What we learned as Duarte impresses in Kings’ preseason OT loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO – The Kings welcomed some familiar faces to Golden 1 Center on Sunday for their first preseason home game of the year.
For the ninth time in six months, the Kings faced their Northern California neighbor, the Golden State Warriors — but this time for some preseason action. The Warriors looked a little different Sunday than they did in April when the two teams met in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Golden State was without Steph Curry and Draymond Green for Sunday’s game. New Warriors point guard and 19-year NBA veteran Chris Paul, who was acquired by Golden State this summer, also sat out. For the Kings, 7-foot-1 center JaVale McGee (right wrist soreness) didn’t play.
And just like in their seven-game playoff series, Sunday’s contest did not disappoint.
Here are the takeaways from the Kings’ 121-115 overtime loss:
Switching things up
Since his first day as the Kings’ head coach, Mike Brown has emphasized the importance of defense and physicality.
One year later, he isn’t pleased with where they’re at on that side of the ball. So, he opted to start Chris Duarte over Kevin Huerter on Sunday because Brown was impressed with Duarte’s defensive effort in Sacramento’s 109-101 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers last week.
The move didn’t come as a huge surprise, given that Brown took guys out — no matter who they were — the second they didn’t do what was asked of them defensively last season.
And on Sunday, Duarte was rewarded for finally answering Brown’s year-long plea.
The impact was almost immediate. The first possession of the game, Duarte connected with his former Indiana Pacers teammate Domantas Sabonis for a 3-point play. After that, Sacramento’s offense was nearly flawless with Duarte in the mix.
The Kings exploded from 3-point range, with four of five starters taking turns from behind the arc. They were 6 of 7 from deep to start the game.
Duarte’s on-ball defense and physicality led to success on the other end of the floor until he exited the game in the…
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