The NBA are looking into a late foul during the Sacramento Kings’ loss to the Golden State Warriors. Sacramento Kings sources say it was a strategic error by coach Doug Christie, and not intentional tanking tactics.
With 3:15 remaining in the game, and the Kings leading by one, Christie called for Doug McDermott to foul Seth Curry, despite Sacramento being in the penalty.
Christie’s Miscalculation
Sources told ESPN the strategy was a misstep. Christie wanted to use a timeout before it was automatically lost when the clock went below three minutes. Sources said Christie miscalculated that the Warriors were in the bonus. This sent Curry, an 86.4% career free throw shooter, to the line. There were more appealing options to foul if opting to hack a player.
Curry made one of two free throws, tying the game at 101.
Christie drew up an out-of-timeout design for a McDermott 3 in the huddle and it worked, putting Sacramento up by three after they had trailed by 16.
Green’s Tanking Accusation
The mistake was magnified after the buzzer. Warriors forward Draymond Green insinuated the Kings had done it for the purposes of losing the game, during a discussion about the NBA’s tanking epidemic.
“I saw a team tonight foul Seth Curry with three minutes to go for no reason,” Green said. “I get fined when I do wrong. Fine the hell out of people.”
Green later said organisations need to be fined more often for blatant tanking moves.
Kings’ Intent to Win
Sacramento ultimately blew that lead in the final minutes as it dropped to 21-59. They are tied with the Utah Jazz for the league’s fourth-worst mark. This keeps them in position for a high pick in a loaded NBA draft.
The Kings have been without nearly all their high-paid veterans during the stretch run. Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and De’Andre Hunter have had season-ending surgeries. DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook weren’t active for Tuesday’s game.
Team sources were adamant that the coaches and players on the floor had intent to win Tuesday’s game. The late-game foul was strictly a tactical error, despite an overarching prioritisation of their youth and an organisational understanding that a bottoming out in the final weeks is beneficial.
The Kings have won seven of their last 16 games, jumping ahead of the Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards in the standings.
“Tanking is the last thing [I’d do],” Christie said after a recent win over the Jazz. “I respect the game too much. These young men, in my opinion, when you do things like that, it hurts them.”