Sunday afternoon as I tried to nap I received a call from an aggrieved Sacramento Kings fan who upbraided me because the coach, Dave Joerger, had finally started the young, potential-laden five I\u2019d been demanding for weeks, and look what happened: the Washington Wizards outmanned, outmaneuvered, and outshot the local lads to lead at halftime by thirty-one points.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe Kings played so poorly they forced me out of the house,\u201d groaned Judge. “I’ve already walked two miles on the levee road and won\u2019t return until the game\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cJust a second,\u201d I said, lumbering out of bed. \u201cLet me fire up the computer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cDe\u2019Aaron Fox is getting killed by John Wall,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\tI noted that Fox had hit but one of seven, while Wall had been smoking three-pointers.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cDon\u2019t blame it all on Fox,\u201d I said, tabulating that my favorite King had combined with three other starters \u2013 Skal Labissiere, Buddy Hield, and Willie Cauley-Stein \u2013 to convert a ghastly two of nineteen from the field. The elder statesman of the quintet, Bogdan Bogdanovic, an NBA rookie at age twenty-five but a veteran of the EuroLeague, second finest in the world, had taken several shots and misfired only once. He\u2019s the most polished young player on the team. <\/p>\n
\t\u201cDo you still want this lineup?\u201d Judge asked.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cYes, I do, and so do lots of other Kings fans, but we won\u2019t get it after this butt-kicking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt looks like Coach Joerger\u2019s been right to start two veterans, George Hill and Zach Randolph. The guys you want are too young. Fox\u2019s still only nineteen and Skal\u2019s just twenty-one and looks about twelve. Willie\u2019s got to get more aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI see Fox already has a few rebounds and assists, it\u2019s not only points,\u201d I said, weakly. \u201cAnd Skal\u2019s six-eleven and shoots and moves very well and is already a pretty good rebounder. I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s in Willie Cauley-Stein to be aggressive every game. Not everyone\u2019s a banger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cHe\u2019s got to be a banger. These guys aren\u2019t ready for the big boys.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cFox played well the Kings\u2019 first five games. Okay, he bombed this time. That\u2019s shouldn\u2019t be a big deal long term. What was the problem on defense? He couldn\u2019t stay in front of John Wall?\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe Judge declined specific analysis, preferring to continue to bait me. I stunned and eventually calmed him by agreeing with his zingers. When your chosen lineup has been almost doubled by intermission, modesty is in order. We were still talking as the game ended. <\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe Kings outscored \u2018em by four points the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe Wizards could\u2019ve beaten the Kings by sixty,\u201d Judge stated.<\/p>\n
\tThat\u2019s not necessarily the case as teams shell shocked in the first half often adjust while their assailants usually become less intense. I didn\u2019t make that point. In the morning I returned online and in a brief video saw De\u2019Aaron Fox twice position himself on defense almost back to the foul line, leaving John Wall open for shots beyond the arc. Guard a guy loosely and you\u2019ve just added about twenty points to his shooting percentage.<\/p>\n
\tCancer and nuclear war and the environment are critical issues. The misfortunes of sports teams are not, but they\u2019re so psychologically insistent they seem vital. Coach Dave Joerger is doubtless stewing over his team\u2019s problems. I’d tell him not to worry his team is one and five. The guys he started and who failed Sunday will each improve month by month, if not every week, and collectively they\u2019ll be much better in the spring than they are now. But I\u2019m not sure the Kings currently have enough talent, even when the young guys blossom, to annually lift themselves into the playoffs. <\/p>\n