Kings coach makes history just 12 games into job
from Sai Mohan, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
The Sacramento Kings are not just winning under interim coach Doug Christie, they’re routinely pulling off come-from-behind victories.
On Wednesday night, Sacramento overcame an 18-point deficit against Golden State to complete a 123-117 victory. The comeback win marked the third instance of the Kings, under Christie, overcoming a deficit of 15 or more points through his young stint as interim coach.
Christie is the only coach in the 21st century to pull off the feat within his first 12 games in charge of a team.
The three improbable wins have enabled Christie to maintain a 10-2 record since taking the reins from the axed Mike Brown.
In those 12 games, the Kings rank No. 1 in points (122.2), tied No. 1 in win% (.833), tied third in rebounds (47.4) and fourth in assists (29.0). On the defensive end, they’re ranked No. 8 in the league, conceding 111.4 points per 100 possessions. While the latter metric isn’t elite, it’s a vast improvement from Brown’s regime when the Kings ranked 16th and conceded 115.2 points per 100 possessions.
While Christie has put his imprint on the team — and their playing style — he has also done wonders for several players, notably Malik Monk, Domantas Sabonis and Keon Ellis.
Monk is averaging 22.1 points and 7.5 assists under Christie after logging 15.7 points and 4.7 assists under Brown. The uptick in the assists is a testament to Christie utilizing Monk as more of a playmaker, a decision that has totally unlocked the Kings’ offense.
As for Sabonis, the Lithuanian double-double machine has benefited from Christie’s focus on harder box outs, logging 20.3 points and a whopping 16.1 rebounds under the interim coach. Under Brown he averaged nearly three fewer rebounds with 13.5.
Third-year guard Ellis has nearly doubled his points — from 6.3 to 11.0 — under Christie while being afforded 5.2 more minutes per game.
At least four Kings are averaging over 20 points under Christie — no other team can boast of such firepower over the past month or so. With Wednesday’s win, the Kings (23-20) find themselves just a game behind the fifth-seeded Lakers (23-18). Christie’s men could prove to be a very dangerous out for any team in the playoffs.