How Kings beat Warriors in Play-In Tournament: Steph Curry and ...

During the Kings’ infamous 16-season playoff drought, this is where they finished out of 30 teams in defensive rating: 27, 30, 19, 21, 27, 26, 22, 27, 23, 29, 29, 20, 23, 30, 25, 22. That trend didn’t change in Brown’s first year as coach. Last season, they finished first in offensive rating but 24th in defense, ending the playoff drought by outscoring everyone.

The Kings took a slight step back this season — six seeds worse but only two fewer wins — because their offense suffered a sizable dip. Huerter slumped. Keegan Murray’s 3-point percentage dropped from 41 to 36. They had worse injury luck. Sasha Vezenkov, a touted offseason signing, hasn’t worked. Brown, in an effort to defend better, prioritized length and activity over shooting with some lineup choices.

It did translate well on the defensive end. They actually finished 14th in defensive rating, per NBA.com, the first time in 18 seasons that they’ve been in the top half of the NBA.

Out of necessity, it’s actually been even better lately. Without Huerter and Monk, the Kings are starting second-year guard Ellis and playing Mitchell more. Ellis is a long, instinctual perimeter ballhawk, piling up deflections. Mitchell is a bulldog on the ball. Fox just had his best defensive season. Murray bulked up and took a defensive leap on the wing. The Kings actually have the eighth-best defensive rating in the NBA their last 15 games: 108.8. They are third in defensive rating since March 1.

There are still weaknesses for the Warriors to exploit. There is still a lack of overall team length. Brown has been obsessed with teaching the Kings to close out on the 3 tighter because they must pack the paint to make up for their lack of rim protection. Sabonis doesn’t block or alter many shots.

Stephen Curry’s clearest path to points could be on the straight line drive to the rim, beating his defender (some combination of Fox, Mitchell, Ellis and Murray over the course of the game) and challenging whoever awaits on the back line. In his legendary 50-point Game 7, Curry actually made 13 shots inside the arc.

If the Warriors use screeners, Brown will surely blitz. Even if they don’t, he may throw selective doubles out to half court. When that happens, Green’s decisiveness and willingness to take quick attack layups and short floaters could be paramount, especially if the nearby help defender is protecting against the lob to Jackson-Davis.

Jonathan Kuminga is also a major factor. He barely played in that first-round series last April. He’s ticketed for somewhere between 20-30 minutes on Tuesday night. Kuminga just set a Warriors franchise record for dunks in a season and led the team in paint points. In their last matchup with the Kings, Kuminga had 31 points on 12-of-19 shooting in 30 minutes off the bench.