The Kings are 1-6, 14th in the West, and they are being outscored by 13.2 points per 100 possessions. Tonight's opponent, the Lakers, is 6-2 and scoring 121.9.
Last season
Sacramento went 22-60. The offense ranked 26th, the defense 28th, and the minus-9.7 net rating was 28th of 30 teams. That is the baseline this season has to beat. Through seven games it is worse, at minus-13.2. Seven games is too small a sample to call final, but it is large enough to notice.
Oct. 31
Five of the first six losses came by double digits, the latest 136-105 at Memphis. Across seven games the Kings score 106.8 points per 100 possessions and allow 120.0. That 13.2-point gap is most of the record. It does not prove the defense cannot recover, only that nothing in the early games shows it recovering.
Nov. 2
The 115-100 win at the Mavericks was the first of the year. It still leaves the Kings 14th, four games behind sixth-place San Antonio at 5-2 and 2.5 behind tenth-place Denver at 3-3. The current pace projects to 12-70. That is arithmetic from seven games, not a forecast, but it shows how much ground the next stretch must cover.
Through seven games
Acuff averages 26.1 points in 36.5 minutes, shooting 31.3 percent from three. Sabonis gives them 15.0 points, 14.6 rebounds and 6.9 assists. Both are producing, so the record is not about them. By our count, the Kings have lost 1,072 player-minutes to injury since opening night, seventh most in the league, and Murray and Raynaud are listed out until an estimated Nov. 10.
Tonight
The Lakers arrive 6-2, scoring 121.9 and allowing 114.0 per 100 possessions, a plus-7.9 margin. They play at a pace of 100.8 to the Kings' 103.4, so Sacramento can run, but running did not stop the points coming back. The Kings lost both October meetings, 127-103 and 114-110.
What is wrong with the Kings this season?
The defense. Through seven games they allow 120.0 points per 100 possessions while scoring 106.8, a minus-13.2 margin, though the sample is small.
How far back are the Kings in the West?
They are 14th at 1-6, four games behind sixth-place San Antonio and 2.5 behind tenth-place Denver. Their current pace projects to 12-70.
