The NBA is looking into what Sacramento Kings sources say was a strategy mistake by coach Doug Christie in Tuesday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors.
With 3:15 remaining in the game, and the Kings leading by one, Christie called for Doug McDermott to foul Seth Curry, despite being in the penalty.
Tactical Error, Not Tanking, Say Kings Sources
Sources told ESPN that the strategy was just a misstep. Christie wanted to use a timeout before automatically losing it when the clock ticked below three minutes. Sources said Christie miscalculated that the Warriors were in the bonus and it would send Curry, an 86.4% career free throw shooter, to the line.
According to sources, there were more appealing options on the floor to foul if opting to hack a player.
Green’s Tanking Accusation
The mistake was magnified after the buzzer when Warriors forward Draymond Green insinuated the Kings had done it for the purposes of losing the game. This came in a long back-and-forth 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.
How the Game Played Out
Curry made one of two free throws, tying it 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.
Sacramento ultimately blew that lead in the final minutes as it dropped to 21-59, tied with the Utah Jazz for the league’s fourth-worst mark and keeping it 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, and DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook weren’t active for Tuesday’s game.
Kings Coach Denies Intentional Losing
Team sources were adamant that the coaches and players on the floor had intent to win Tuesday’s game and the late-game foul was strictly a tactical error. This is despite an overarching prioritization of their youth and an organizational 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.”