What Went Wrong for the Kings in 13-Point Loss to Bulls

Bulls West versus Kings East lived up to the hype, at least, for most of one half. The Sacramento Kings lost to the Chicago Bulls 126-113, dropping their third game in four days in Zach LaVine’s first game back in the United Center since he was traded in February.

Thank you, @ZachLaVine 🫡 pic.twitter.com/hMmWx3HY5U
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) October 30, 2025

Kings lineup raises red flags

Sacramento remained without Nique Clifford (hamstring) and Keegan Murray (thumb), leaving coach Doug Christie to experiment with guard-heavy rotation once again. Christie went back to the Schroder/Westbrook/LaVine/DeRozan/Sabonis starting lineup, the first time he has repeated a starting lineup this season. This lineup was outscored by 14 points in their nine minutes together tonight.

Aside from Sabonis and backup center Drew Eubanks, the Kings did not play a player above 6-foot-6 tonight. Chicago, on the other hand, started three players 6-foot-7 or taller, and had two more come off the bench.

It is one thing to play this small when those smaller players are average to above average shooters and/or are buoyed by bigs that protect the rim well or stretch the floor themselves to make room for the non-shooting guards/wings.

However, a large portion of Sacramento’s smalls are below-average to non-shooters, and Sabonis (for all the good he does) is a well-below-average rim protector for a big. Not a recipe for success, especially against teams with perimeter size.

Chicago got to the rim at will in the first quarter — not surprising against a Sabonis-anchored frontcourt, and almost expected against a Sabonis-without Keegan Murray providing weakside help-anchored lineup. Murray cannot come back soon enough.

Sacramento found a rhythm in the second quarter, building a 12-point lead and similarly getting to the rim as they pleased. Unfortunately, the good stretch did not last for long. Chicago ended the half on a 9-0 run, though, and Sacramento led by two at the half.

The run bled into the second half, as Chicago opened the third quarter on a 13-2 run (22-2 spanning back to the first half), and Sacramento never recovered. The Kings allowed the Bulls to score 39 points in the quarter, and ended the third quarter down 10. Sacramento eventually pulled their starters with two minutes left.

Top performers and some letdowns

The Kings’ veteran starting lineup unsurprisingly got their counting stats. LaVine dropped 30, Sabonis ended with a double-double, DeMar scored 19 on 5-10 from the field and 9-10 from the line.

Dennis Schroder struggled mightily tonight, shooting 2-9 from the field and 0-3 in the restricted area. Against a Bulls team without much rim protection of its own, that is concerning, to say the least. It has not been a great start for Sacramento’s key offseason signing thus far.

On the young player front - Keon Ellis continued doing Keon Ellis things in 23 minutes, and even Devin Carter had an impressive block on Matas Buzelis, who is about seven inches taller than Carter. It was nice to see signs of life from a player who brings a lot of what Kings fans want and is still trying to find his footing in the league.

On the Bulls' side, Matas Buzelis certainly looks the part of a young, big wing creator who moves very well and is comfortable with the ball (must be nice). Last year’s 11th overall pick finished with 27 points. Kevin Huerter had his revenge game, too. The former King provided Chicago with a lift off the bench, posting 18/4/4 on 6-8 (3-4 3PT) shooting, and Josh Giddey flirted with a triple-double.

It may seem like Sacramento has had a brutal opening schedule when you see they have hung tough with the Lakers and Thunder. However, both of those losses came while the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder were missing key players. The Lakers have proven to be very beatable without LeBron James and Luka Doncic, and Oklahoma City looked similarly mortal without Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. Those would have been great wins to stack early.

Despite the already slow start, things will probably get worse before they get better. 12 of Sacramento’s next 13 games against teams that made the playoffs last season, with the one exception being the vastly improved San Antonio Spurs. Unless something changes quickly, it seems like Sacramento’s veterans will be getting their counting stats in losses amidst a 2-13 or 1-14 start.

This gauntlet begins after a couple of days off, when the Kings play the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, November 1.

Kings lineup raises red flags

Top performers and some letdowns

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