Two teams trying to avoid play-in status in the rapidly approaching NBA playoffs go head-to-head on Monday night when the Chicago Bulls visit the Sacramento Kings.
Both teams enter the finale of their two-game regular-season series occupying a play-in spot in their respective conferences following lackluster play as of late, with the Bulls having lost four of six and the Kings dropping six of their past 11.
Neither team has played since Friday, when Chicago suffered a 113-97 home drubbing at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, while Sacramento used overtime to snap a two-game skid at Minnesota, prevailing 124-120 over the Timberwolves.
The teams met on Feb. 3 in Chicago, with De’Aaron Fox pouring in 41 points and Domantas Sabonis recording a triple-double (13 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists) in the Kings’ 123-115 win. Coby White paced the Bulls with 26 points, while DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic each added 24.
White shot 10-for-18 overall and went 4-for-7 from 3-point range in the loss, and he followed that by totaling 53 points in his next two games, making 17 of his 33 shots and nine of his 16 threes.
But the 24-year-old has since slumped, shooting 6-for-32 from deep (18.8 percent) in his past four games.
His teammates also struggled offensively against the Bucks, leading to an ejection, two other technical fouls and a reminder that frustration usually ends poorly in the NBA.
“We were doing some pretty good things; they made some tough shots on the other end,” said Vucevic, the Bull who got ejected. “We’ve played some tough games. Maybe fatigue got into us a little bit. We just let our frustrations get the best of us for a little bit. We all know we have to do a better job with that. It usually doesn’t help you in any way.”
The Kings outscored the Bulls 45-33 from beyond the arc in the earlier meeting, but Sacramento as a team has lost its way offensively as of late. The Kings were held to 110 points in an 11-point home setback to the Miami Heat last Monday, then mustered just 96 points in a 21-point blowout loss at Denver two days later.
With Fox missing a second straight game with a bruised left knee, the Kings responded to a players-only meeting with the win at Minnesota, even if the offense (115 points in regulation) wasn’t as crisp as usual.
Kings coach Mike Brown left the arena Friday as satisfied as ever, and not just because his team had won.
“I freaking love it,” he said of the team meeting. “I’ve been talking internally to our front office, to our coaches and even to our team, (saying) ‘We won’t reach the heights we can reach until you guys (the players) take ownership.’ As a head coach, you can push and carry the group only so far. There’s gotta be a point in time to where it comes from within.”
–Field Level Media
