Mike Brown has the receipts at the ready ahead of the Sacramento Kings’ first playoff appearance in over a decade-and-a-half.
Appearing this week on the “#thisleague UNCUT” podcast with Chris Haynes and Marc Stein, the Kings coach Brown revealed that he is using an interesting motivational tactic for his team with the NBA playoffs imminent. Brown said that he played his team a clip of ESPN’s Brian Windhorst talking about how opponents want to face the Kings in the first round.
The clip cited the Kings’ inexperience as well as their poor defensive metrics. It also mentioned the defending champion Golden State Warriors as a team that would specifically like to draw a playoff matchup with the Kings. You can listen to the clip (as well as Brown talking about it) below.
AUDIO CLIP: When asked about teams reportedly wanting to see Kings in playoffs, coach Mike Brown pulls out his phone and pressed play. Listen to what he played for @TheSteinLine and I on #thisleague UNCUT: https://t.co/I1Uzfd6HJP pic.twitter.com/FJLXhoCrU6
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) March 31, 2023
Sacramento does indeed have a ranking of just 25th in defensive efficiency this season (per ESPN) and a roster with little-to-no playoff exposure (other than former NBA champion Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter, who made a conference finals with Atlanta in 2021). In fact, one Warriors star recently said publicly that he is hoping to get the Kings in Round 1.
But as Brown hinted at, teams should be careful what they are wishing for. Sacramento, a superb 47-30 this season, has a high-paced and high-octane offense that can run opponents off the floor on any given night. They also have a homecourt advantage that is legitimately nothing to sneeze at.
