The Warriors trail in a series 0-2 for the first time since 2019. The reigning NBA Champions played an impressive couple of games, but failed to win in Sacramento. Complaints to Kings Head Coach Mike Brown, who has done an excellent job building and coaching a young but enthusiastic team.
Early in his career, as the 2009 Coach of the Year Mike Brown led a young but talented LeBron James team to the Eastern Conference Finals. This helped him pave the way for a career in leadership and winning habits as an assistant coach for the Warriors.
After six years at Golden State under Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, Brown has absorbed much knowledge from the NBA legend. From orchestrating a high-powered offense to building a team from the ground up. Making him an excellent choice to lead this Sacramento team. Reaching three NBA Championships in four NBA Finals appearances was just the cherry on top for the Warriors.
With an experienced head coach at the helm, the Kings now have the guidance to correct their mistakes. They can also lock up the third seed in the Western Conference. They are now two games away from sweeping the Golden State Warriors.
Steve Kerr on the Sacramento Kings
“(The Kings) look like we did when we had Andrew Bogut in my first couple of years coaching,” Kerr said. “All the dribble-handoff stuff, playing through Bogut, playing through Sabonis, shooting everywhere. Really very similar vibe with a lot of ball movement, a lot of flow and a lot of counteractions.
“They’ve put together a really good offense. It all makes sense and the puzzle fits, and the staff has done a great job of suiting an offense to their talent.”
Regardless of how you look at it, the Sacramento Kings are the real deal and they play like the top seed they are. Winning habits create a winning culture and all season long the Kings have played together effectively, whether that be on the road or at home. Finishing with a 82-48 record during the regular season, the Kings had a defensive rating of 116.8. Who Fox also credits to Mike Brown's coaching strategy? From knowing when to lock down and get key stops, chasing down loose balls and dominating the boards
Fox- "I think a lot of it comes from [Kings coach] Mike Brown," he said. "I can almost have a picture-perfect defensive possession. In the timeout, [Brown will] be like, ‘You could have done this better. You kept him in front of you the whole time, maybe you jumped a split-second too early.’ … It’s little things like that that continues to make me a better player and a better defender."
This is the kind of coach you want to coach your team with. Someone who knows how to get the maximum results out of his players. For the first time since 2006 Brown has led the Sacramento Kings back into the playoffs and they are arguably trending in the right direction against the Warriors.
On Thursday afternoon, April 20, 2023 Mike Brown was selected as the 2023 recipient of the Red Auerbach Coach of the Year Award. A well-deserved honor for all 30 NBA head coaches who voted unanimously.
Brown on winning such an honor.
“It really means a lot any time your peers step up and give you recognition because that’s who you’re competing against,” Brown said. “There are excellent coaches, excellent staffs, excellent organizations. Yes, my name is quote-unquote on it this year, but it’s not all about me. It’s a testament of where this organization is from the coaching staff to the performance and medical team.
“I’ve said it all along. We’ve had a healthy team and that’s a big, big part of it. … Just like the rest of the coaching staff. It wasn’t just me. I miss crap all the time, but they cover my behind when I do and all that other stuff, which makes it a huge, huge team effort.”
The Sacramento Kings ended their longest postseason drought in NBA history and that's definitely something to be proud of. However, as you can see, they definitely haven't taken their foot off the gas. Sacramento travels to Golden State on Thursday for game three in the Warriors' house. No cow bells allowed.
GAME THREE PREVIEW Golden State Warriors vs Sacramento Kings
With the first two games of the series not in their favor, the Golden State Warriors must now regroup on the home front and take care of business, as Draymond Green would say. Two back-to-back disappointing performances that could have gone either way. In Golden State's eyes, all the King's did was take care of business and protect their homecourt. Now it's their turn. Easy to say but hard to do.
Golden State has had the most disappointing road record this season ranking 9-30. "Our road splits have been trash all year, in all categories," Stephen Curry said. "Just trying to correct that as much as possible is our challenge.
On top of that, the Golden State Warriors have made history as one of the most dreadful defending champion road teams of all time. It’s not something you want to be remembered for. Game three is their opportunity to change the narrative and protect their home court. Which is in their favor, with a 27-9 home record this season.
Expect the Chase Center to be flooded with DUB fans, eager to support their team to even the series up 2-2. ESPN's power index shows Golden State is favored by 57.3%. In the past two games, Andrew Wiggins has looked like a shadow of himself. Returning from a two-month absence changed his game. Expect him to return to the Warriors' starting lineup again in game three. Slowly, but surely, Wiggins is recovering after scoring 39 points combined in his first two postseason performances.
As the table turns, attitudes change. In game two, Draymond Green and Domantas Sabonis got tied up. This resulted in Green getting charged with a flagrant foul and ejected from the game.
Green on his ejection from the Kings' game two
“My leg got grabbed,” said Green, referring to a play in Game 1 with Malik Monk. “Second time in two nights. Referees just watch it. I have to land my foot somewhere. I’m not the most flexible person, so it’s not stretching that far.”
While Sabonis was called for a technical foul for grabbing Green's leg, he echoed that he was just protecting himself in the act.
“We’re both fighting for the rebound,” Sabonis said in a postgame interview on TNT. “We fell on each other. Stuff happens. It’s basketball. We’ve got to move on to the next play"
Green has been suspended for one game for his actions. Game three is one of the most critical games in this series. This will only intensify the tensions between the two teams. Golden State is the fifth defending champion to fall behind 2-0 in the first round. Each of the last four teams has lost, with three swept. Game three is a must-win for the reigning NBA champions. No team has won a series after being down 0-3 in the NBA Playoffs.
Warriors on Draymond Green suspension for game three
"We are livid. We paid the price already [when Green was ejected] in Game 2. We get that. No problem there. But this suspension was unnecessary."
Now the question is who will fill the void left by Green? There was league speculation floating around that the younger Warriors players were upset about not receiving minutes. Well, it is their time to put up or shut up. 4x NBA champion Draymond Green is sidelined and Steve Kerr will definitely look for others to step up. This is a game with major implications, but Golden State has the weapons to get the job done even without Green at the helm.