It’s easy to get hung up on the results. This is a results-oriented company. Win or go home. And at the end of this game, the Sacramento Kings lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves by a score of 117-115. That’s the result, and it sucks. For the season opener and home opener, it would have been really nice to see the Kings secure the win here. They had many opportunities to do so, but they squandered those opportunities. I’m not here to sugarcoat any of that. But it’s also worth noting that there were many positives to be taken from this film.

The game came down to the final seconds. Anthony Edwards, being the superstar that he is, made a mistake at the rim with two seconds left, sinking them both. The Kings made a last-second play to set up Keegan Murray for a game-winning try from 3, but it was well guarded. Keegan double pumped the air and took a shot that almost went in but rattled to end the game.

The good

The Big 5 – DeMar DeRozan led the Kings with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. He also made 12 of 14 free throws. Domantas Sabonis had 26 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist while shooting 3-4 from beyond the arc. Keegan Murray had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 2 assists. De’Aaron Fox had 15 points and 11 assists. Malik Monk had 17 points and 4 assists. The Kings Big 5 were great. They showed up across the board and played great team basketball. Are those concerns about DeRozan appropriate? Forget it. Tonight there was some fun basketball to watch on the offense’s end.

Free throws – The Kings shot 80% from the charity stripe. Not the best, but solid. More importantly, the Kings shot 35 free throws, compared to just 17 for the Wolves. Welcome, DeMar. We needed you.

The bad

The others – Kevin Huerter had 2 points on 4 shots in 20 minutes. Keon Ellis had 2 points on 1 shot in 11 minutes. Trey Lyles scored 3 points in 11 minutes. This isn’t to say these guys didn’t contribute in other ways, as they did get some rebounds, assists and steals, but the lack of scoring was noticeable.

Meshing – The Kings are a team with a number of guys, including the aforementioned Huerter and Lyles, just returning from injuries. As a team, this group hasn’t had much time to really work together, and it showed. There are growing pains. The bright side is that I believe these guys can figure it out.

The ugly one

Three-point defense – Minnesota had so many open looks. They shot 40% from 3 and attempted 50(!) threes. That was actually the whole difference in this game.

No one can stop Julius Randle – Randle has been a Kings killer for years, and he enjoyed a terrible opening night against the Lakers tonight. Randle finished with 33 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

End of the third quarter – Third quarter misery struck again as sloppy play saw the Kings turn a 9-point lead into a 1-point deficit.

Execution 4th quarter – Unfortunately, we saw the return of the Kings fourth offense devolve into ineffective isolation basketball. I hoped Mike Brown would have learned from last season.

***

I don’t want to be overly negative, despite all the additions to the Ugly section. The Kings are clearly a team still discovering themselves. But the pieces are really good and the prospects for this season are good. I’m excited for the next game so the Kings can get back on track. Remember, Wolves looked completely lost in their first game, and looked much more composed tonight. Patience sucks, but I’m told it’s a virtue. I think I’m willing to give this team more than one game to figure it all out.

Next: Kings @ Lakers, October 26 at 8:30 PM