Kings' Sabonis Speaks Out on Crushing Loss to Trail Blazers

The Sacramento Kings star big man had a reality check following Sunday's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Oct 13, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) runs up the court during the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Sacramento Kings were blown out on Sunday afternoon in a preseason matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers, falling to 0-3 in exhibition games.

While the result of these preseason matchups holds no weight, the on-court product certainly does. In their first two losses against the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento's starters looked phenomenal and were clicking on all cylinders, despite the fresh addition of DeMar DeRozan. In Sunday's loss, however, the starters were not as much help.

Sacramento's starters combined for just 49 points, despite playing into the fourth quarter. The average plus/minus between the starters was -20, which came against a weaker Portland squad missing two of their best players.

There are few excuses for a poor performance like this one, even if it is just preseason basketball. Sacramento's star center Domantas Sabonis reasoned with the media after the loss, explaining why they fell flat (via Sean Cunningham | FOX40).

"We definitely didn't have our best game taking care of the ball, and that led to a lot of extra shots for them." Sabonis continues, "Overall, for whatever reason, I just feel like our legs weren't there today, and kudos to them, they came out and competed. We didn't even have the energy to match that."

Domantas Sabonis talks about the sloppiness from his Kings tonight, says the legs weren't there this afternoon and Trail Blazers took advantage with the physicality. Admits to feeling tired and Sacramento was unable to match it. pic.twitter.com/KpJgbntAdn

— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) October 14, 2024

Sabonis finished the contest with nine points, seven assists, eight rebounds, and five turnovers, a mediocre game on the All-Star's standard. Sabonis said their "energy just ran out, starting with me."

Sabonis believes they have been playing well, but losing the turnover battle 26 to 18 and shooting 5-of-28 from deep will rarely result in a win, regardless of the opponent.

The Kings have certainly played better this preseason than their record suggests, but they might not have been physically prepared to play three games in five days after a long offseason.

With two more preseason matches left before the regular season kicks off on October 24th, the Kings have a couple more chances to get back on track and continue to prepare for a grueling season ahead of them.

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