Kings’ Mike Brown Discusses Struggles Against Heat Defense
In the second leg of a back-to-back, the Sacramento Kings fell short in a comeback attempt against the Miami Heat at Golden1 Center on Monday evening. The Kings brought a 20-point deficit back to only a two-point difference late in the fourth quarter, but it proved to be too little, too late for HC Mike Brown's squad.
While the loss was on a back-to-back, Sacramento entered the matchup as eight-point favorites against a Heat team without their go-to options in Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, and Tyler Herro. Regardless of who was on the court, the Heat found a way to score the ball with five separate playing eclipsing the 15-point mark for Miami with rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. putting up one the best performances of his young career.
The Kings struggled defensively all night until the fourth quarter, when Brown decided to switch to a zone defense. The zone proved to be very efficient, holding Miami to under 20 points in the quarter. Brown may have gotten the idea from watching his team struggle offensively, as the Heat ran a zone that caused chaos on the offensive end for the Kings.
Sacramento turned the ball over 15 times, with star G De'Aaron Fox tallying a new season-high with seven turnovers himself. When attacking the paint, the Heat would close in on the ball handler, causing erratic passes and panicked decisions from a Kings team that loves to spray the ball out.
Mike Brown talked about the effect that Miami's defense had on the game, and how it caused constant issues for his team (via @SeanCunningham | X):
As soon as you catch the ball in the pocket, or if you catch the ball in the post, the Heat are coming. They're coming, they're swiping down at the ball, and they're really aggressive with their double teams and their digs, so you gotta think "spray the ball". Both Fox and Domas, I think that they both struggled a little bit with that.
The Heat under Erik Spoelstra love to play hard-nosed defense, and that strategy prevailed against Sacramento. Despite the loss, there were some bright spots offensively for the Kings such as F Keegan Murray scoring 28 points on over 70% shooting. Big man Domantas Sabonis also dropped yet another triple-double, marking his 21st of the season.
Sacramento will aim to get back on track Wednesday night as they hit the road to take on the defending champion Denver Nuggets. This will mark their fourth battle against Denver this month, with the Kings currently 3-0 on the season against Nikola Jokic's Nuggets.
Follow Inside The Kings on Facebook and X.
Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Kings news videos and live-stream podcasts!
