentucky basketball game. Maybe not an NCAA tournament game, more like a Champions Classic, but the heart rate spiked more than anticipated.

Desperate for basketball excitement, my enthusiasm has been drawn to the Sacramento ~~Wildcats~~ Kings like a Steph Curry 3 is drawn to the bottom of the net. De’Aaron Fox has always been awesome, but they were still a perpetual lottery team. However, the acquisition of Malik Monk rekindled the kind of 2017 Kentucky chemistry that will forever, in my mind, be one of the most underappreciated years in the Calipari Era.

No one in the NBA was more clutch in the NBA this year than De’Aaron Fox. No one in the NBA scored more points off the bench than Malik Monk. And, by the way, the most under-the-radar quality NBA player in the last decade, Trey Lyles, had a pretty good year too.

The Kings won the hearts of a slew of basketball fans when they earned the 3-seed in the stacked Western Conference, but no one gave them much of a shot when they found themselves matched up with the 6-seed Golden State Warriors.

On the brink of elimination in Game 6, the Kings dominated on the road, and it all led back to a Game 7 at home, in an arena that literally lights up the entire night sky after a victory.

The Kings were fed to a buzzsaw named Stephen Curry

Game 7 started off promising with the type of fast-paced, frenetic, and exciting style of play that Kentucky fans have to tune into the NBA to watch. The Kings led the Warriors by two going into the locker room at halftime.

Then Steph Curry happened.

Spurred on by what some people are calling the greatest speech of all time, the Warriors, led by Curry’s relentless scoring barrage, pulled away from the Kings early in the 3rd quarter and never looked back.

Curry finished with 50 points. Five. Zero. In a Game 7. No one has ever done that before. Ever.

De’Aaron Fox admitted to having some nerves going into the game and, unfortunately, you could tell. Fox finished with just 16 points on 5-19 shooting. Granted, he played with a fractured finger, but he would be the first to tell you that was not his excuse.

Similarly, Malik Monk shot just 4-14 for 14 points, though he did grab nine rebounds which led his team. Kevon Looney grabbed pretty much every other rebound there was to get as he channeled his inner Oscar Tshiebwe with 21 boards on the night.

Trey Lyles had a quiet six points, as a team-wide second-half shooting slump combined with an All-Universe performance from Steph Curry were too much for the Kings to overcome.

Still, it was a great coming-out party for the often-forgotten-about team in Northern California. They earned the attention and fandom of many neutral basketball hearts out there, no doubt many of them from Kentucky. Next year should be fun.

Randle-ess Knicks lose Game 1 of Eastern Conference Semis

On the other side of the bracket, the Eastern Conference Semifinals kicked off with teams that feature two former ‘Cats: the New York Knicks and Miami Heat. Unfortunately for both, each had one of those players unable to take the court due to injury.

Tyler Herro (MIA) broke his wrist in the first round of the playoffs, so he will miss extended time for the Miami Heat. Meanwhile, Julius Randle (NYK) sprained his ankle and was forced to sit out for the New York Knicks. That left Immanuel Quickley (NYK) and Bam Adebayo (MIA) to battle it out for Kentucky alumni supremacy.

Bam won this round, as the Heat defeated the Knicks 108-101 during Game 1 in front of a host of celebrities at Madison Square Garden. Adebayo finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, as Jimmy Butler continued his hot streak to propel his 8th-seeded team once again.

Immanuel Quickley had a modest nine points in the loss as he keeps looking to find the same spark in the playoffs that led him to a second-place finish in the NBA’s 6th Man of the Year award. The Knicks will look to even the series in Game 2 on Tuesday at Madison Sqaure Garden.

4/30/2023 Statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	MIN	+/-
De’Aaron Fox (SAC)	100-120 L vs. GSW	16	5-19 (3-10)	3	6	0	1	5	37	-20
Bam Adebayo (MIA)	108-101 W vs. NYK	16	7-13 (0-0)	8	2	0	0	2	37	+3
Malik Monk (SAC)	100-120 L vs. GSW	14	4-14 (2-8)	9	4	0	0	1	31	-5
Immanuel Quickley (NYK)	101-108 L vs. MIA	9	3-9 (1-4)	2	1	1	0	1	27	-4
Trey Lyles (SAC)	100-120 L vs. GSW	6	2-5 (1-2)	7	0	0	0	0	21	-2
Tyler Herro (MIA)	108-101 W vs. NYK	DNP-Hand
Julius Randle (NYK)	101-108 L vs. MIA	DNP-Ankle