DeMar DeRozan Makes Honest Statement After Kings-Nets

Sacramento Kings star DeMar DeRozan spoke out following Sunday's home loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

Nov 24, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan (10) dribbles against Brooklyn Nets guard Keon Johnson (45) during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings have hit a rough patch early into their 2024-25 campaign, losing three consecutive games. The Kings took a brutal hit against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night with a 108-103 loss, capped off by a poor first half and a horrendous fourth quarter.

The Nets took a 19-point lead in the second quarter, which the Kings were able to climb back from to take a four-point lead early in the fourth. Unfortunately for Sacramento, that is when the comeback would stop.

The Kings scored just 15 fourth-quarter points, a horrible mark for a team with so many offensive weapons. When they needed to score, the Kings could not hit a shot, and it resulted in a poor home loss.

Star forward DeMar DeRozan spoke out following Sunday's loss, telling the media what happened in that poor fourth quarter and how they need to be better down the stretch.

"Missed shots. Missed free throws. Simple as that," DeRozan said. "They hit some big shots, we missed a lot of shots. We only scored 15 points in the fourth. We had it right there and we just couldn't score when we needed to."

DeMar DeRozan from the podium. Pretty somber mood as the Kings drop to 8-9. pic.twitter.com/Fe3dJwligX

— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) November 25, 2024

"We've got to understand we can't put ourselves in a hole," DeRozan said about Sacramento's early-game struggles. "Once we put ourselves in a hole, it's difficult... The sense of urgency is there once we're down. We play hard, we play more aggressive, we do all the things we need to be doing, but we do it once we're down 10, 12, 15 points. We can't live like that. That's a dangerous way to live when you start out like that."

The Kings have shown they play more aggressively when trailing and always seem capable of a big comeback, but that type of play rarely results in wins. The Kings continue to struggle early in games, and by the time they are ready to close the game they fall short.

DeRozan, a 16-year NBA veteran, has been around long enough to know that is not the way a team should play. While it is early in the season and there is plenty of time to fix those types of mistakes, the Kings have fallen to 8-9, and the Western Conference is not getting any easier. If Sacramento is not careful, they will fall out of the playoff picture very quickly with poor losses like Sunday's.

The Kings now turn around to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on the second leg of a back-to-back, and if they get off to a slow start against one of the top teams in the NBA, good luck.

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